9 Bounce Rate Statistics That Will Influence Your Digital Marketing
In today’s digital landscape, where attention spans are fleeting and competition for user engagement is fierce, understanding bounce rates has become essential for website owners, marketers, and anyone striving to create an impact online.
Now of course, bounce rates don’t exist in a vacuum, there are dozens of other metrics that need to be considered when judging what ‘performance’ looks like. It is, however, one of the most important key performance indicators (KPIs) in the world of digital marketing – in the paid (PPC and paid social) and organic worlds (SEO).
So here, we’ll be looking at what bounce rates are, and offering up nine compelling statistics which show just how high of a regard this KPI should be held.
If you’re sick of high bounce rates or a lack of high-quality leads, we can help. Our digital marketing experts have tried and true methods of lowering bounce rates, be it through engaging content, captivating landing pages, or enticing adverts. Get in touch by email at [email protected], call us on 0161 327 2635 or hit the contact button below.
So, What Is a Bounce Rate?
A bounce rate is a defined percentage of visitors who leave a website after viewing only a single page. Understanding the bounce rate of a website can help businesses understand crucial insights about user behaviour and the effectiveness of a website’s content, design, and user experience. Overall, it provides a snapshot of how well a website captures and retains the interest of its audience.
Before we look more into bounce rates – It’s important to note that in Google Analytics 4 (GA4) there is no longer a bounce rate metric, instead you have ‘engagement rate’, we share more on this later in the blog. If you’d like to understand more about GA4 before the 1st of July, contact our team of experts on 0161 327 2635.
Bounce Rate Statistics
Is my bounce rate any good?
- HubSpot states that the average bounce rate is between 26% and 70%, with anywhere between 20% and 40% being considered the optimal range.
- A bounce rate of anything above 46% is considered high.
- Bounce rates vary across industries. SEMrush have found that bounce rates for E-commerce and retail sites are between 20% and 45%. Whereas, for lead generation websites their bounce rates are 30% to 55%.
- For traffic source, social media has a high bounce rate at 54%.
Mobile Devices and Bounce Rate
- Your bounce rate could vary depending on the user’s device. For example, Contentsquare found that mobile devices have the highest bounce rate at 51%.
- As your page load speed increases from 1 to 5 seconds, as does your bounce rate by 90%.
- If your web pages take longer than 3 seconds to load, 53% of mobile users will bounce.
The Impact of Content on Bounce Rates
- Blog pages tend to have higher bounce rates, and can go up to 90%.
- 61% of website users say if they don’t find what they’re looking for in 5 seconds, they’ll go to another website.
Make Way for the New ‘Bounce Rate’
In July this year, Google Universal Analytics will no longer collect data, as they officially launch Google Analytics 4 (GA4). As part of this migration, the bounce rate metric has been updated and will instead be known as the ‘engagement rate’ metric. This change is to help combat some of the issues that came from measuring bounce rate, as engagement rate includes sessions where a visitor converted or spent at least 10 seconds on the page, in order to give a more rounded picture.
How Do I Find My Engagement Rate?
Sign into your GA4 account and click on the following steps:
- In the left-hand menu select ‘Acquisition’ within the reports section.
- Then click ‘View User acquisition’, here you’ll find all your engagement data.
Once you find your engagement rate, you might want to keep track of it to see how it changes based on updates to your website and wider updates from platforms like Google. As more users migrate to GA4, we expect more data and statistics to be identified, but for now we’ve found that B2B websites should aim for an engagement rate of 63% and above, and B2C websites 71% and above.
How Can I Improve My Engagement Rate?
Now you might be looking at some of the stats above and thinking, my bounce rate/engagement rate needs some work. So here are a few ways to make some improvements:
- Make sure your website loads quickly. Google’s Core Web Vitals scores can show just how quick or slow your website is and the elements which are having the big impacts.
- Design with UX and UI in mind. Your engagement rate is determined by how users engage with your website, therefore if your website design doesn’t provide a great user experience then you’re going to have a poor engagement rate. Take a look at more information about UX and UI here.
- Use breadcrumbs and have a clear navigation structure. Users can’t engage with your website if they can’t understand how to move from the different pages. Having breadcrumbs on your pages, can show users their journey from page to page and make it easier for them to go back.
- Write engaging and helpful content. It might sound simple but the more engaging your content is, the more likely your users will stick around and engage. Therefore ensure your messaging is clear, interesting and relevant. There’s nothing worse for a user than finding a page which they need, to find out it’s not actually helpful at all.
- Be mobile friendly. Remember, a large number of web users are using mobile devices, so your website should be optimised for smaller screens as well as desktops.
Conclusion
We hope those bounce rate statistics have given you valuable insights into the significance of understanding the importance of user engagement and experience when it comes to creating a compelling and high-performing website.
However, it is important to remember that bounce/engagement rates alone do not tell the full story. It is crucial to consider them within the broader context of website goals and objectives. Sometimes, a high bounce/engagement rate may not necessarily indicate failure but could signify that users have found the information they were seeking on the first page itself.
Ultimately, understanding your own bounce/engagement rate and the statistics above, should help you make some informed decisions on how to adapt and improve your digital strategies and overall website performance. If you’re still unsure about how to improve your website performance or digital strategy, then please get in touch with our team of experts who will be more than happy to help.