Do the clickable images on pages are bad that they will increase bounce rate and distract users?

[vtmoz]

Hi Moz community,

I'm trying to get some helpful answers on this. We are planning to employ clickable images on our website pages which opens in new tab if users click on them. This is to make sure that they can see the large screenshots of our product. I wonder will this increase the bounce rate and drop the rankings. Please share your experience and guidance on this.

Thanks

[Andrew-SEO]

No I don't think this will.

A bounce means there has not been a second interaction on the page, and you are encouraging second interactions. A link is being clicked on the page.

I realize this is creating a new tab. But as long as it's the same session (session cookie carried over) then this will not be a bounce.

You can stay on a page for 15 mins and leave, and this will be counted as a bounce. It's all about the second interaction.

The bounce rate on the new tab is a different matter. If this tab is just closed after use then every visit to these tabs will be a bounce. That will not affect the rankings of the original page.

[Andrew-SEO]

Here's some more info

https://moz.com/community/q/open-internal-links-in-a-new-tab-increase-bonus-rate

[Libra_Photographic]

As Andrew stated the bounce is all about the second interaction not the length of time on the page. You are encouraging that second interaction, but don't get hung up on the bounce rate entirely, I rate user experience over everything else.

Having your images open in a new tab rather than a lightbox of similar takes away the users ability to navigate your site. If you are viewing on a phone for example a new tab is a pain to close. I prefer to be able to hit the back button or a cross in the corner of the screen. If I had to close a new tab every time I think I'd leave the site alone.

[vtmoz]

Thanks for the reply. That's an amazing point to be considered. We will monitor if there is any increase in bounce rate for mobile devices. Our images are mostly screenshots and I wonder really how many visitors would like to open and see them. Anything related to images on mobile devices is a pain.

[Libra_Photographic]

No problem, Unfortunately, most people do view on a mobile device these days. Just having a responsive site sometimes is just not enough when it comes to user experience.  Good luck!

[Libra_Photographic]

how did you get on with your bounce rate?

Did you change anything?

p.s. don't forget to set the question to answered with the button on a comment. We really appreciate knowing if we answer the question well for you.

[vtmoz]

I don't see any difference in mobile bounce rates