Glossary / Bounce rate (email)
What is Bounce rate (email)?
Email bounce rate is the share of your emails that could not be delivered. It is different from website bounce rate, which measures visitors leaving.
You send 1,000 emails and 20 come back undelivered. That is a 2 percent bounce rate. It is a delivery number, not an engagement number, and it has nothing to do with the bounce rate in your website analytics.
Bounces split into two kinds. Hard bounces are permanent, like an address that no longer exists. Soft bounces are temporary, like a full mailbox or a server having a bad day.
Watch the trend more than any single send. A creeping bounce rate usually means your list is aging, or that you imported addresses you did not collect yourself. Mailbox providers read the same signal you do.
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