What is bounce rate in web analytics?

Bounce rate in web analytics refers to the percentage of visitors who leave a website after only viewing a single page without interacting further with the site’s content. This metric is significant because it helps assess how engaging and relevant the content on the landing page is; a high bounce rate may indicate that visitors did not find what they were looking for or that the content did not meet their expectations.

Understanding bounce rate is vital for digital marketers and webmasters, as it directly affects user experience and can impact search engine rankings. A lower bounce rate typically suggests that users are finding value in the site and are encouraged to explore additional pages, while a higher rate may necessitate improvements to content, layout, or user engagement strategies.

The other choices reflect different web analytics concepts; for example, total time spent on a website addresses overall engagement but does not specify whether users are interacting with multiple pages or just one. Similarly, the average number of pages viewed per visitor relates to user behavior but does not capture the exit behavior that bounce rate does. These metrics serve different analytical purposes in understanding user engagement with a site.