Hi Gareth,

I would not necessarily say that video increases or decreases bounce rate.   From my experience I would say that it's all very relative. 

Some may view it as an annoying feature on a website and may just leave.  On the other hand, a video could also provide some very useful information and a better insight into a product or service, which in turn could lead to securing a purchase.

With that in mind, I would say that a video does not imply improvement or the opposite.  It often all comes down to the way you do it, etc...   ...in other words the way that you apply the concent.

I think the general aim is to try and avoid having an "annoying" video and provide something which will attract the visitor or help them with their choice.  Put yourself in the visitor's shoes and see how you feel when you view those videos on the various retail websites.

I hope the above help.

regards,

Denis
www.naxtech.com - web development and organic seo

Hi Gareth

Here's a link to research from the US which is highly relevant

http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?id=1006883

Video is proven to reduce bounce and increase stickiness and also conversion but only if highly relevant.

Does the video ad value on a homepage, or does it distract people from getting to where they need to be? 

I like the idea of Dan's 2. and 3. above - giving the customer real value in watching the video.

You could build a video library that is searchable on the site and create a new page for product video, as well as linking from your product info pages. You could also then set-up a YouTube channel and add all your video content there to increase exposure. A good example of this is Maplin http://uk.youtube.com/user/MaplinTV

My advice is not to make a change without measuring it. Stick in Google Optimizer and test your current homepage against a video homepage. Check the metrics and whichever performs best, roll with.

Hope that helps.

thanks

james

Hi Gareth,

We are a multimedia production and design company specialising in high quality video for the web. If you would like to take a look at a couple of links below you will see how effective videos can be;

www.contrastdesign.co.uk/ (click on the videos in the carousel below)

www.contrastdesign.co.uk/results.html

I agree with Dan, it's 'what message does the video get across' that is important. If it helps explain what you are offering and guides visitors to make a decision to purchase, then the potential benefits could be enormous.

Although I don't have any stats on bounce rates, I can tell you from a personal opinion that web users don't have much patience. A video can get the message across much faster than static text, it is more compelling and is a visual stimulant, as long as it is kept relatively short, or broken down into sections of relevant information.

The only way to lower your bounce rate is to have an effective call-to-action. Quite often people bounce because they look on the page and there's nothing else for them to do except leave.

Regards,

Andy.