As a rule of thumb, business owners love web design and hate web analytics. Or to be more accurate, they like looking at new layouts and images, but grow bored and frustrated when it’s time to get deep into the stats provided by their websites.
That’s unfortunate, because those statistics represent the collective actions of potential buyers. They tell you not only what’s going on with the Internet-facing part of your company, but also where you can find the biggest areas for improvement and opportunity. By studying the numbers, you can discover trends that will help you to make your business more profitable.
Knowing that, here are five web statistics we would encourage you to get to know in an up close and personal way…
#1 Traffic Sources
While this isn’t technically a web statistic, it will show up in your analytics reports. Knowing where your web traffic is coming from is important for a couple of reasons. First, you can strengthen winning campaigns if you know how potential buyers are finding you over the Internet. And, knowing how customers are arriving at your website tells you something about the state of mind they are in once they get to your pages.
#2 Time Per Session
Generally speaking, higher session times mean great things for your company. That’s because they indicate that buyers aren’t just coming to your website, but are staying to check out your content. This statistic, along with the pages per visit, tell you a great deal about whether customers find your website engaging and easy to use.
#3 Top Pages
It’s not just whether people are staying on your website, though, but also where they are going. You may notice that certain topics, products, or service descriptions get the bulk of your web traffic. With that knowledge you could fine-tune your pricings and promotion to ensure you are offering what your buyers want most, or could come up with future content ideas that revolve around popular themes.
#4 Bounce Rate
A “bounce” indicates a visit that didn’t result in any action – someone coming to your website and leaving before they click on anything. High bounce rates on your website indicate a lack of interest or usability problems. Rising bounce rates on specific pages should be taken as a signal that you need to give visitors a better offer or more choices to take the next step.
#5 Conversions
Every company defines conversions differently, which is why it’s critical that you set up custom tracking code within your website. Otherwise, you can’t really know whether buyers are taking the actions you hope they will or not. Do you want sales, email newsletter sign-ups, or lead generation submissions? Add the relevant markers to your website and then take a look at the results to see whether you’re getting the conversions you expect.
If you’ve been neglecting your web statistics – or failing to get the kinds of returns from your website that you should be – now is your chance to turn the corner. Call or email our team today to arrange a free consultation. In one short visit, we’ll show you what you could be doing to make a bigger impact on the market and attract new buyers through search engines and social media!