Difference between Bounce & Exit Rate?

Bounce rate is an Internet marketing term used in web traffic analysis. It represents the percentage of visitors who enter the site and "bounce" (leave the site) rather than continue viewing other pages within the same site.

A bounce occurs when a web site visitor only views a single page on a website, that is, the visitor leaves a site without visiting any other pages before a specified session-timeout occurs.

R_b = T_v/T_e

where

• R_b = Bounce rate
• T_v = Total number of visitors viewing one page only
• T_e = Total entries to page

A visitor may bounce by:

• Clicking on a link to a page on a different web site
• Closing an open window or tab
• Typing a new URL
• Clicking the "Back" button to leave the site
• Session timeout

Example : Let’s say 1,000 people enter on my homepage and 150 never go any further. My homepage has a bounce rate of 15%.

EXIT RATE

Exit Rate as a term used in web site traffic analysis (sometimes confused with bounce rate) is the percentage of visitors to a site who actively click away to a different site from a specific page, after possibly having visited any other pages on the site. The visitors just exited on that specific page.

Example : Let’s say of the 1,000 people who viewed the product detail page today, 340 never viewed any pages afterward. That gives us an exit rate of 34%.

Further, let’s say that 300 people entered on that page and 100 never viewed any additional pages. Then the page would have a 33% bounce rate. But wait, 340 people never viewed any pages after the product detail page – true…So, are my bouncers also included in the exit rate calculation? Let’s recap:

To understand the difference between exit and bounce rates for a particular page in your site, keep in mind three things:

Let's clarify this last point with a simple example. Your site has pages A through C, and only one session per day exists, with the following pageview order:

• Monday: Page B > Page A > Page C
• Tuesday:  Page B > Exit
• Wednesday:  Page A > Page C > Page B
• Thursday:  Page C > Exit
• Friday: Page B > Page C > Page A

The % Exit and Bounce rate calculations are:

Exit Rate: 

• Page A: 33% (only 3 of 5 sessions included Page A)
• Page B: 50% (only 4 of 5 sessions included Page B)
• Page C: 50% (only 4 of 5 sessions included Page C)

Bounce Rate:

• Page A: 0% (no sessions began with Page A, so it has no bounce rate)
• Page B: 33% (bounce rate is higher than exit rate, because 3 sessions started with Page B, with one leading to a bounce)
• Page C: 100% (one session started with Page C, and it lead to a bounce)