Website diagnostics

If you want to improve your website and make it more engaging for your visitors, you first need to understand what your visitors are currently doing when they land on your site.

William Lever’s quote “I know half my advertising isn't working, I just don't know which half” does not need to apply to your website because web analytics software can now provide insight into what is working and what is not.

If you are frustrated that you are not getting enough enquiries or orders through your website, your web statistics can help to identify where improvements can be made that will get your visitors to take action. That response could be; picking up the telephone, filling out an enquiry form, signing up to receive regular mailings, requesting free samples and information guides, or buying your products.

Google Analytics

The leading website analytics tool is Google Analytics and your web developers should have installed this or other suitable software on your website to measure a variety of statistics shown below (To any of our clients reading this article, we install Google Analytics as standard on all of our websites. Call me if you do not already have access to these reports).

• Visits
• Unique visitors
• Number of pages viewed per visit
• Average visit duration
• Bounce rate
• Language and location
• Browser and network used
• Mobile and tablet usage
• Google Adwords information linked to account
• Social interaction
• Visitor flow

These figures should be the first place to start when looking at ways to improve your website. For example, if your bounce rate is high, then visitors are not finding your home page interesting enough to stay and look around. The bounce rate measures visitors that have landed on your home page and bounced straight off again. You only have a few seconds to engage your visitor and keep them looking around your site.

Likewise, if the average time spent on your site is low and visitors are jumping off at a certain page, this information helps when analysing which pages need additional work doing to them.

Regularly reviewing your website statistics will help you to take the next steps to improving your site and increasing sales.

Mark Langston