Bounce Rate (GA4).

In Google Analytics 4, bounce rate is defined as the percentage of sessions that were NOT engaged sessions. An engaged session requires at least one of: lasting longer than 10 seconds, triggering a conversion event, or containing at least two pageviews or screen views. A session that ends without meeting any of these thresholds is 'bounced'.

GA4 Bounce Rate vs Universal Analytics Bounce Rate

Universal Analytics defined bounce rate as sessions with only a single pageview, even if a user read a 3,000-word article in full. GA4's definition is more nuanced: a user who reads content for 15 seconds is considered engaged even if they leave without a second pageview. This makes GA4 bounce rates typically lower than their UA equivalents for content-heavy pages.

Interpreting Bounce Rate by Page Type

Healthy bounce rates vary significantly by page type and intent. Blog posts typically see 70–90% bounce rates as users read content and leave satisfied. Product pages with 80%+ bounce rates indicate a problem: users are not adding to cart or exploring further. Contact pages with 0% bounce rate are suspicious: they likely have a spam form submission tracked as a conversion event inflating engagement.