Bounce rate is a metric that tells you how many visitors left your website after viewing just one page—without clicking, scrolling further, or taking any action. In other words, they came, they saw… and then they left.
It’s one of the core engagement metrics in analytics tools like Google Analytics, and it helps you understand how well your content is holding people’s attention.
If your bounce rate is high, it could be a sign that something’s off—maybe your page isn’t relevant, the design is confusing, or the content just didn’t hit the mark.
How bounce rate is calculated
The formula is simple:
Bounce Rate = (Single-page visits ÷ Total entries to that page) × 100
So if 100 people land on a blog post and 60 leave without doing anything else, your bounce rate is 60%.
What’s a “good” bounce rate?
It depends on the type of page and your goals. Here’s a rough guide:
- Landing page with a form: 70–90% is common
- Blog post: 60–80% (especially if users are coming from search)
- Homepage: Ideally under 50%
- E-commerce product pages: 40–60%
A high bounce rate doesn’t always mean something is wrong—it can also mean the visitor found what they needed quickly. That said, consistently high bounce rates across your site usually point to issues worth investigating.
Why bounce rate matters
As a business owner, bounce rate helps you:
- Measure user engagement
- Spot pages that aren’t performing well
- Identify mismatches between expectation and reality (e.g. the headline promises one thing, the content delivers another)
- Optimize your conversion funnel
If visitors are bouncing, you’re losing potential leads or customers before they’ve had a chance to explore what you offer.
Common reasons for a high bounce rate
- Slow page load times
If your site takes more than a few seconds to load, many users will just leave. - Poor mobile experience
If your site isn’t mobile-friendly, mobile users will bounce quickly. - Weak content or unclear messaging
If users don’t immediately understand what you do or why it matters, they’ll move on. - No call to action (CTA)
If you don’t guide users toward a next step—like clicking a button, reading more, or filling out a form—they might not know what to do next. - Misleading links or titles
If someone clicks a link expecting one thing and gets something else, they’ll bounce out of frustration.
How to reduce bounce rate
- Improve your page speed
- Use clear headlines and messaging
- Add internal links to keep visitors moving through your site
- Make your CTAs obvious and relevant
- Ensure a great experience on all devices
- Match content to search intent (deliver what your headline promises)
Bottom line
Bounce rate gives you a window into user behavior. It doesn’t tell the full story on its own, but when paired with other data—like time on site or conversion rate—it helps you spot where your site might be losing people too soon. If your bounce rate is high, don’t panic—but do dig deeper.
