Bounce Rate
Quick definition
In Google Analytics 4, bounce rate is the percentage of sessions that were not engaged sessions. It is the inverse of GA4 engagement rate.
Formula
Bounce Rate = Sessions That Were Not Engaged ÷ Sessions × 100
Formula variables
- Sessions That Were Not Engaged
- Sessions that did not meet Google Analytics 4's definition of an engaged session.
- Sessions
- All sessions in the period.
Worked example
- Sessions
- 10,000
- Sessions that were not engaged
- 4,300
4,300 ÷ 10,000 × 100
Result: 43%
43% of sessions were not engaged, so GA4 engagement rate is 57%. The figures are illustrative.
How definitions differ
- Universal Analytics (historical)
- Universal Analytics, the earlier version of Google Analytics, used a different definition of a bounce, so its bounce rate is not comparable with GA4's. Do not mix the two when comparing periods.
- Other tools
- Other analytics tools define bounce rate in their own ways. Check each tool's documentation.
- Not email bounce rate
- Email bounce rate measures undelivered email and is unrelated to this metric.
How to interpret it
Bounce rate flags sessions that GA4 did not count as engaged. What counts as an engaged session is defined by Google Analytics, so the number is only meaningful on that definition.
A high bounce rate is not automatically a problem: a page may answer a question fully in one visit. Judge it against the page's purpose.
When it is useful
- Finding landing pages whose visitors do not engage.
- Comparing the quality of traffic from different sources.
- Monitoring the effect of design and content changes.
Limitations
- The definition changed between Universal Analytics and GA4.
- It depends on Google Analytics' own definition of an engaged session.
- It does not say why a session was not engaged.
Common mistakes
- Comparing GA4 bounce rate with Universal Analytics figures.
- Treating every high bounce rate as a failure.
- Mixing it up with email bounce rate.