24 Tips for On-Site Optimization for a Lower Bounce Rate

One of the most important factors in learning how to make a website is to ensure that you make a great first impression, develop trust and make a website for your online visitors that has the correct on-site optimization for visitors.

Many little on-site actions, as well as big ones, that will give users a sense of stability, honesty and legitimacy for your business and services you provide can achieve this type of trust.

Many webmasters do not focus on visitors when learning how to make a website and this is a big mistake, as they are the bread and butter of any online business and improper on-site optimization can lead to higher bounce rates or the loss of visitors.

Here are 24 Ways to Build Trust and Make A Better Website

1. Your website design is the first impression and one of the most important on-site considerations. Make sure it’s always professional and relevant to the topic of your site.

Use pleasing and demure colors and professional fonts. There are many free website templates available that are professional and can be customized to make them unique for your business.

For example, do not use neon pink font on black background, this looks really lame and makes it look like a 13 year old made the website, it’s also irritating as heck on the eyes.

An important on-site consideration is to make sure that all pages are working fine. Avoid using flash and other code that results in slow load times.

Make sure to use the best website hosting company, that will ensure that your site is up and running with a guaranteed up time. By the way the only hosting I use is Hostgator, they have a 99.9% up time, excellent customer service and they are really the best hosting company on the web. You can try them out for only 1 cent for the first month, by using the promo code: 404PAGE at checkout.

2. On-site navigation must be intuitive and easy for visitors to use. If visitors can’t find what they are looking for they will not only question your competence, but they will quickly leave.

3. Make the website personal by giving it a personal voice. A message is better reached when it is felt.

4. Use basic English and not overcomplicated vocabulary and wording. In reality many people do not have more than a high school education and simple English appeals and applies to everyone.

5. Keep adding fresh content on a regular basis, this shows that the site is current and updated and the search engines like it as well.

6. Review all on-site links. A good website makes sure that everything is working properly at all times. Doubts will quickly form in your visitors’ minds if links don’t work or, worse still, take them to error pages.

7. Good grammar and spelling matter, errors and typos look unprofessional and careless.

8. Don’t make outrageous and unbelievable claims, like “Buy this e-book and get rich overnight.” Most Internet users can spot a scam a mile away and they see get-rich-quick schemes and rip-offs all the time. Stand out by being honest and sincere, believe me you will get more sales in the long run.

9. Publish real testimonials and third-party endorsements on the site. Try to always use real names and link to websites where possible. This can really help to give you some credibility as well as lower the bounce rate.

10. Publish case studies about customers you have helped, those who use your product or service, this again helps the bounce rate and provides more trust in your site.

11. Always pay attention to your reputation, and never do anything to undermine it.

12. Write content for humans and not the search engines, keywords are an important element in on-site optimization, but many over do it and over stuffed keyword language does not read well for humans.

13. Have an “About Us” page and a “Contact” page on your sites at all times. These help visitors and help your site by making you look more real and credible.

The contact page should have email contact address and if possible the company name, phone and address. It is always best to provide some information about the site owners.

14. Use domain based email addresses and not free email services like, Hotmail or Yahoo mail.

15. Reciprocal linking can be bad if your site is about recipes and you link to online poker, this may look suspicious and you can lose credibility.

16. Display only relevant ads on your websites.

17. Make sure to have legal documents and disclosures on your site that protect your website legally, such as a privacy and security policy, terms of service and disclaimers. Be clear about what you will and will not do with any personal data you collect. State that you adhere to all data protection laws. This protects you as the website owner and makes the site look more professional and business like.

18. If you are selling your own products make sure that you provide payment security information.

19. If you are selling your own products make sure to clearly specify a refund and returns policy.

20. If there are trusted industry associations related to your website topic, join up and put their logos on your site.

21. Allow comments if possible. Interactive community exchanges are good for the site and the users. Don’t delete constructive criticism or negative comments, but always respond with your point of view.

22. Offer free trial if possible, especially for any subscriptions.

23. Ask only for the most pertinent information from visitors and customers. For example, for an email newsletter or opt-in form the only thing you really need is an email address. Always provide the “unsubscribe” option for mailing lists, you don’t want to become known as a spammer.

24. Make sure all pricing is clear and includes, tax, delivery and postal charges, don’t appear as if you trying to deliberately mislead customers.