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Connected 24/7, available in multiple languages (depending on your lead base) and perfectly outlining your added value, your website is today’s number one sales tool. But just like any new clients you got, wouldn’t you be curious to know where did your clients – and leads – come from? what do they do on your website? what they like and dislike?…and most of all, as presented in a previous post , what can you do to get more leads and more conversion from the web? If indeed you are, then Google Analytics must be your best friend! But with so many reports available, it is easy to get lost. Let’s find our way back with the 5 top Key Performance Indicators to check on Google Analytics.
Traffic (Audience > Overview)
Your website’s traffic is made of two main metrics: the number of “users” (the number of different people visiting your website) and the number of “sessions” (the number of interaction or visits a user had with your website). Now based on these two information, Google Analytics provides you more great data, the percentage of new VS returning visitors. Why does it matter? because it helps you understand if your website’s content is attractive and engaging for your potential leads. Just like in traditional sales, the more a lead is interested in your offerings, the more he will interact with your firm. In the unfortunate case your website has more new visitors than returning ones, it can mean either your content is not engaging enough or your marketing efforts to advertise your firm are not directed to the proper audience. Promoting retirement consulting plan to college kids? probably a bit too soon!
Sources of traffic (Acquisition > Overview)
One of Google Analytics’ main features is to provide you with the sources of your website traffic; to cut it off simple, where does your lead come from.
Thanks to these data, you will be able to better understand where your leads come from and, based on your new clients acquisition rate, focus your effort into a particular channel.
Bouncing rate (Audience > Overview)
The bouncing rate is the percentage of people living from your website after viewing only one page. Now this is a VERY important information. Why? because it tells you whether a visitor is engaged - or “hooked” – with your website or not. Thanks to the traffic sources metrics, as well as others such as age or location, you can clearly pinpoint who’s liking your website and who’s not…and focus on finding solution. Maybe your content is not interesting for visitors coming from Facebook, but maybe it is more for visitors coming from referrals such as an interview about the latest Swiss National Bank move for instance. Besides, the overall structure and design of your website can also be the reason for a high bouncing rate; as indicated in one of my previous post, you got to help visitors find the information they want as fast as possible .
How do I know my bouncing rate is acceptable or not? well, it is very hard to define but luckily guys at KissMetrics shared a very interesting infographic to help you deal with this question, no matter the industry and website type; see below and click on it to get the full picture:
Landing page (Acquisition > Overview > Organic Search > Secondary Dimension > Landing Page)
The landing page is the page your visitors end up at when click on your link. Now, when you place yourself the link of your choice, for a Social Media post or blog post, it is simple. But when it comes to Organic Search using keywords, it becomes a bit more complicated. Why so? because since a considerable amount of people surf on the web while connected to any Google product (Gmail, Google Plus for example), to protect their privacy, Google simply cannot display what keywords they use to find your links (this is the reason for the “not provided” answer you will have on this screen). However, if you know what are their landing pages, you can better narrow the scope of keyword these visitors used to arrive on your website…and better understand what is their prime interest.
Average Session Duration (Audience > Overview)
Knowing how long a visitor stayed on your website is of a major importance because it tells you whether, depending on the profile of that particular visitor, your content and offerings are of interest. Therefore, the more someone stays on your site, the better. Google Analytics gives you the chance to cut down the average session time per page and per sources. Therefore, you can better understand where the visitors who stayed the longest on your site, are coming from (both in terms of channel and cities) so to better craft content and offers for them.
Google Analytics has many more metrics to help you better refine your website and overall online marketing strategy. Understanding how people are interacting with your website and what can you do to improve it is a worthy investment because just like any products or services, you want to know where your clients are coming from to get more of them as well as improve your own offerings.