Bounce rate is the percentage of sessions on a site that consist of a single page view with no further interaction before the visitor leaves. In classic web analytics it counted any single-page session as a bounce regardless of how long the visitor stayed or whether they got what they came for.
Definition
Bounce rate is the percentage of sessions on a site that consist of a single page view with no further interaction before the visitor leaves. In classic web analytics it counted any single-page session as a bounce regardless of how long the visitor stayed or whether they got what they came for.
Newer analytics models have shifted toward engagement-based definitions — a session is "engaged" if it lasts beyond a threshold, has multiple page views, or triggers a conversion event — so "bounce rate" now often means the inverse of the engagement rate.
The metric is ambiguous by nature. A high bounce rate on a checkout funnel is bad; a high bounce rate on a page that fully answers a factual question is normal and fine — the visitor read the answer and left satisfied.
So bounce rate is only interpretable in the context of what the page is for and what a successful visit looks like, and it should never be treated as a universal quality score.
In context
On an iGaming affiliate site, bounce rate is read differently by page type. A glossary or explainer page that resolves the query in one screen will have a high bounce rate and that is a success.
A review page with a high bounce rate is more concerning — a visitor evaluating an operator would normally scroll, check sections, and often click through to the operator or to a related review, so a bounce may indicate the page did not match intent, loaded poorly, or failed to hold attention.
Used carefully, bounce or engagement rate is a diagnostic signal alongside scroll depth, time engaged, and click-through to affiliate or internal links. A page that ranks well but has an unusually high bounce rate for its type is worth inspecting: the title and snippet may be attracting the wrong query, the above-the-fold content may not deliver on the promise, or a layout-shift or slow-load problem may be driving people away before the page is usable.
The fix is specific to the cause, not a generic "reduce bounce rate".
Worked example
An affiliate's review pages average a 45% engaged-session rate, but one cluster of reviews sits at 22%. Inspection shows those pages have a slow-loading comparison widget above the fold that pushes the content down and shifts the layout.
Fixing the widget lifts the engaged rate for that cluster to 43% and their conversion rate rises with it.
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
Browse the full iGaming & affiliate glossary — hundreds of EN/RU terms with examples.
← Back to glossary