The bounce rate, also known as the bounce rate, is a fundamental key figure in the Web analysis, which measures the percentage of website visitors who have visited a Domain after accessing just a single page without carrying out any further interactions. It provides important insights into user interaction and the relevance of a website's content.
What is a bounce and how is the bounce rate calculated?
A bounce is usually defined as a single-page session in which a user enters and leaves a website without performing any further actions on the page or making any additional requests to the website operator. Analytics server to be triggered. This means that the user cannot internal links clicked, filled out forms or accessed other subpages. The time spent on such a single-page session is often calculated by analytics systems as 0 seconds, as there are no subsequent interactions to measure.
The bounce rate is calculated as a percentage of all sessions in which only one page was viewed and follows the following formula:
(number of jumps / total number of sessions) * 100 %
It is important to distinguish the bounce rate from the exit rate. While the bounce rate only looks at single page sessions, the exit rate measures the percentage of users who leave a particular page last within a session, regardless of how many pages were visited previously.
Importance of the bounce rate for SEO and optimization
The bounce rate is an important signal for search engines and website operators. A low rate generally indicates that the content is relevant to the visitor and that they are engaging with the offer in more depth. A high bounce rate, on the other hand, can be an indicator of insufficient user-friendliness or irrelevant content, which can have an indirect negative impact on the website's long-term success. Ranking in the Search results can have an effect.
The interpretation of the bounce rate always requires consideration of the context, as a high rate does not always have to be negative. For example, a high bounce rate is normal for single-page websites, blogs or pages with contact details, where the user quickly finds the information they are looking for and leaves the page.
Common reasons for a high bounce rate are:
- Irrelevant content or lack of correspondence with the user's search intention.
- Long Loading times of the website.
- Lack of mobile optimization or bad Responsive design.
- Poor usability, confusing design or complex navigation.
- Too many or annoying advertisements.
- Technical errors, such as an incorrectly implemented Tracking code.
To optimize the bounce rate, a webmaster should continuously improve the quality and relevance of their content, optimize loading times, ensure an appealing and user-friendly design and create clear Call-to-actions (CTAs) and implement a logical internal link.
The assessment of what constitutes a „good“ bounce rate varies greatly depending on the industry and page type. Benchmarks suggest that values between 26 % and 40 % are often considered optimal, 41 % to 55 % are considered average and rates above 70 % are considered high, with exceptions such as special Landing pages (up to 90 %) or blogs are possible.
