When determining website performance, metrics like exit and bounce rates are good indicators of user interaction and obstacles within the user route or journey.
An understanding of these metrics enables digital marketers, SEO managers, and students to make effective decisions based on data that would otherwise have been taken from intuition and gut feelings, to foster enhanced conversions and deep user experience.
In this blog, we’ll break down:
What is Exit Rate?
What Is a Good Exit Rate?
Why Exit Rate Matters
Exit Rate vs. Bounce Rate: Understanding the Difference
How to Calculate Exit Rate in Digital Marketing?
To understand why visitors are leaving a page, follow these steps:
Conclusion
FAQ
What is Exit Rate?
Exit rate is the percentage of total visitors that leave a website from a given page, regardless of how they came there. An exit rate measure is not confined to single-page visits like a bounce rate, rather it shows the last page viewed prior to a visitor exiting the forum.
Both exit rate and bounce rate are crucial in evaluating how visitors interact with your website:
- Bounce rate helps identify pages where users leave without interaction.
- Exit rate pinpoints which pages are losing visitors, even after multiple interactions.
- These metrics tell an SEO manager to optimize the content toward better CTAs and less friction on the user’s journey.
What Is a Good Exit Rate
A good exit rate depends on the type of page and its role in the user journey. Generally, an exit rate between 20% and 50% is considered normal, but it varies. Pages like blog posts or contact pages tend to have higher exit rates, while key conversion pages should have lower exit rates.
| Page Type | Allowed Exit Rate in % |
| Blog Post | 20% |
| Contact page | 50% |
Why Exit Rate Matter
Exit rate is the percentage of viewers quitting a certain page after viewing it. While a high exit rate may indicate an issue, it is not always bad. It depends on the intended purpose behind the page.
For example:
High exit rate on a checkout page → Bad (users might be abandoning purchases).
High exit rate on a blog post → Not necessarily bad (users may have found the information they needed).
How to Reduce Exit Rate
Improve content engagement with better internal linking.
Optimize page load speed and user experience.
Add clear CTAs to guide users to the next step.
What is the difference between exit rate and bounce rate?
Let’s get to one of the most frequently asked questions about SEO analytics, the difference between exit rate and bounce rate. Here’s a simple overview
| Metric | Definition | Key Indicator |
| Bounce Rate | Percentage of visitors who leave after viewing only one page | Engagement & Content Relevance |
| Exit Rate | Percentage of visitors leaving from a particular page | User Journey & Navigation Issues |
Key Takeaways:
An exit rate means the user may have interacted with multiple pages but chose to leave from a specific one
A bounce rate means the user left without exploring further.
What Is the Formula of Exit Rate?
The formula to calculate exit rate is:
Exit Rate (%) = (Total Exits from a Page / Total Views of the Page) × 100For example, if a product page has 1,000 views and 250 users exit from it, the exit rate would be (250/1000) × 100 = 25%.
Factors That Affect Exit Rate
Unreasonably slow page loading speed: Which creates a deterrent for users
Poor user experience: Ponders large navigation’s, non-working links, or bad design features that push users away from the website.
Irrelevant content: If the page does not satisfy the requirements and wants of the audience, users are going to exit in a hurry.
No clear call to action: If your users do not know what to do next, you will see many of them leave.
Technical problems: Such as errors, broken images, or non responsive layouts, may increase exit rates.
To understand why visitors are leaving a page, follow these steps:
Use Google Analytics : Identify pages with high exit rates and analyze user flow.
Check Page Load Speed : Use tools like Google Page Speed Insights to optimize performance.
Monitor Heatmaps & Session Recordings: Tools like Hotjar help visualize where users lose interest.
Evaluate Content Relevance : Ensure that the content serves the search intent and adds value.
Testing and Optimize CTAs: Experiment with various applications and prompts for CTAs to promote participation.
Ways to Lower Exit Rate & Improve User Experience.
If a page has a high exit rate, here are strategies to improve it:
1. Improve Content Relevance
Ensure that the page content aligns with user intent. If visitors expect answers but don’t find them, they will leave.
2. Optimize Page Load Speed
Slow-loading pages drive users away. Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights to check and optimize loading times.
3. Enhance Internal Linking
Encourage users to explore more pages by strategically placing internal links, guiding them deeper into the website.
4. A clear call to action is a must.
A sound call-to-action will lower the exits by guiding the user into the next step of signing up, buying, or reading further.
5. Make it mobile-friendly
With most traffic coming from mobile, it should ensure that the site is responsive and delivers a seamless mobile experience.
6. Analyze Heat Maps & User Behavior
Using analytic tools like hot-jars or Google analytics will help you track the behavior of users and tell you which specific pain areas are causing them to exit the site.
Conclusion
Exit rate, alongside bounce rate, increases the insight on user interaction in digital marketing. By implementing strategies to reduce high exit rates, businesses can enhance user experience, retain visitors longer, and boost conversions.
Start analyzing your website’s exit and bounce rates today to create a better-performing digital presence!
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FAQs
What is the exit rate in digital marketing?
The exit rate is a certain percentage of users who left one specific page while browsing through the website with no cognizance of how many pages they visited before dropping out from the web.
What is the difference between exit and bounce rate?
Key differences lie between bounce rate and exit rate: bounce deals mainly with the assumption of a user who enters a site from a certain page and leaves from the same page, whereas the exit rate assumes that users could have entered and exited the pages differently.
How to Find Exit Rate?
To find the exit rate of a web page in Google Analytics:
- Log in to Google Analytics.
- Go to Reports > Engagement > Pages and Screens (GA4) or Behavior > Site Content > All Pages (Universal Analytics).
- Locate the Exit Rate column, which shows the percentage of users who left your website from a specific page.
A high exit rate may indicate user dissatisfaction, while a normal exit rate depends on the page’s purpose.
What Is Exit Rate in SEO?
Exit rate in SEO is the percentage of visitors who leave a website from a particular page after viewing one or more pages. It helps identify pages where users commonly exit, providing insights into potential content gaps or UX issues.Unlike bounce rate, which measures single-page sessions, exit rate considers users who may have browsed multiple pages before leaving.
Is Exit Rate Good or Bad?
Exit rate can be both good and bad, depending on the page’s purpose:
- Good Exit Rate: When users leave after completing their goal, such as reading an article, submitting a form, or purchasing a product.
- Bad Exit Rate: When users exit from critical pages like checkout, product pages, or landing pages without taking action.
To improve exit rates, optimize content, improve internal linking, and enhance page speed for a better user experience.
