Bounce rates are extremely important when measuring the effectiveness of your career site. They provide context to how relevant your content is to job seekers, and if prospects are finding the information that’s valuable to them.
Yet, so many people, including recruiters, business owners and web developers don’t really understand what this metric is measuring.
Bounce rate is the percent of visitors who arrive on your site and leave without visiting any more pages. These people have either done a search; clicked a link; or typed the URL in directly to find your site. While some may believe a high bounce rate is always bad, interpreting the metric is actually more subjective.
For sites that provide answers to questions or other factual information on a single page, a high bounce rate may be a sign of success (users are finding the answers they’re looking for and then leaving).
For sites like a career site, where the goal is to lead job seekers to submit an application, a lower bounce rate is typically better. However, the information on a career site can also serve to filter out unqualified candidates, leading to more bounces and exits from the site (which would actually be desirable). Think about an employer who uses their career site to screen candidates who don’t align with their culture. For them, a higher bounce rate may be a sign that their strategy is effective.
While there are no guaranteed solutions, we do have some suggestions. These steps are not definitive. They are relative to each employer’s unique objectives and audience.
People often leave when they don’t find content that’s valuable to them. Make sure you understand who your target candidate is, so you can provide the information they’re looking for.
Internet users are becoming more and more like teflon when it comes to display advertising. Try to avoid this type of marketing. They often create disruptions in the candidate experience.
Mobile users are more likely to bounce if they can’t easily read or navigate your site. By providing a mobile site, you can meet the needs of mobile users and decrease their bounce rates.
We’re not talking about aesthetics, but rather how design inspires a good experience. Provide intuitive navigation, a design that aligns with your audience, and content that’s easy to digest.
In this case, we’re talking about the jobs. Place your jobs directly on the homepage, include jobs in your main navigation and make jobs easy to find or search for.
So what’s the biggest takeaway? Always use your career site to resonate with your target audience. Whether that means providing more relevant content, creating a better design or offering a more intuitive experience. You have to meet the needs of the people you’re trying to reach. Otherwise, they’ll quickly bounce to your competitors.
