Glossary

Bounce rate: definition and examples

In AnalyticFast, a bounce is a session with at most one pageview and no recorded goals. Bounce rate is the number of those sessions divided by all sessions in the selected scope.

Formula and example

Bounce rate = bounced sessions ÷ sessions × 100%

If 80 of 200 sessions have at most one pageview and zero goals, the bounce rate is 40%. The denominator is sessions, not unique visitors. One person can have several sessions, and those sessions can have different outcomes.

Reading time does not change this definition

A reader who spends five minutes on one useful article and records no goal can still be a bounce here. A single-page visitor who completes a recorded signup goal is not. Engaged time is useful alongside bounce rate, but it is not an extra condition in this implementation’s bounce calculation.

Why GA4 can show another number

GA4 defines bounce rate as the share of sessions that are not engaged, using its engagement conditions. Those conditions differ from the pageview-and-goal rule above. Do not treat a mismatch between tools as proof that either tracker is broken. See Google’s engagement and bounce definitions.

Use it to ask a more specific question

Compare the same landing page and source over equivalent periods. A documentation page may answer a question in one view; a signup page may need a meaningful completion goal. Check duplicate pageviews and goal implementation before celebrating a sudden drop. Avoid inventing a universal good bounce-rate benchmark across different kinds of pages.

Related definitions

• Conversion rate
• Revenue per visitor
• UTM parameters

Install AnalyticFast and connect verified revenue to use these definitions with your own data.