Bounce rate: what it is and how to improve it

Whenever users suddenly abandon your website, they leave you with unanswered questions: why did they bounce? And what could you have done differently? 

Whether they can’t find what they’re looking for or just don’t like what they see, unlocking the secrets to keeping users on your website longer begins with one essential metric: bounce rate.

Your site’s bounce rate helps you pinpoint where to focus your digital and content marketing efforts, and when combined with qualitative behavior analytics, it enables you to understand what is and isn’t working on your website, so you can increase your page visits and user engagement alike.

Not sure what to make of your bounce rate? We’ll walk you through what it means, how to calculate it, and how to use it to create a site that keeps users engaged.

What is bounce rate?

Your website’s bounce rate is the percentage of user sessions that begin and end on the same page of your site. 

One bounce rate example is when a visitor lands on a certain page and leaves soon after without any interaction—like clicking on a call-to-action (CTA) or navigating to another page. That’s a bounce and it increases your website’s bounce rate.

How to calculate your bounce rates

To determine a page’s bounce rate, divide your number of bounces (also known as unengaged single-page sessions) by your number of total sessions.

Bounce rate = single-page sessions / total sessions

For example, if 100 users land on your ecommerce site’s homepage (total sessions) and 5 of them exit without interacting or navigating further through your site (single-page sessions), your homepage’s bounce rate is 5%.

Remember, bounce rates are just one piece of the puzzle of your website’s performance. Take a glance at other metrics—like time on site, engagement rate, and conversion rate—and include qualitative data, such as user behavior, in your analysis to understand how users interact with your site—and why. 

❗How Google Analytics calculates bounce rates

In Google Analytics 4 (GA4), bounce rate is redefined as a metric that measures the percentage of unengaged sessions on your website or app. 

For a session to be considered engaged, it has to last longer than 10 seconds, trigger a conversion event, or include a second pageview or screenview. Anything less than that is considered a bounce. 

To learn more about how GA4 calculates bounce rate, find out what that means (or doesn’t mean) for your website, and how to investigate a higher bounce rate, read the bounces and bounce rate entry in our Google Analytics glossary

What is a good bounce rate?

Typically, a bounce rate of 40% or lower is considered good, while anything above 55% is deemed high and may signal a need to address whatever is not currently working for your users.

While you want your bounce rate to be on the low end, it’s important to remember that what that looks like depends on your industry. Check out our 2025 Digital Experience Benchmarks report for benchmarks and don’t forget to take into account other factors—like seasonality, page type, or traffic source. 

That way, you’ll know that the numbers you’re seeing are objectively good or bad, according to your industry’s standards.

Sample bounce rates from the Contentsquare 2025 Digital Experience Benchmarks report

How to make sense of your bounce rate

Now you know what a high bounce rate is. But what can you actually do about it?

A high or low bounce rate only tells you that a certain number of users landed on your web page and then left the site without going any further. But it doesn't tell you how someone interacted with your page or why they chose to leave.

You may have issues with the user experience, site content, user engagement, or page layout that need investigating. Or it could mean that your landing page is irrelevant or confusing to users. 

You could keep guessing or you could take practical steps to see what’s behind your high bounce rates and uncover patterns that show you how to fix the problem.

If you want to understand both the what and why behind user interactions, Contentsquare brings together web analytics and behavior insights in one place:

✅ Identify problem areas: spot pages with high bounce rates or drop-offs using Journey Analysis

✅ See what’s happening: use Heatmaps to visualize where users click, scroll, or hesitate

✅ Hear from your users: trigger exit-intent surveys to capture feedback right before they leave

✅ Replay the experience: watch session replays to see exactly what users do before they bounce

✅ Connect the dots: use your collected insights to link quantitative data with behavioral insights to uncover friction points and optimize your site with confidence

Contentsquare helps you know your users’ every move and deliver
 experiences they love—all from one place

There's no one-size-fits-all solution to reduce bounce rates. But knowing what they are and how they can inform your conversion rate optimization (CRO) strategy helps you ensure your website's success. 

FAQs about bounce rate