Bounce Rate: what is it EXACTLY?

[BasKierkels]

Hi everyone: we all know the term 'Bounce Rate'. I'd like to think i have a good idea of what BR is....but some things are not really clear to me. Time to call in the experts.

Question #1: What EXACTLY will stop Google from considering the visit as a bounce?

As discussed not too long ago in this topic https://moz.com/community/q/will-this-fix-my-bounce-rate
Ruben wrote: "..what it basically means is that someone clicks on your SERP, and then clicks back to google? But, it doesn't matter if they spent 10 minutes on your page or 10 seconds"

Jessica Conflitti wrote a reply in which she basically said that it might be a good idea to have visitors click to a different page OR a PDF-file.

That's where my confusion has been for some time now:

Clicking on a PDF-document, an image in the page that opens with Fancybox, a link to a different domain? Or can it only be a different URL on the same domain?

The way i would expect it to be:
Pages contain the GA-tracking code. So am i right by thinking that Google needs to have the same GA-tracking code to be loaded twice? Because only at that point will they have two datapoints. And only then will they be able to tell that the visitor hasn't left.

By clicking a PDF-document - as described by Jessica - you wouldn't load the GA-code twice. So I would expect that clicking a PDF does not make a difference for the BR.

Don't get me wrong: i like the article but it is this detail that throws me off.

IF Google can read or capture these clicks, what other elements can be used to reduce bounce rate? Clicking on a YouTube-video embedded in the page?

I'm asking this because i want to get this right.

Question #2: how much weight does BR have on Time on Page, Engagement, etc?

We know Google is taking a lot of things into consideration when calculating the value of a URL or domain. So how much should we care for BR if we know the Time on Page is good and a large percentage of people are frequently returning?

How about your experiences or knowledge on that?

Really looking forward to your replies and help on clearing this topic for me. And perhaps some other readers as well!

Bas

[BasKierkels]

Hi Trenton: have a guess what we use to identify obstacles

Thanks for your comments!

Bas

[TrentonGreener]

Bas,

It sounds like to me that you're absolutely on the correct track here. Content is king & user experience is queen. If you get those both right, you'll have a happy, merry kingdom.

If you want to see how users are interacting with your content, try enabling a tool that can help you do so. I like hotjar.com, and have used CrazyEgg as well. These provide some very cool information about how users are interacting with your website & which elements are giving them hassle.

Good luck!

Trenton

[BasKierkels]

Hi Nicolas and Trenton, thanks for your input. I'm not a data freak. Altough my girlfriend might not agree ;-). I'm not focused on BR. I think Trenton is spot on: Google knows a lot more. And even if they didn't: if visitors are spending over a certain amount of time on your page, you're probably filling in their needs.

I'd like to know the details about BR, that's my main goal for asking these questions. I'm not going to bother firing extra triggers after x-time just so the visit won't count as a bounce.

In the past few weeks, i watched a lot of YouTube-video's, amongst others Whiteboard Friday and read a lot of articles about SEO.

I'm left with the idea that the best thing you can do is create REALLY compelling content: easy to read sentences and headings, entertaining images, embedded YouTube-video's, PDF's, etc, etc.

I'm trying to create some posts to see how far i can get. I'm looking at it as if i'm working for the BBC or something: the goal is to create top notch content: adding value, entertaining to process, helpful AND great to look at.

I personally think that's the way to go these days. We'll see if i'm right

Thanks,
Bas

[TrentonGreener]

Bas,

I'm going to answer your question a little differently than you asked it, but please let me know your thoughts and I'll respond in kind.

We often talk about improving bounce rate on pages as it's a great metric to let us quickly identify whether or not a page is properly performing. But we use this because we do not have access to the level of information that Google (or any Search Enginge) does. Specifically, Google has access to chrome browser data, Android data, and more importantly, SERP engagement data. I don't believe that Google solely looks at how a user uses a specific page to determine the effectiveness of that content. I think Google looks to see if a page fulfilled the searcher's need for that specific query. "How can they know?" They look at the SERP engagement data. If a searcher clicks through a few different sites but then clicks the position 5 link and doesn't return to the SERP page & doesn't create a new or related search then Google can assume that the link in position 5 answered that specific query.

This is the reason why we like to look at bounce rate as a metric to measure content performance. We can't see anything outside of our own domain, so we cling to the what we can see & measure. But, as Nicolas explained the Google Analytics bounce rate is something that is very easily manipulated. Simply adding an event that triggers on page after X seconds would make it so that session is no longer considered a bounce within Google Analytics. But that wouldn't change how Google sees the user's experience with the site.

What I'm getting at here is while optimizing bounce rate is important, don't get lost in improving a vanity metric without asking yourself: Who is viewing this content? Why are they viewing this content? What do they want to know? and How can I better answer this query?
If you think you can better answer the queries that are driving traffic to that specific page, great! Execute on that and the results will show.

So to specifically address your questions.
Question #1: What EXACTLY will stop Google from considering the visit as a bounce?

If the majority of visitors to your site do not pogo-stick (to borrow Rand's term here) back to the SERP and click through to other links. I believe that Google will look at that specific piece of content as a positive solution for that query.

Question #2: how much weight does BR have on Time on Page, Engagement, etc?

I think BR is just one of many metrics to look at when determining the effectiveness of a specific piece of content. Though I have found that pages that have a higher than average BR will generally have a lower Time of Page, Session Duration & general engagement metrics. 
So my $.02 are to use BR as a tool to identify pages that could use some work, but not to wholly look to optimize only BR.

Let me know what you think about this and if you have any follow-up questions. I'd be more than happy to help!

Trenton

[Bigb06]

There are many different definitions for the bounce rate:

• Google Analytics Bounce Rate
  It represents the percentage of visitors who enter the site and then leave. Be careful that if you use tracked events, the bounce rate will be modified. For example IF you track PDF download or javascript click, user will not be counted as bounced. Here are some instructions to set up tracked events : https://developers.google.com/analytics/devguides/collection/analyticsjs/events
  The problem is : you can't know if a user enter your website and read your article 10 seconds or 10 minutes.
• Adjusted Bounce Rate :
  In this case we modify Google Analytics Bounce Rate to reflect reality : It represents the percentage of visitors who enter the site and leave before a certain amount of time. It's far more useful because in many situation, and for Google also, if a user enter your landing page and find the answer to its query, it's perfect. But if a user enter your site, then leave it instantly, you may have Panda issues. A high adjusted bounce rate is obviously a problem, because the page does not appear to meet user needs. For further info and how to setup, see https://moz.com/blog/adjusted-bounce-rate or http://www.gsqi.com/marketing-blog/adjusted-bounce-rate-in-google-analytics/ and search for poggo sticking or dwell time.