Are you checking out your analytics on GA4 and wondering what it all means? We’ve got you covered. Two of the most important bits of data to keep your eye on are your website engagement rate, and your bounce rate. 

What is bounce rate in Google Analytics?

A high bounce rate. It’s something that sends a shiver down any digital marketer’s spine.

According to Google, bounce rate “Percentage of sessions that were not engaged sessions. For example, if a user visits your website, reviews content on your homepage for less than 10 seconds, and then leaves without triggering any events or visiting any other pages or screens, then the session will count as a bounce.

An engaged session is a session that lasts 10 seconds or longer, has 1 or more conversion events, or has 2 or more page or screen views. If a user doesn’t have an engaged session (that is, they don’t meet any of the criteria for an engaged session), then Google Analytics counts the session as a bounce.”

When it comes to bounce rates, it’s worth asking yourself these key questions…Just because a user bounced off your page, it doesn’t mean they were disappointed by what they found. In fact, it can often be the opposite.

Put yourself in your audience’s shoes for a second. Imagine you’re searching for the address of a shop you’re interested in visiting. After a quick Google search, you land on a page telling you the right location – you’re satisfied, so you exit the page and head to the store later on.

A bounce could well mean you’ve provided the answer your audience is searching for. If you’ve designed your page with conversion in mind, however, a bounce isn’t ideal – but we’ll touch on that later.

So, what’s the deal with bounce rates?

A bounce in itself isn’t necessarily negative. But if your page is geared towards a specific action and has a consistently high bounce rate, you could be missing a trick. And while a bounce doesn’t always mean there’s a problem with your page, you’ll still ideally want to keep your audience hanging around.

Engagement rate GA4

The engagement rate GA4 provides is measured in terms of engaged sessions and is essentially the opposite of bounce rate. This time, the website engagement rate is the percentage of engaged sessions. The higher the website engagement rate, the more customers are browsing and/or converting on your site. 

What is a good engagement rate in Google Analytics?

To be matching the average engagement rates of other businesses, you need to have a website engagement rate of 53%. To maximise conversions, you should have an engagement rate anywhere over this, and if not, here’s what you can do

How to reduce bounce rate and increase website engagement rate

Improve your site speed

A slow-loading page is one of the top reasons people quickly exit a page. Plus, site speed is something Google uses to rank your page – so a fast-loading page is essential.

Keep your content relevant

Clickbait headlines and irrelevant keywords could initially lure your audience in. But if your content fails to answer their question, they’ll probably bounce. Likewise, if your page doesn’t relate closely to your brand or products, it’s likely your audience will stray.

Gear the page towards an action

If you’re measuring the conversions on a page, it makes sense to keep your call-to-action in a prominent position.

Optimise your navigation

An easy-to-use menu and simple navigation will help your audience choose where to go next. A messy page with software glitches is likely to increase your bounce rate.

Boost your engagement rate with Candidsky

Now you know how website engagement rate works, if you need support then don’t hesitate to get in touch. Ready to discuss digital? Contact us today and we’ll get back to you in no time!

Want to see the benefits of SEO and improve your rankings? Take a look at our SEO services. We’ll create a data-driven SEO Strategy that works for you and propels your business’s rankings! Just view our case studies to see how effective our campaigns have been.