Website Analytics
You may already know a lot about your audience through everyday interactions. If you’ve done focus groups or surveys, you know even more.
Website analytics data gives you another window into what your audience needs and whether your website meets those needs.
Here are some basics to help you understand your analytics.
Bounce Rate
Bounce rate is the percentage of users who enter your website—entrances in Google analytics—and visit that one page on your site and then leave your website entirely—a bounce.
Bounce Rate = Bounces ÷ Entrances
Example: 50% bounce rate = 5,000 entrances ÷ 2,500 bounces
When is a high Bounce Rate a concern?
A high bounce rate could be an issue if the goal is for page visitors to engage with links to access more detailed content, yet they exit the page without interacting. A bounce rate over 70% almost always needs investigation.
When is a high Bounce Rate ok?
A high bounce rate can be good if that page has everything your visitor needs in one spot that they can quickly find, such as a contact us page. In these cases, visitors don't need to engage, not because they are uninterested in your content, but they found exactly what they were looking for quickly.
Exit Rate
Exit rate is the percentage of people who leave your site through a particular page.
When is a high Exit Rate a concern?
A high exit rate can be concerning if the page is not intended as the final step and you want visitors to continue exploring your site. For example, there may be a problem if the primary purpose of a page is to get users to click on a major to learn more about it, yet most site visitors are leaving without clicking any links. An exit rate over 75% on this type of page should be investigated.
When is a high Exit Rate ok?
A high exit rate can indicate success if the page was intended as the final informational page and you would not expect them them to navigate further on your site. For example, people may click on a major on one page, read about that major on the next page, then go to an apply page, which would count as an exit from the site.
When is a low Exit Rate a concern?
A low exit rate can be concerning if you expected the page to be a final stop, but users continue to search the site for information on that topic. In this case, an exit rate below 30% may require investigation.
Using analytics to set a baseline for improvement
Once you understand how your visitors interact with your site, you can use this information to set a baseline for meaningful improvement. Every site has unique needs, so it's important to know your own site's baseline metrics, even if those change over time as you make improvements or adjustments.
Identify Key Performance Indicators
The first step is to identify the key performance indicators (KPIs) that will indicate whether or not your page, site, or project is a success.
What you choose as KPIs depends upon how your department measures success. Whatever you decide, make sure your KPIs are actionable and measurable.
Here are a few things to consider when deciding your KPIs:
- What web actions are you encouraging end-users to take? (e.g. increased use of calls to action like apply, visit, etc.)
- What user interactions would you like to see reduced? (e.g. reduced bounce and exit rates where appropriate)
- Are you using social media or email communications? If so, are you using UTM codes to track their success? What outcomes will prove that this is a good use of your time?
Brainstorm with your department's stakeholders to come up with a list.
Establish Baselines
Once you set your KPIs, you can establish baselines of current performance around these metrics. This is generally done by looking at your analytics data over the previous academic year since education related analytics can fluctuate greatly over the course of a calendar year.