Remember bounce rate from Universal Analytics? It’s the handy metric that represents the number of bounces on your site divided by the number of sessions. It’s the inverse of engagement rate.

Bounce rate is not wiped from GA4, but users must now customize reports or create exploration reports to view this metric. GA4 calculates bounce rate based on the percentage of sessions that were not considered “engaged,” which are sessions less than 10 seconds long or those that didn’t convert.

That said, there are alternative metrics to consider when measuring engagement. Let’s break it down:

1. Engagement rate is a more positive metric that reflects user interest in your content and offers. Engaged sessions are longer than 10 seconds, include two or more page views, and result in at least one conversion.
2. Views per user can help you understand the average number of times users engage with each page on your website.
3. Non-engagement rate is a comparable custom metric you can create by dividing the number of non-engaged sessions by the total number of sessions.

Dig into the guide at Loves Data to get a better read on your GA4 reports.

It’s never been more of a heavy lift and a time suck to report on website analytics, so let’s talk about a GA4 alternative. Fathom Analytics prioritizes ease of use, wicked fast code, and most of all, data privacy and compliance. Import your GA data into the dashboard, say goodbye to cookie banners, and start drilling down.

Can we get your two cents on GA4 in a quick survey?

We’re collecting FAQs for our webinar “GA4 Like a Pro: Build Confidence in The New Age of Analytics” with Steve Lamar (Really Good Data) on Wednesday, September 20 at 1:00 p.m. EST.

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