Google Analytics defines bounce rate as “the percentage of single-page visits or visits in which the person left your site from the entrance (landing) page.” Wikipedia defines it as “the percentage of initial visitors to a site who bounce away to a different site, rather than continue on to other pages within the same site.”

Both of these above definitions basically say the same thing. What a marketer needs to know is that the lower the bounce rate, the better. So what is considered a good bounce rate? There are actually many different opinions on this. Some experts say that 50% is average and anything lower is considered above average. Others say that a number below 30% is what you should be striving for.

Monitoring your bounce rate can be a very valuable tool, but also a bit misleading and therefore should definitely not be the only way you are measuring your performance. A high bounce rate typically translates into a visitor that was not sufficiently engaged and left your site without so much as visiting a second page. A high bounce rate is also an indication that your visitor was not as qualified as you had hoped for.

That being said, this may not always hold true for lead generation sites. Think about it this way…lets say that you’re running a Pay per Click (PPC) Campaign, you have a lead generation site and you are sending visitors directly to your form page. If a visitor fills out the form and your website is not configured correctly (in other words, the URL does not change when the form is filled out), this could result in a “bounce” when in actuality, your searcher completed the desired action item. This often occurs with blogs, as well. Visitors will reach your blog, read all of the way through and then exit when done. For this reason, blogs tend to have a high bounce rate, as well.

While I encourage you to pay attention to your bounce rate, as it can be a useful way to gauge progress, other factors should also considered, such as time on site, landing page quality, percentage of new visitors, etc.

With 2009 behind us, and a fresh new year ahead, we need to focus on how we can best position ourselves for success in 2010. As past years have shown in all industries, with a new year comes new trends and new technologies. Trends have shown that 2010 will present new internet marketing efforts with a large push toward mobile marketing. Mobile marketing is all about marketing to people through their smart-phones and mobile devices. 2010 has the potential to change business opportunities by engaging with consumers through their mobile devices.

The mobile market industry is exploding. According to the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA), mobile marketing expenditures are expected to exceed $2 billion in 2010. The MMA states that there are 54.5 million mobile Internet users on a regular basis and more than 172 million phones are capable of browsing the Web. There’s been a lot of hype about mobile phones for years, but the mobile web market has finally arrived.

2010’s mobile technology advances could revolutionize internet marketing. To stay ahead of your competition you must keep an eye on the ever-changing trends. Stay one step ahead of your competitors by being sure to place your business in the mobile marketing arena.

Create a mobile website, mobile ads, engage in text message advertising, or create a mobile application. Whether your business taps into one level or all levels, the opportunity exists to bring your business to new heights. Whatever marketing avenue your business decides to venture toward in 2010, be sure to make mobile marketing one of your New Year’s resolutions.

Google announced on Monday Jan 4th that their “Click to Call” program will be rolling out this month.  In an email sent to AdWords Advertisers, “…your location-specific business phone number will display alongside your destination url in ads that appear on high-end mobile devices. Users will be able to click-to-call your business just as easily as they click to visit your website. You’ll be charged for clicks to call, same as you are for clicks to visit your website.”  I really like this concept and think it is great for local advertisers.

Here’s how it will work: an advertiser’s local business number and address will appear as additional lines of ad text, based on the searchers geographic location.  While this program will only work for searchers using Smartphones (mobile devices with the ability to view full HTML via the phone’s browser) there is still a huge potential audience for this strategy.  According to Forrester Research, U.S. subscribers owning Smartphones jumped to 17% last year from 11% in 2008 and 7% in 2007.  That’s phenomenal growth in a year where businesses struggled alongside the economy.  Before you can use this program, campaigns must be targeted to high-end mobile devices with the phone number and local business address saved in your campaign settings.

If you are a local business and want to reach out to an ever growing audience ready to call your line when they search for you, then this program is right up your alley.  I have said in many blog posts before, that the early adopters to new search marketing strategies usually get the most from their investment because of the lack of competition.  I see this program being a staple in any online marketing program for businesses looking to grab a larger share of their local market.  The companies who get in early usually grab that market share first and at a lower acquisition cost due to the lower competition.