Impact of Custom Events on HubSpot CMS Bounce Rate

[dzsigray]

Hi Everyone --

We launched a new website for one of our clients in HubSpot CMS a few months ago. When we've examined web analytics in the months after launch versus the months before launch, we observe a near vertical spike in bounce rate (~30% > ~85%). We see the same data in Google Analytics and HubSpot.

When reviewing the root cause in Google Analytics, we determined that it spiked because of a tracked Event that broke with the new website launch. Google Analytics' documentation says that:

"In general, a 'bounce' is described as a single-page session to your site. In Analytics, a bounce is calculated specifically as a session that triggers only a single GIF request, such as when a user comes to a single page on your website and then exits without causing any other request to the Analytics server for that session. However, if you implement Event measurement for your site, you might notice a change in bounce rate metrics for those pages where Event measurement is present. This is because Event measurement, like page measurement is classified as an interaction request." (Source)

When looking in HubSpot, we observed a custom behavioral event also broke with the new website launch. However, I cannot find in the Knowledge Base any clear answer that Events Measurement in HubSpot affects bounce rate in the same way it does in Google Analytics.

Does anyone know the answer to this? I presume it functions similarly, but I am looking for confirmation.

[DavidDennison]

That's a tough one. I'll have to do some digging and see if I can find a solution for you!

[dzsigray]

Thanks, @DavidDennison! I looked through the Knowledge Base and contacted support multiple times but couldn't get any answer. As I said, I can make an educated guess that it functions the same way as Events in Google Analytics but I'd like confirmation so we can relay this back to our client.