What is a Bounce Rate?
The percentage of visitors who leave after viewing only one page.
How Bounce Rate Works
Bounce rate is the percentage of website sessions where the visitor viewed only one page before leaving. It's calculated by dividing single-page sessions by total sessions. A high bounce rate often indicates visitors didn't find what they expected or the page failed to engage them.
However, bounce rate interpretation depends on context. A high bounce rate on a blog post might be fine if visitors got their answer. A high bounce rate on a landing page designed to drive conversions is problematic. In GA4, bounce rate has been replaced by "engagement rate" (the inverse), which considers multiple factors beyond single-page sessions. To reduce bounce rate, ensure message match between ads and landing pages, improve page load speed, create compelling content, and provide clear next steps.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Bounce Rate?
The percentage of visitors who leave after viewing only one page.
Bounce rate is the percentage of website sessions where the visitor viewed only one page before leaving. It's calculated by dividing single-page sessions by total sessions. A high bounce rate often indicates visitors didn't find what they expected or the page failed to engage them.
Why is Bounce Rate important?
Bounce rate reveals whether your pages deliver on visitor expectations and engage them enough to continue exploring. High bounce rates on landing pages signal fundamental problems with message match, value proposition, or user experience that directly impact campaign efficiency. However, bounce rate must be interpreted in context—a 70% bounce rate might be excellent for blog content but terrible for e-commerce product pages.
How do you calculate Bounce Rate?
Bounce Rate = (Single-Page Sessions ÷ Total Sessions) × 100. For example, if you had 2,000 sessions and 800 were single-page sessions, your bounce rate is (800 ÷ 2,000) × 100 = 40%.