It’s every website owner’s dream to have his or her pages featured on search engines and bring in a good number of sales. To do that, you need an influx of visitors, compelling content, and a smooth user experience.
Website metrics help you tick all those boxes by providing you with the information necessary to run data-driven campaigns and optimize web pages. In a nutshell, website metrics are measurements that assess users’ on-site activities and how they impact your performance.
There are many measurable variables, but in this blog, we focused on the 7 most important website metrics to monitor to improve conversions.
1. Website Traffic
Website traffic refers to the number of users visiting your website in a given time. You can measure website traffic over a year, month, or day.
Many tools present traffic as the combined volume of visitors on all your pages, but you can also zoom into specific pages and organize data into categories. This way, you see exactly when there’s a surge of visitors on your website and what pages they gravitate to.
The information given by this metric is important in directing future marketing efforts and applying fixes to your website.
For example, if you detect sudden drops in traffic, it may indicate problems with your web host, 404 errors, or slow site speed. Constant monitoring of web traffic helps you identify and address problems quickly to prevent further damage to page ranking and overall performance.
Additionally, determining when your website is the busiest allows you to time the release of content perfectly. In effect, your campaigns reach more people, and conversion rates improve.
You can increase website traffic by doing the following:
- Engaging in email marketing
- Establishing your presence in social media
- Leveraging on SEO
- Paying for ads
2. Bounce Rate
Bounce rate is given by the number of single-page sessions divided by the total number of sessions.
When we say single-page sessions, we mean those with visitors who land on your website and exit without interacting with any internal links. They don’t press any buttons, fill out forms, or navigate to other pages.
High bounce rates signify many things like slow loading times, issues with content, and a confusing user interface. They’re often associated with poor web performance, while low rates are said to be a sign of good web design and content.
These are true on some level, but they’re not ironclad rules. For instance, high bounce rates on blog pages are perfectly normal because their only goal is to inform. That means you need to take into account context when interpreting this metric.
To lower high bounce rates in pages meant to engage and convert, you can do the following:
- Reduce pop-ups
- Write strong CTAs
- Optimize site speed
- Conduct split testing
3. Average Session Duration
Average session duration measures the average time spent by users on your website. The clock runs as soon as visitors land on a page, and the session ends when they exit or remain inactive for a given time.
The formula for this website metric is the total session duration divided by total sessions. You can generate this data using tools like Google Analytics.
Average session duration is analyzed alongside bounce rate and pages per session to reveal trends about user engagement. The longer users spend time on your website, the better and more numerous interactions they had with your brand.
According to industry standards, a good average session duration lasts for 2 to 3 minutes. Within that time, users would’ve accomplished answering a form or reading a blog.
You can increase your average session duration by doing the following:
- Refining your web design
- Inserting internal links in blogs
- Personalize content
- Craft a seamless user journey
4. Pages Per Session
Pages per session is a website engagement metric that gives insight into how effectively your content resonates with users. It is the average number of pages viewed in one session.
Analytics tools arrive at a value by dividing the number of page views by the total number of sessions. If you visualize your data as a line graph, you’ll see whether or not your campaigns and website optimizations are doing their job.
A high score in this metric means that your website keeps users engaged and your content encourages them to explore other pages. You should, however, consider other metrics while looking at pages per session.
If your data shows a high number of pages per session combined with short session durations and high bounce rates, it’s not because users are engaged. The more likely causes are irrelevant content and poor accessibility which make users flip through pages thoughtlessly.
To boost this metric the right way, implement the following fixes:
- Personalize user experiences
- Use infographics
- Publish relevant content
- Use catchy headlines
5. Traffic Source
Traffic source is a metric that analyzes where users come from before landing on your website. There are four main sources of traffic: direct, referral, organic search, and campaign traffic.
Direct traffic refers to the volume of visitors who land on your site by entering your URL into their browser. Referral traffic is when visitors click on a link on another website and get redirected to one of your pages.
Organic search traffic is the main target of SEO specialists. It is the traffic segment coming from search engine results. Lastly, campaign traffic is made up of users who clicked an ad, usually leading them straight to a product page or eCommerce homepage.
Knowing your greatest sources of traffic and where it’s lacking informs your overall marketing strategy. It’s also a good metric to keep an eye on to ensure you’re getting your money’s worth on paid advertisments. Just remember to look at the quality of your leads as well since traffic alone does not show you the whole picture.
To increase your website traffic, try the following:
- Target long-tail keywords
- Promote your website on social media
- Post value-adding content
- Build your backlinks on reputable sites
6. Value per Visit
Value per visit is a website metric that specifically measures the profitability of a website. It quantifies the worth of each visit in terms of conversion potential and revenue generated.
The simplest formula for value per visit is dividing the total number of hits by the total profit gained. This is applicable for product pages and other sections of the website that directly sells to visitors.
For blog pages, “value” takes on a different meaning. Visitors create value on informational web pages by sharing your content, contributing to page views, and engaging with others and your brand in the comments section.
Value per visit is considered by many as the most important SEM metric. It gives you a good idea of the quality of leads that come in your website and where your online platform stands in terms of ROI. As such, it’s crucial in planning for sustainable and profitable growth.
To increase value per visit, apply the following fixes:
- Remove unnecessary steps in the checkout process
- Add social proof
- Nurture leads through email marketing
- Split test your landing pages
7. Exit Pages/Exit Rate
An exit page is the last page a user views before closing a website. It’s often overlooked by marketers, but it’s one of the most crucial website metrics.
On Google Analytics, you can view the exit rate per web page. This tells you exactly where your users experience friction while moving through your sales funnel.
An ideal journey will end at a Thank You Page which appears after checkout. But if there are too many distractions or your user interface is not up to par, you’ll see a spike in exit rates before visitors are finished with their transaction.
Exit pages offer a brilliant way to identify painpoints fast to rollout the necessary tweaks and provide a better user experience.
To keep exit rates low, do the following:
- Make sure all links are working properly
- Label desired paths clearly
- Optimize your sales funnel
- Enable a chatbot for 24/7 customer support
Takeaway
Growing your website requires careful monitoring of multiple website metrics.
During your analysis, take into account various metrics together to get a better look at the issues you’re dealing with. Don’t jump into conclusions when you only have data from one measurement because it can be very deceiving without the rest.
Most importantly, know the short- and long-term goals you have for your business. It will save you time and let you focus on the metrics that matter to you.
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