Bounce Rate
In online marketing, simply looking at the pure click numbers of a website is not sufficient for web analysis. Other metrics that contribute to measuring success are also needed. This includes the bounce rate, referred to in German as Absprungrate, as it describes, among other things, the duration of a user's stay on a page. It should not be confused with the exit rate—both metrics, however, are relevant for analyzing web behavior with Google Analytics.
Bounce rate in web analytics
For webmasters and search engine optimizers, the bounce rate is an important metric to optimize websites, advertising campaigns, and landing pages. The bounce rate is a value that measures the proportion of website visitors who only stay on one page and do not access any other articles or categories of the website. Furthermore, it includes those visitors whose duration on certain pages is very short and who leave the website again within 5 to 10 seconds. The exit rate describes the proportion of users who exit on a specific page, thus stopping their web activity on the website. This may be because the user did not find what he was looking for in his search - but it does not have to be. A case-by-case analysis is always required here. On the other hand, a high bounce rate clearly indicates that something is wrong with the website.
The importance of bounce rate for SEO: why search engines take a look at it
If a visitor jumps back from the page just a few seconds after the website has just fully loaded, and this happens with many page views, it is referred to as a high bounce rate. And a high bounce rate is generally considered negative for SEO, as it implies unattractive web offerings for a large number of visitors. If only a few internet users leave the website after a few seconds, it can be considered isolated cases—the offering did not fit in this individual case. However, a high bounce rate indicates that many users do not find the offering attractive. For search engine optimization, this means that landing pages, keywords, and advertising campaigns need to be reviewed. Google definitely recognizes a high bounce rate and evaluates it as an indication that a page does not meet customer needs. This can certainly affect rankings in the SERPs.
How high a "high" bounce rate of a page is depends on the topic and industry of the website. When interpreting the values, it is important to pay attention, among other things, to whether they are new visitors or known users. Accordingly, it is important to conduct the analysis carefully with Google Analytics.
Possible approaches for page optimization with a high bounce rate
Of course, there are always individual reasons why visitors bounce from a web offer, but certain sections should generally be optimized. If the bounce rate is high, it is worth taking a look at the web design and content. The following can lead to a high bounce rate:
Poor content (Important: the search engine Google fundamentally values high-quality content)
Content that does not deliver what was promised (associated Black Hat SEO methods are penalized by Google)
Bad design of the website
Long scrolling before the offer is visible
And of course, long loading times also affect the bounce rate. If a page takes excessively long to load, many users are tempted to leave again.
Basics of designing a page to reduce the bounce rate
The page design should be clear and lead quickly to the goal, especially on single pages, to reduce the bounce rate. The content should not only be written for a good ranking but must also satisfy the reader and give them what they are looking for. If the bounce rate is high, even though the page design and content are appealing, you should check the tracking code in the source code. Sometimes improper integration can result in a too high bounce rate being measured.