The term “bounce rate” or in English “bounce rate” refers to the percentage of visitors to a website who leave the page after viewing just a single page without taking any other action on the website (such as clicking on links, filling out a form, etc.).
This metric is often used to measure the effectiveness of a website and to understand how well or poorly a page meets visitors' expectations. A high bounce rate can indicate that the page isn't relevant or appealing enough for visitors, or that the page isn't designed effectively enough to encourage visitors to engage further.
Possible values and their meaning
The bounce rate rating depends on the content and goal of the website. For commercial offers, it is often recommended that the rate should not be below 50%. Sites of well-known brands and institutions that are targeted typically have a lower bounce rate. Google Ads landing pages, on the other hand, often have higher rates because users quickly decide whether the ad was relevant or not.
What does a high bounce rate mean?
A high bounce rate doesn't necessarily have to be a problem. Users may be able to find the information they are looking for immediately on the landing page find and do not need any further interactions. For example, someone could just be looking for contact information. In other cases, however, it is desirable to keep visitors on the page longer. A high rate can then be rated as negative.
Relation to length of stay
The length of stay is particularly important for landing pages, as longer stays can potentially increase sales. Event tracking in tools such as Google Analytics can help measure actual interactions and influence bounce rate and length of stay.
How can the bounce rate be improved?
To improve the bounce rate, website operators can:
- optimize the page load time,
- Reduce the number of ads
- revise the design of the website,
- Adjust the page title and keywords
- Simplify navigation
- Provide more relevant content.
Difference from exit rate
The exit rate describes the proportion of users who leave the website after visiting more than one page. It shows from which pages visitors leave the website. A high exit rate isn't always negative, depending on the page's function.
Bounce rate benchmarks
- 40-60% for content websites (excluding e-commerce)
- 60-90% for landing pages
- 20-45% for B2C e-commerce websites
- 10-40% for retail websites
- 70-98% for blog posts
- 25-55% for B2B websites
- 65-90% for dictionaries and news sites
Influence on search engine optimization
It is disputed whether the bounce rate directly influences the ranking in search engines. The SERP return rate is often considered more relevant. Nevertheless, a high bounce rate can show how user-friendly and relevant a website is for specific search queries.
