Great photography and engaging video work well to grab the attention of your site’s visitors. But maintaining a high performing website involves more than improving aesthetics.
Tracking your site’s visitor activity is key to understanding what’s working for your business, and what’s not.
Evaluating your website performance through tracking tools like Google Analytics, will help shape and guide changes to the design of your Cleveland website. The goal is to improve the user’s experience, drawing them deeper into your content, and ultimately converting that browser into business.
Here are five of the more relevant data sets generated by Google Analytics:
Bounce rates
A bounce rate involves a site visitor landing on a page and then not going anywhere else on the site. Basically, they arrive on the site and then “bounce” away. If the bounce rate is high, this could mean the site visitor can’t easily find the information they’re seeking. Or, they decide the page visited isn’t relevant to the information they’re seeking. Potential fixes could include re-organizing your website navigation menus, adding calls to action, or restructuring the way the information sits on a page/updating page layout.
Pages per Session
When a visitor spends a lot of time on each page, it can be a sign they find the material relevant and engaging. However, if a visitor is going through a high number of pages per session it could mean they didn’t find the content engaging or relevant to their concerns or needs. A high number of pages per session can be an indicator of a confusing site structure. Important information may be hidden or not easily accessible to the user, resulting in clicking through to more pages. Fixes can include restructuring your site navigation, adding secondary navigation menus or utility navigation menus, or adding more internal links or sidebar CTAs or links.
Time spent per page
If the time spent on the page if very low, it could mean that the visitor is bouncing around the site looking for something specific that they could not find. A high amount of time spent on a particular page or set of pages means that the visitor is digesting the information and finding it relevant and engaging. The time spent on a page provides insight into what people are doing while on a page and whether or not the content needs adjustment based on this user insight.
Search function
Many sites include a search function, which can be a great help or indicate a red flag. If one particular search term or set of terms appears with great frequency for a large number of users, it could indicate that relevant information needs to be more prominently featured or easier to find.
Certain pages or topics searched could help pinpoint products or new areas of information relevant to the user. In response, the design or content can be adjusted accordingly, to help the user find these items more easily and to encourage fulfillment of a call to action.
Top pages viewed
The home page often garners the most page views because it acts as the point of entry for many visitors. However, if the home page outpaces any other page by a great margin or the bounce rate from the home page is high, what can be done to draw the visitor deeper into the site and increase page views for relevant products or services? A few areas could include:
- navigation
- adding a call to action
- making the contact form easier to find
- adding links to other relevant areas of interest related to searches and views
Google Analytics can help your marketing team or agency diagnose which potential site changes can improve user engagement. Proximity Marketing has a depth of experience not just designing web sites, but we also pay close attention to the user experience to help achieve your web site goals. View a few case studies to find out how our efforts delivered results for clients, or give us a call to discuss your website’s performance: 330-220-6100.
