What is bounce rate?
SEO Definition and Examples
Bounce rate is the percentage of visitors who land on a page and leave without interacting with other pages, indicating the page's relevance and quality.
Full Definition: What is bounce rate
Bounce rate is the percentage of sessions in which the user visited a single page and left with no further interaction. In Google Analytics 4 (GA4) it is replaced by "Engagement Rate" (the inverse). A high bounce rate (>80%) is not necessarily bad — it depends on the page type: a contact page with a 90% bounce is normal (they found the number and called). An informative article with a 95% bounce is worrying.
Why Does Bounce Rate Matter for SEO?
Google does not officially confirm that bounce rate is a ranking factor. But a high bounce rate combined with a short time on page ("pogo-sticking" — the user quickly returns to Google) signals that the page did not satisfy the search — an indirect negative signal.
Source: Google Analytics 4 — EngagementFrequently Asked Questions about Bounce Rate
Related Terms
Organic CTR (Click-Through Rate)
IntermediateOrganic CTR is the percentage of users who click your Google result out of all who see it — a key indicator of how effective your titles and metas are.
SERP (Search Engine Results Page)
BeginnerThe SERP is the results page Google shows after a search, including organic results, paid ads, featured snippets, the Local Pack and other special formats.
Search Intent
BeginnerSearch intent is the purpose behind a Google search — why the user is searching that term: to learn, to compare, to buy or to navigate to a specific site.
On-Page SEO
BeginnerOn-page SEO covers all the optimizations made directly on your site's pages — titles, headings, content, meta descriptions and URL structure.
Put Bounce Rate into practice
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