Bounce Rate
The percentage of visitors who leave a webpage without taking any action — no clicks, no scrolls, no interactions — indicating the page failed to engage them.
Bounce rate is one of the most misunderstood metrics in analytics. In Google Analytics 4, it's been redefined as the inverse of engagement rate — a session is "bounced" if it lasted less than 10 seconds, had no conversion events, and had no additional pageviews.
When High Bounce Rate Is Fine
A high bounce rate isn't automatically bad. Blog posts, recipe pages, and FAQ pages often have high bounce rates because the user got what they needed and left. That's a success, not a failure. Bounce rate is only meaningful in the context of intent.
When Bounce Rate Signals a Problem
For landing pages, product pages, and conversion-focused pages, a high bounce rate means your page failed to create enough interest or trust to continue. Common causes: slow page load, messaging mismatch with the traffic source, unclear value proposition, or visual clutter.
The Metric Hiring Managers Ask About
In CRO interviews, bounce rate questions test whether you understand context. A good analyst never says "we need to reduce bounce rate" without specifying which pages, which traffic sources, and what the expected behavior should be. Segmented bounce rate by source is far more useful than aggregate bounce rate.
Practical Application
Segment bounce rate by traffic source, device type, and page. Paid traffic to landing pages should have lower bounce rates than organic blog traffic. Mobile bounce rates are typically 10-20% higher than desktop. Use these segments to identify genuine problems versus normal behavior.