Ever wonder why visitors are leaving your site without clicking anything?
That’s your bounce rate talking.
And I’m afraid it’s one of those metrics that quietly reveals how engaging—or not—your content really is.
What Is Bounce Rate, Anyway?
Bounce Rate is the percentage of users who land on a page and leave without taking any action.
No clicking.
No scrolling.
No exploring.
Just… in and out. Like they walked into a shop, looked around for 2 seconds, and walked straight back out the door.
What Causes a High Bounce Rate?
Here’s where it gets interesting.
A high bounce rate isn’t always bad, but in many cases, it signals a poor page experience or content mismatch.
Here are some common culprits:
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Slow-loading pages – Nobody’s waiting 10 seconds for your site to load.
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Misleading meta descriptions – You promised one thing but delivered something else. (Cough cough… Black Hat SEO strikes again.)
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Weak or irrelevant content – If your content doesn’t match the user’s intent, they’ll bounce.
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Poor mobile optimisation – Especially important with mobile-first indexing in full swing.
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No clear CTA (Call to Action) – If visitors don’t know what to do next, they won’t do anything.
How to Improve Your Bounce Rate
Let’s flip the script.
Here’s how you get people to stick around:
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Deliver value immediately
Your intro should scream “Yes, you’re in the right place!” within seconds. -
Optimise your layout for readability
Short paragraphs. Bold headings. White space. Make it scannable. -
Improve your content relevance
Match the content to the keyword and search intent. Want to know how? Start with solid keyword research. -
Use internal links to guide the journey
Keep readers moving deeper. Like this little prompt to explore what anchor text is all about. See what I did there? -
Boost loading speed
Because patience is dead and attention spans are shorter than ever.
What’s a “Good” Bounce Rate?
It depends on the page type.
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Blog posts often have higher bounce rates (70%+ is common)
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Landing pages should aim for under 50%
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Product pages? Lower is better—especially if you want conversions
But context is key.
Always compare like with like.
Bounce Rate vs Exit Rate
Don’t confuse the two.
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Bounce Rate = Left without clicking anything (only 1 page viewed)
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Exit Rate = Last page viewed in a multi-page session
Knowing the difference helps you analyse why and where users are leaving.
Final Takeaway
Your bounce rate is like your site’s vibe check.
If people keep bouncing, something’s off.
Fix the content, fix the structure, fix the speed—and they’ll start sticking around.
Simple as that.
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