What is a bounce rate, and should a service business worry about it?
In Google Analytics, the bounce rate is the percentage of sessions, roughly visits, that were not engaged. A visit counts as engaged if it lasts longer than 10 seconds, has a key event, or has 2 or more page or screen views. A service business should not worry about a high number by itself, because a one-page visit that ends in a call can be a success. Judge pages by the inquiries they bring.
What Google means by bounce rate
Google's help page defines engagement rate and bounce rate in terms of engaged sessions. A session is roughly one visit, and it counts as engaged if it meets any one of three tests:
- It lasts longer than 10 seconds.
- It has a key event.
- It has 2 or more screen or page views.
The rate itself
Google says "The bounce rate is the opposite of the engagement rate." It is the percentage of sessions that were not engaged. Its example is a visitor who reads for less than 10 seconds and leaves without triggering an event or visiting another page. That visit is not engaged, and if it were the only one, the bounce rate would be 100%.
Google adds that most reports do not show these two metrics by default. Someone with an Editor or Administrator role can add them to a report.
Why a one-page visit that ends in a call is not a failure
Someone with a burst pipe may land on one page, see your number and call. That is the outcome you want, and it took one page. Under Google's definition, though, a quick visit like that counts as engaged only if it lasts longer than 10 seconds, has 2 or more views or includes a key event. So it can be counted as a bounce, unless the site records the tap on your number as a key event.
A visitor who reads your number off the screen and dials by hand may leave no sign in analytics at all. Ask whoever built the site whether form submissions and taps on your phone number are recorded as key events.
Judge pages by inquiries
What matters to a service business is how many people get in touch and whether they become customers. Count calls, forms and bookings by the page or source they came from. The related answers on conversion rate and on tracking phone call leads cover how, and the related answer on website analytics covers what analytics can and cannot tell you. A page with many visits and few inquiries is the one to look at, whatever its bounce rate says.
When a high bounce rate is worth a look
Google suggests checking whether low engagement is the same everywhere or limited to certain channels or pages. For a page, it suggests checking that the content fits the marketing that brings people there and that the page offers easy paths to the next step. Its example of a channel is visitors from display ads, where it suggests making sure the ads are relevant to your site content.
You will see figures quoted online for a good bounce rate. This answer gives none, because what is normal usually differs by kind of page. A page built to get a phone call and a long guide do different jobs. Compare a page with its own past instead.
Sources
Related answers
- Does a small business need website analytics?
- What is a conversion rate, and how do you improve it on a service website?
- How do you track leads that come in by phone?
Websites, upgraded or built
Most businesses do not need a new website. They need the one they have to load fast, say clearly what they do and ask the visitor to take one step.