Behind the Bounce:Understanding Metrics and Engagement

Chris Muller | Taboola’s Organic Audience Development Team

Agenda

• Introduction

• Defining bounce rate

• How analytics tools measure bounce rate

• What does/does not count as a bounce

• Modifying your analytics software to more accurately track bounces

• How your bounce rate can affect your traffic

• Six metrics you can use to measure engagement

• Q&A

3

“Bounce Rate” is one of the most misunderstood digital metrics

Defining Bounce Rate

Percentage of sessions

(visits) with a single tracked

interaction

Percentage of users who don’t watch a video

Percentage of non-converting

users

Percentage of users who stay on my site < 1

minute

Percentage of people leaving

my site

How Analytics Tools Track Sessions & Pageviews

Views Page 1

(tracking beacon sent)

User Enters Site

Clicks Internal Link

Views Page 2

(tracking beacon sent)

?User Not

Seen Again on Site

Recorded: 1 User, 1 Session, Two Pageviews

Recorded: 1 User, 1 Session, 1 Pageview

User Enters Site ?

User Not Seen Again

on Site

Views Page 1

(tracking beacon sent)

Examples of the Data Sent in a Tracking Beacon

Default Analytics Setups Do Not Count These As Bounces1. A user visits your site, reads the page, and clicks to another

page

2. A user visits your site, begins a purchase funnel that takes them to another URL, then leaves without purchasing

3. A user visits your site, performs any action that is tracked by your analytics package (such as watching a video that has an attached event), then leaves

4. A user visits your site, reads that page, closes your tab … then returns to your site within 30 minutes and reads multiple pages. (Not a bounce since the session is still active* in both GA and Omniture)* Except if the user clears their cookies, or the time zone for your account passes to the next day

Default Analytics Setups DO Count These As Bounces1. A user visits your site, reads the page they landed on, and hits the

back button

2. A user visits your site, reads the page they landed on, and closes their browser/tab

3. A user visits your site, clicks the “share on Facebook” button, then leaves

4. A user visits your site, fills out a form (remaining on that page), then leaves

5. A user visits your site, watches an embedded Youtube video, then leaves

• Add an event that fires if a user stays on your page over X seconds

a. setTimeout ("_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', '30_seconds', 'read'])",30000); [Google Analytics]

b. setTimeout (“ga(‘send’,’event’,’30_seconds’,read’)”,30000); [Universal Analytics]

• Fire an event when social media share buttons are clicked

• Track video plays, or interaction with any other media, with an event

• If you use infinite scroll or any other form of continuous consumption, make

sure you’re accurately tracking page views on the second piece of content

Modifying Your Analytics Setup to Track a More Useful “Bounce Rate”

Your Bounce Rate Will Vary Across Different Segments:

• Different Pages

• Traffic mediums

• Different paid campaigns/sources

• Demographics (age, sex, location)

• Combinations of these

Facts and Myths: Your Bounce Rate CAN affect both your Google and Facebook Traffic

• It has never been confirmed that Google uses bounces back to search results in their ranking algorithms, but it make sense that they do - an immediate bounce back means the user wasn’t satisfied with your page!

• On August 25, 2014, Facebook announced that the time spent on a page would be a factor in news feed ranking

Facts and Myths: Your Bounce Rate CAN affect both your Google and Facebook Traffic

Image Source: moz.com

Final Notes About ‘Bounce Rate’

1. A ‘bounce’ is not necessarily a bad thing: you may have delivered what they were looking for in a single page view.

2. Bounce rates, as measured by analytics tools, can be manipulated. We can affect bounce rate with our implementation so be deliberate with implementation choices.

3. Tracking engagement metrics that directly lead to our KPIs matters much more than focusing on bounce rates!

Many Different Metrics Can Be Used To Measure

Engagement:

#2Pages Per Session

#5 Video/Galle

ry Consumpti

on

#3Sessions per User#4

Conversion (signing up

or purchasing)

#1Time on

Site

Conversion

#6 Other

Custom Events

15

Engagement Metric #1: Average Time on Site (Session Duration)

How Google Analytics and Omniture track session duration:

Google Analytics:

Chartbeat:

Engagement Metric #2:Pages Per Session

Note: More than other engagement metrics, this metric is driven by page design how you present related/other content to users

Engagement Metric #3:Sessions Per User

Engagement Metric #4:ConversionGoal Flow in Google Analytics:

Note: You choose your conversion metrics - this can be completing a form, purchasing something, viewing a specific page, or anything else that’s important to your business.

Engagement Metric #5:Video/Gallery Consumption

Engagement Metric #6:Other Custom EventsSocial Shares: Changing Sections:

Read More Buttons:

Bonus:Track Engagement Metrics

that lead to your KPIs

Ad Revenue = (visits/user) * (pages/visit) * (users) * ($/pageview)

Ad Revenue is a function of: Frequency x Depth x Audience x RPM

Thank You!

Questions?