Bounce Rate
What is bounce rate?
Bounce rate is a marketing term or metric that is used to analyze web traffic. It measures the percentage of visitors who land on a website but then leave it (i.e., bounce) without viewing any other pages or clicking any links within the site. In other words, a bounce happens when there is only a single-page visit, with no engagement beyond that one web page. Therefore, a bounce rate reflects the average number of single-page visits compared to the total amount of visits to the entire website.
How is bounce rate calculated?
So, let’s say your business has created an eCommerce website to expand its online presence, gain more exposure and attract more customers through your marketing strategies. If you want to see if it’s effectively reaching and engaging the right people, you’ll want to calculate your site’s bounce rate.
To do so, you need to take the number of visits that have accessed a single web page on your site and divide that number by the total amount of visits to your entire site within the same time period. The answer is a percentage of total visits to your website. You can also find your bounce rate by checking analytics tools like Wix Analytics and Google Analytics. Generally speaking, the lower the bounce rate, the more time visitors are staying on your website.
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What is considered a good bounce rate?
As mentioned, a lower bounce rate can mean that your website is doing its job by providing engaging and useful content. Meanwhile, a higher bounce rate can mean that your website’s content may not be what visitors are looking for.
It’s important to note, though, that causes and interpretations of bounce rates tend to vary according to industry, as does the metric for what is considered a high or low bounce rate. Other aspects that may influence the bounce rate include: type of business, what country you’re based in and/or targeting, devices your site visitors are using.
The purpose of your website or web page(s) is also important to consider. For instance, a high bounce rate is not ideal if the point of your website is to have viewers spend time on it. Meaning, if your home page leads visitors to promotional articles, product pages, videos, or an eCommerce section, and a high percentage of visitors are leaving after only viewing your homepage, then a high bounce rate indicates trouble. However, if you have a single web page, like a landing page or blog, then single-page sessions are the norm, making a high bounce rate perfectly acceptable.
Why is bounce rate important?
Bounce rate signifies whether your website is effectively attracting and keeping the attention of the right visitors, i.e., potential customers or clients. If you have a high bounce rate, and potential users are leaving before they can truly view your product, you should try to identify the issue with your website and understand what aspects of your site need changing.
Also, a high bounce rate can indicate to Google that your site is not providing the proper answer to searchers. If that’s the case, the search engine may no longer rank your website quite as high in its search results. This can lead to fewer people finding your site and, ultimately, less exposure and fewer people doing business with you. Therefore, bounce rate is an important metric to know about and use when assessing whether your website is fulfilling its objective.
To learn more, check out our blog article on bounce rate.