Digital analytics are an extremely important tool in collecting, measuring and interpreting the behavioural data of your customers, helping you discover their preferences and trends. How could you be using them to drive sales?
By utilising analytical tools you can improve your website, and subsequently social media content, by making informed decisions based on real data. It is very easy to feel overwhelmed by all the results provided by web metric reporting so help you overcome this we have explained some of the basic analytics that can be most influential.
Here are 7 universal key performance indicators:
1. Traffic
The number of visits (sessions) and visitors (users) to your website.
Known as a fundamental component in evaluating your site, it indicates your reach and growth, providing you with an immediate performance overview.
2. Traffic Source
Where your user traffic has originated from.
Is your traffic coming from social media, Google Ads, referrals, organic searches or somewhere else? It’s important to know this so you can track your marketing efforts and understand which methods are giving you the best ROI.
3. Pages Per Session
The number of pages viewed during a visit to your website.
More pages per session could show that users are highly engaged and exploring your site. It is important to retain your user’s attentions and nurture their interest in order turn leads into customers and clients. However you do need to consider that you may have a high page per session rate due to visitors not being able to find what they’re looking for.
4. Session duration
The amount of time that each user is spending on your website.
Session duration shows how long leads are browsing for, this can indicate how compelling your content is and the usability of your site. Consider updating your copy regularly, including more dynamic content such as video and animations or even consider changing your sites navigation. There are lots of way to improve session duration by thinking creatively and keeping ahead of your competitors.
5. Percent of new sessions
The percentage of first time visits to your website established through the use of cookies.
Ideally, a good site will have a solid mix of both new and returning visitors, but this is dependent on your business, its industry and the individual goals. New sessions indicate you are reaching out to brand new potential customers whilst returning visits may show you have satisifed customers or our offering something better than your competitors.
6. Bounce rate
The percentage of users on your website that click off before visiting a second page.
It is a general signal of user engagement and the quality of the content. Having a high bounce rate may indicate that users are not finding the information they need straight away or that the web page is not stimulating enough.
7. Goal completions
Used to measure how often users complete your desired action.
Examples of goals could be making a purchase (for an ecommerce site) or signing up to your email mailing list. Defining goals is a key component to be able to evaluate the effectiveness of your online presence.