Exit Rate
What is a exit rate?
In web analytics, exit rate refers to the percentage of users who leave a website from a specific page after viewing it. It indicates how frequently a particular page serves as the final page visited in a user's session. A high exit rate on a page may suggest a problem with the content, user experience, or a lack of compelling calls to action on that page.
- What it measures: Exit rate specifically tracks the percentage of users who leave the site from a particular page, after having potentially visited other pages within the site.
- How it's different from bounce rate: While both metrics involve users leaving a page, bounce rate measures the percentage of sessions where a user only visits one page before leaving the site. Exit rate, on the other hand, can be a page's last page in a session, regardless of how many other pages were viewed before it.
- Example: Imagine a user enters a website, visits the homepage, then a product page, and finally the checkout page before leaving the site. The exit will be attributed to the checkout page, and it will impact the exit rate for that specific page.
- Why it matters: Understanding exit rates helps identify which pages are causing users to abandon their journey on the website. High exit rates on specific pages can indicate areas that need improvement, such as content, design, or user experience, according to web analytics resources.
- Ideal exit rate: There isn't a universal ideal exit rate, as it depends on the page's purpose. Content-heavy pages like blog posts or news articles often have higher exit rates, while pages deeper in the conversion funnel like checkout pages should ideally have lower rates.
Why do exit rate matters?
- Identifying problem areas: High exit rates can highlight pages that need improvement, such as content clarity, navigation ease, or design issues.
- Improving user experience: By understanding where users are leaving, you can optimize those pages to encourage further engagement and exploration of your site.
- Boosting conversions: For ecommerce and content sites, reducing exit rates can lead to increased conversions by keeping users engaged and guiding them towards desired actions.