What is Bounce Rate?

Bounce rate is the percentage of visitors who land on your page and leave without clicking to another page on your site. If 100 people visit your blog post and 65 leave without clicking anything else, your bounce rate is 65%.

Bounce rate isn't inherently bad. Sometimes a visitor finds exactly what they need and leaves satisfied. Other times, they bounce because the content didn't match their expectations or solve their problem.

Why bounce rate matters

Bounce rate can signal whether your content matches search intent and whether readers find it valuable. High bounce rate might mean your content doesn't match what the visitor expected, it's hard to read or navigate, or your page loads too slowly. Low bounce rate might mean your content engages readers who want to explore more, or you have strong internal links that guide visitors deeper.

Context matters. A complete answer to "what is SEO?" might have high bounce rate because you answered the question perfectly - the visitor got what they needed and left satisfied. That's fine. A comprehensive guide with high bounce rate suggests people aren't finding it useful.

Different content types have different normal bounce rates. Blog posts often have 60-80% bounce rates. Landing pages might be 40-60%. Homepage might be 30-50%. Compare your bounce rate to similar content, not across all page types.

How to reduce bounce rate

Match search intent closely. If someone searches for a definition, give them a definition upfront, not 800 words of preamble. Make your content scannable with clear headings, short paragraphs, and visual breaks. Improve page speed - slow pages drive visitors away before content even loads.

Add relevant internal links that guide readers to related content naturally. Include clear next steps at the end of posts. If your post answered their question, what question do they likely have next? Link to that. Fix any misleading meta descriptions that set wrong expectations about your content.