Website metrics is a whole range of measurements made on an individual website so as to improve statistics and tracking of its performance. Metrics are actually the behind-the-scenes numbers behind various factors pertaining to a website’s performance. Proper monitoring of these numbers can often yield much more insight than simple tracking. It can provide valuable information about things like page views, bounce rates, page speeds, click-through rates, and more.
The most common website metrics being used by marketers today are page views and unique visitors. These are often the most crucial metrics, since they gauge the success of a website and its effectiveness in driving traffic to it. Page views show how many people are visiting a particular page at a time. Unique visitors represent how many people came to the site through a link from another website, e.g. Email, blog post, or ad. These numbers are ideal since they show what kind of content is drawing visitors, which is important to a marketer looking to increase sales.
While not all analytics are equally useful, web analytics offered by a number of companies are quite reliable in determining where marketing efforts should focus their attention. Companies offering analytics software packages typically offer a host of tools. Some of the most popular are Paget’s Free Basics, Google Analytics, and Yahoo Webmaster Tools. These three basic packages cover the basics that many marketers need to get started. Beyond these, more complex web analytics may be available to upgrade to.
In addition to measuring performance in terms of page views, unique visitors, and page speeds, website metrics can also track conversion rates. The conversion rate is how many people visit a site and then leave without buying, registering, or navigating away from the site. Since it can take many people to make a purchase, tracking this metric can provide valuable insights into how well a site is performing. For example, if a site with a low conversion rate seems to be doing well, it may be because fewer people are buying the products and services featured on the site.
Another type of measurement commonly included in website metrics is the number of leads generated. Leads are information provided by visitors to websites. This includes individuals who have contacted the site, called an agent, visited the site, or visited the links within the site. Through web analytics, a business owner can see who has generated the leads for a business. These leads can be useful as a way of evaluating marketing campaigns, or they may indicate a lack of interest from visitors.
Conversion rates allow a business owner to see whether traffic is being converted into leads or sales. A business owner will know exactly which pages of a website are converting, which visitors are not interested in purchasing, or which traffic is being encouraged to make a purchase in the future. Conversions are important website metrics because these represent the number of visitors who are interested in a site but are not making a purchase or taking any action.
Bounce rates are another type of website metrics used to evaluate marketing campaigns. Bounce rates refer to the number of times a visitor visits a site but does not complete a request for more information or make a purchase. Business owners can use traffic analytics to determine which pages on their website are having the most activity and should focus on improving these pages in order to drive more visitors to purchase items, special access services, or request additional information. Bounce rates can also help marketers identify areas of the site that may need further development.
A final type of metric is the dwell time on each page of a site. The dwell time indicates the length of time a visitor spends on a page. Businesses must measure the amount of time a visitor spends on a page because different pages of the site may have varying amounts of time before a visitor arrives at the next page. For example, if the landing page has a very long load time, it may be difficult for a visitor to wait more than 10 seconds for the page to load. Measuring the amount of time a visitor spends on each page of a site is an important way to evaluate visitor traffic quality and discover new strategies for attracting more visitors.