Bounce Rate

Bounce Rate is a common web analytics metric that represents the percentage of visitors who leave a website after viewing just one page, without exploring further or performing additional actions. A high bounce rate often signals that visitors did not find relevant information, the page experience was lacking, the content failed to meet expectations, or the page loaded too slowly.

That said, bounce rate should always be understood in context. Certain types of pages—such as blog posts, contact details, or FAQs—may naturally see higher bounce rates if they answer user intent on a single page. The metric is calculated by dividing the number of single-page sessions by the total number of sessions for a site or page.

Within the context of GEO and AI-powered search, bounce rate acts as an engagement indicator. Search engines and AI models may interpret a high bounce rate as a signal that content is not fulfilling user needs, reducing the chance of being referenced in AI-generated results. Conversely, a low bounce rate shows strong relevance and engagement, which can improve the likelihood of citation or mention.

Improving bounce rate typically involves aligning content closely with user intent, enhancing readability and clarity, improving site speed and performance, ensuring responsive design across devices, strengthening internal linking and navigation, and adding clear calls-to-action that encourage users to continue exploring the site.