What is Bounce rate and why does it matter? In the simplest terms Bounce rate (not to be confused with exit rate) is a term used in web site traffic analysis and popularized by Google Analytics. What it essentially represents is the percentage of initial visitors to a site who “bounce away” to a another site, rather than continue on to other pages within the same domain. The formula used to calculate bounce rate is: Bounce Rate = Single Page Access/ Entries. The higher the “bounce rate” the more likely a visitor comes to your site, sees nothing they like and moves on (and possibly to your competitor). Think of it as a metric to measure visit quality.

Now that we understand bounce rate, we must examine, why does it matter? Well, it tells you that you might be wasting money with your ad copy or that your SEO keyword targeting is wrong. The goal is minimize bounce rates by tailoring the landing pages to the keyword or the advertisements you have online that satisfy your visitors. Landing pages should provide the information and services that are “promised” (as Google suggests).

We should now add a crucial warning, before you start fretting over your bounce rate. The measurement needs to be interpreted relative to what are the websites objective. For example on an e-commerce website, where the main goal is to sell products, then bounce rate should be a primary concern (and a useful measurement). If it’s high, it means you have lots of tire-kickers, and nothing more. If you run a site offering services, then the goal is for the customer to make contact via email or phone, not conversions. This means these types of site will have higher bounce rates. What needs to be watched carefully in this case are the amount of visitors viewing one page of your site, but not contacting you. Other types of sites with high bounce rates will be blogs and article sites. Most visitors come to read a particular topic and usually find what they need immediately on page the enter. Other categories with high bounce rates are pages that may be used as start pages, which are informational pages that contain, stock prices, sports scores or weather. The page might do its job, but it might have a bounce rate above 80%, bringing up the average for the whole site. For such sites, metrics such as returning visitors vs. new visitors is a better statistic to track.

In the end, before “bounce rate” becomes an obsession, keep in mind all the variables. There is no “magic” bounce rate number. Your goal is to keep it low. Wide variations day to day, as well as sites that do not budge at all, should be a concern. Other then that, pay attention to trends, analyze your traffic and if necessary consider getting into contact Mark8t E-Marketing Solutions to help you bring your bounce rate down.