As they often say, ‘the first impression is the lasting one’. Nowadays, most customers have their first interaction with a brand online, and usually through their websites. So, it is crucial to measure the impact that your site has on its consumers, and there are many metrics that can give you definitive answers (not to mention a wide variety of analytical tools that you can use to derive the same). But in the sea of vast data out there, how does one analyse the right values/numbers that can help to set expectations, plan strategies and determine targets? Read on to know more:
Traffic
Traffic refers to the number of visitors that any website has, and if a site was to have less traffic, it can imply that this could be the result of low brand awareness. Having less traffic also means that all other website metrics will be rendered redundant; so, increasing traffic should be the primary aim of any new website. An effective way to do this is by creating content that ranks on search engines or getting backlinks, i.e., links to your website posted on other popular websites with a similar TGA.Another important aspect to monitor is the channel through which visitors land on your site. These can be roughly divided into:
Organic — Visitors who came to your website because it showed up on a search engine results page (SERP).
Direct — Those who typed in your URL to get directly to your site.
Referral — Those who reached your website from another website via a link.
Social — Those who were directed to your website through social media.
Paid — Those who clicked on a paid ad or promoted content about your products/services.
Average Time on Site
Measuring the average time visitors spend on your website will give an insight into how engaging they find the site, and its content. But, sometimes, too much time spent on the website can indicate navigational issues or difficulty in the comprehension of content. The time spent on sites can also vary depending on whether the viewers are using their desktops or smartphones. Studies have proven that smartphone users tend to be quicker than desktop users, and analysing the source devices can help with regard to optimisation for different screens.
Bounce Rate
The bounce rate is the number of visitors that have decided to leave the page a couple of seconds after viewing it — this means that the content of the site is not useful to the viewer or does not meet their expectations. Very often, this happens because the external link to the page does not relate to the content or that the keywords used aren’t relevant. This not only results in less engagement and conversion rates, but also leads to a drop in the overall SEO ranking. There is an ocean of seemingly important data available through various analytical tools, but decoding and deciphering too many numbers only leads to confusion. But, keeping an eye on the right metrics can provide insights and solutions that will help you reach all your marketing goals.
