Bounce rate is the percentage of visitors who land on a webpage and leave without taking any further action, like clicking on another page or interacting with the content. In other words, they “bounce” off the site after viewing only one page.

A high bounce rate isn’t always bad. For instance, if someone searches for a specific answer, finds it on your page, and leaves satisfied, that’s still a successful visit. But in other cases—like an e-commerce site—a high bounce rate could signal issues like poor navigation, slow load times, or irrelevant content.

Tracking this metric helps you understand user behavior and whether your content or site design encourages deeper engagement.

How is Bounce Rate Calculated?

It’s calculated by dividing the total number of single-page visits by the total number of entries (or sessions) to a website, then multiplying by 100 to get a percentage. Here’s the formula:

Bounce Rate (%) = (Single-Page Visits / Total Website Entries) × 100

For example, if 1,000 people visit your site and 400 of them leave without interacting with anything else, your bounce rate would be:

(400 / 1,000) × 100 = 40% bounce rate.

This metric helps you understand how engaging your content is and whether visitors are sticking around to explore more pages or take actions. A high one can suggest issues with content, page speed, or user experience, while a low one typically indicates visitors are engaging more deeply with your site.

What is a Good Bounce Rate?

A “good” bounce rate depends on the type of website and the goals of that site. Generally, lower ones indicate that users are more engaged, but here’s a rough guide:

• 40-60%: This is the average for most websites. It’s considered healthy, especially for blogs or content-driven sites where users often find what they need on one page.
• 20-40%: This is excellent and often found on e-commerce sites, landing pages with good UX, or highly engaging content. It means visitors are clicking through to other pages.
• 60-80%: This can be acceptable for certain types of sites, like single-page websites or blogs where users may read a post and leave.
• 80%+: Generally, this is considered high and could indicate issues.

The key is to compare your bounce rate against industry standards and monitor changes over time, rather than focusing on a single number.