Bounce Rate VS Exit Rate (Web Analytics)
This is my first post on the topic of WEB ANALYSIS. It mostly involves getting insights into clickstream data. Because data by itself is just a collection of numbers, what is required is to give meaning to it. Else it is all a waste. Thus we need to understand how to analyse this data collected from our website using various analysis softwares like google analytics, omniture, etc.
BOUNCE RATE- The basic definition means the % of sessions with only one page view. But if you think a little seriously about it, bounce rate shows the % of visitors who found nothing interesting on the page in simpler terms “useless”!! A grave concern for any website specially e-commerce.
I believe that the bounce rate gives the most perfect picture of your “website health”, if the bounce rate is high then your website is seriously “sick”! Literally sick! And if it is low then your website is in “good health”…Because when someone comes on to your site, the least you want out of them is to “engage” with you by atleast clicking on some god-damn-shit on your page! Else whats the use of putting all those things on your page!
Typical bounce rates hover around 50% for a decent website
BEWARE! BOUNCE RATE IS DIFFERENT FROM EXIT RATE!!
EXIT RATE- It shows you the % of visitors who “exited” your website from that page. Because people will come, look around and eventually they will move on. The will exit no matter what from some or the other page on your site! Unless your FB, which i assume most people never exit not even when they are sleeping 😛
Typical exit rate is around 20%.
In simpler terms if your exit rate is high on say a certain page but your bounce rate is low, then its ok.. people engage and leave! what more would you want! But if both are high then that is the death knell ringing!! You better check that page out and modify something, use A/B Testing, Multivariate or plain common sense! But you have to do something about that page! Unless its the page which says “BYE-BYE, THANK YOU FOR VISITING XYZ.COM”!! :p
You can check out this matrix, I have made for a better understanding of the different scenarios between bounce rate and exit rate. Hope this blog was useful to you in getting a better understanding of WEBSITE DATA ANALYSIS 
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