Bounce Rate in Google Analytics 4

If you're using Google Analytics 4 (GA4), you might have noticed that bounce rate isn't included in the standard reports by default. And you’re probably wondering – how can you understand if people leave or stick around on your landing pages? Good news. You’re in the right place!

What is Bounce Rate?

Bounce rate is the percentage of sessions where people view a single page and leave without engaging further. Traditionally, if two people visited your website and viewed only one page each, and two people viewed two pages each, you would have a bounce rate of 50% – half of the sessions contained a single page view.

Bounce rate is calculated by dividing the number of non-engaged sessions by the total number of sessions. A non-engaged session typically occurs when someone lands on your website and leaves without interacting with the page or spending a meaningful amount of time.

How is Bounce Rate Calculated in Google Analytics 4?

In Google Analytics 4, bounce rate is based on the percentage of sessions that are not considered engaged. A session is considered engaged if any of the following occur:

• The session lasts longer than 10 seconds
• The session includes two or more page views
• The session includes at least one conversion

This means bounce rate in GA4 represents sessions that didn't meet any of these engagement criteria. For example, if you had ten sessions and three of them were not engaged, the bounce rate would be 30%.

3 non-engaged sessions / 10 total sessions = 30% bounce rate

Where is Bounce Rate in Google Analytics 4?

Bounce rate is available in GA4, but you’ll need to add it manually to your reports or use an exploration report to access it. It’s not included in the standard reports by default.

Here's a tutorial that walks you through adding bounce rate to your reports in GA4:

Should You Use Bounce Rate or Engagement Rate?

While bounce rate is useful, it can be even more insightful to focus on engagement rate. Engagement rate measures the percentage of sessions that involved meaningful interaction. It shifts the focus toward what’s working, rather than just what’s not working.

That being said, you might find using both metrics helpful depending on your analysis goals in GA4.

Key Considerations When Interpreting Bounce Rate

1. Balance Engagement and Bounce Rates: Reviewing both metrics can help you uncover website issues, improve the user experience, and guide better marketing decisions.
2. Landing Page Analysis: If a landing page has a high bounce rate and a high exit rate, it can indicate that visitors aren't finding what they expect or aren't compelled to take action.
3. Understanding Exit Rates: Remember – bounce rate and exit rate are different. Exit rate shows where users leave after browsing multiple pages, whereas bounce rate captures single-page sessions without further interaction.

Actionable Insights

Reviewing bounce rates can highlight areas where your content or calls-to-action could be improved. However, balancing bounce rate with engagement rate and other behavior metrics can give you a more complete picture of how people interact with your website.

Other useful metrics to include in your analysis are:

• Page Views: To see how many pages people visit per session.
• Engagement Rate: To understand active user interaction.
• Key Event Rate: To track important actions like form submissions or purchases.
• Average Engagement Time: To measure how long people are engaged with your content.

How Can You Reduce Bounce Rate?

Reducing bounce rate means encouraging visitors to engage more deeply with your content. Here’s how you can achieve this:

1. Understand Your Audience: Create content that speaks to their needs and interests.
2. Craft Strong Headlines: Your headlines should grab attention and accurately reflect the content.
3. Deliver Value: Offer unique insights, actionable tips, and meaningful solutions.
4. Enhance Visual Appeal: Use high-quality images, videos, and graphics to keep visitors interested.
5. Encourage Interaction: Include questions, CTAs, and opportunities for visitors to engage with your site.
6. Optimize for Mobile: Ensure your site is fast and easy to navigate on all devices.

What Are the Alternatives to Bounce Rate?

Engagement Rate

The best alternative in GA4 is ‘Engagement Rate’. It measures the percentage of sessions that meet meaningful interaction criteria, offering a more positive and action-oriented view of user behavior.

You’ll find engagement rate in several default reports, including:

• Demographic Details: Under 'Reports' → 'Demographics'
• Google Organic Search Traffic: If you’ve linked Search Console

You can also edit other reports to include engagement rate if you have edit or admin access in GA4.

Views Per User

‘Views Per User’ shows how many pages, on average, each visitor sees during their session. This can be another way to understand user behavior and how well your content encourages exploration.

For example:

3 page views / 2 users = 1.5 views per user

Other Helpful Metrics

• Entrances: Where people start their session on your site.
• Exits: Where people leave your site after browsing.
• Conversions: How many people complete desired actions.
• Average Engagement Time: How long users actively interact with your content.
• Unique User Scrolls: How many users scroll through 90% of your pages.

What Is the Difference Between Bounce Rate and Exit Rate?

While both metrics measure when people leave your site, they tell different stories:

• Bounce Rate: Percentage of sessions with only one page view and no meaningful engagement.
• Exit Rate: Percentage of users who leave your site after viewing a specific page, regardless of prior activity.

By reviewing both metrics, you can uncover opportunities to optimize content, guide users to additional pages, and improve conversion paths.

Bounce Rate vs Engagement Rate vs Exit Rate

It can sometimes be tricky to know which metric to focus on. Here's a quick table comparing bounce rate, engagement rate, and exit rate to make things easier:

Which Is Better: Bounce Rate or Engagement Rate?

Both metrics have their place. However, engagement rate generally offers a clearer, more actionable understanding of how well your content resonates with visitors. In GA4, it’s easy to focus on engagement rate while still customizing reports to show bounce rate if needed – just remember the bounce rate in GA4 is a reimagined version focused on true engagement, not just page views.