Why customers leave a website: what analytics can reveal

Everyone who creates an online store or another type of website wants to attract attention to it. Visitors are expected to become customers. However, this does not always happen. Some websites may have a lot of visitors, but they quickly leave the page without purchasing any products. To determine which weak points are causing this, it is important to use analytics. Key metrics can help identify what distracts users’ attention and how to address these issues.

Bounce rate — what you need to know?

The bounce rate is the percentage of visitors who visited your website but did not interact with it in any way. For example, they did not visit other pages of the online store, click any buttons, fill out a form, watch a video, etc.

Bounce Rate is calculated using the following formula: (bounces ÷ total sessions) × 100%. For example, if 60 out of 100 visitors close your website without taking any action, the bounce rate is 60%.

To view this metric, you can use tools such as Google Analytics 4 (GA4). In GA4, the bounce rate is now referred to as Engagement Rate. Bounces are calculated as “sessions without engagement.” You can find this metric in the reports: → “Reports” → “Engagement” → “Pages and screens.”

There are also other tools that provide additional information about this metric, such as Hotjar, Plerdy, SimilarWeb, etc.

But why can the Bounce Rate be high? There are several reasons why this may happen:

• the page takes too long to load;

• the online store is not optimized for mobile devices;

• the content does not match the visitor’s expectations, meaning they expect to see one thing but find different information on the website;

• there are too many advertisements or pop-up windows;

• there is no clear call to action, so the user cannot understand how to proceed;

• the website structure is too complicated or confusing.

What can help solve these problems? First of all, it is important to optimize website speed. This can be achieved by compressing images, using caching, and regularly checking loading speed, for example, with Google PageSpeed Insights.

The next step is to improve the mobile version of the online store. Try testing it on different mobile devices. Buttons should be easy to tap with a finger.

To make sure the content matches users’ expectations, it is important to improve headings and meta descriptions. Users should get a clear answer to their questions when visiting the first pages of the website.

Do not forget about specific CTAs (calls to action). These can include buttons such as “Buy,” “Consultation,” “Learn More,” and “Price.” All of them should be easy to find and clearly visible.

To make navigation convenient, use a simple menu. Avoid adding unnecessary clicks. Users should be able to reach the desired result easily.

Finally, check the pages with the highest number of bounces. If you notice one or two specific pages with particularly high bounce rates, optimize them first.

What Bounce Rate levels are considered normal?

• blogs and articles — 60–80%;

• landing pages — 50–70%;

• online stores — 30–50%;

• corporate websites — 40–60%.

Exit rate — how can it be reduced?

Exit Rate is the percentage of website visitors who leave the website from a specific page. It helps determine which pages users most often leave the online store from. It is calculated using the following formula: Exit Rate = (number of exits from a page ÷ number of views of that page) × 100%.

Let’s take an example. The “Contact Us” page received 200 views, and 80 visitors left the website after viewing it. In this case, Exit Rate = (80 ÷ 200) × 100% = 40%.

Why is Exit Rate an important metric? It can reveal weak points in the sales funnel. It helps distinguish normal exits, when users have found what they were looking for, from problematic exits, when they were unable to move forward. As a result, you can identify which pages require optimization of their content, design, or navigation.

What can cause a high Exit Rate? Here are several possible reasons:

• The user has obtained all the necessary information and finished their search. This is an ideal situation when the visitor has completed their journey, for example, on a “Thank You for Your Order” page.

• The content does not match the user’s query, or the page is not relevant. In this case, the visitor could not find an answer to their question.

• The sales funnel is not properly structured. For example, users may experience difficulties with the shopping cart or checkout page. The cause may be a complicated order form, hidden costs, or UX problems.

• There are technical issues. The page may load slowly or display incorrectly.

• There is no clear logical next step. The visitor simply does not know what they are supposed to do next.

To reduce Exit Rate, first analyze which pages have a high exit rate. A high rate can be normal for a blog post or article, but for a shopping cart or product page, it may be a reason for concern.

Next, optimize the pages in the sales funnel. There should be as few steps as possible between entering the website and completing a purchase. The form should be simple and easy to understand. Make the purchasing process transparent and avoid hidden charges.

If necessary, also improve the website content. Make sure it provides answers to customers’ frequently asked questions. Add internal links that guide customers toward the desired purchase.

Check that everything on the website works reliably from a technical perspective. Pages should load quickly so that customers do not have to wait.

You can also try methods designed to retain customers before they leave. For example, offer a discount on a product or give them the opportunity to subscribe to information about new promotions.

Remember that a high Exit Rate is not always a bad thing. It is perfectly normal when it occurs on the final “Thank You for Your Purchase” page. However, if there are mass exits from product or shopping cart pages, something needs to be changed urgently.

Session duration — what should you pay attention to?

The time from entering a website until leaving it is called session duration. If a session is long, it may indicate that the website content is interesting and useful to the visitor. If analytics shows that sessions are short, this may mean either that the user quickly found the information they needed or that the online store failed to capture their interest.

The number of pages per session shows how many pages were viewed during a single visit. If this figure is high, visitors are exploring the website and are interested in its content. A low number may indicate a lack of motivation to continue browsing or that the user was unable to find the information they needed.

Are these metrics important? Yes. They can help determine how convenient the website is and how easily users can find answers to their questions. Session duration indicates how useful and engaging the content and website structure are. Sometimes the problem may be related to relevance or UX. Headings or the content itself may not be relevant enough. Users may also leave because of complicated menus or a lack of internal links. And, of course, slow page loading can also be a reason.

What can help improve these metrics? First of all, create logical and well-structured navigation. The menu should be easy to understand, and internal links should lead to relevant pages. Do not forget about CTAs such as “Read More,” “Related Products,” etc.

Product descriptions should be useful and interesting to users. Images and videos can help with this. Offer recommendations and optimize website speed, for example, by compressing images or minimizing code.

Another effective method is to offer relevant products based on the potential customer’s previous actions.

A normal session duration is:

• 2–3 minutes — for blogs;

• 3–5 minutes — for e-commerce websites and services.

The number of pages per session is:

• 2–4 — for informational websites;

• 5–7 — for online stores.

Analytics — why is it important?

As we can see, analytics helps to:

• identify pages with a high exit rate and analyze what is not working on those pages;

• show exactly where visitors lose interest in the website — on the registration, shopping cart, payment page, or elsewhere;

• analyze devices, connection speed, and traffic sources;

• better understand how users interact with the website.

Therefore, to identify the weak points of an online store, it is worth using analytics tools. We can help you solve all your technical issues. Geniustudio specialists know how to increase the number of your customers and improve their engagement. So, feel free to contact us.