Know Whether Your Online Marketing Strategy Works

The world of website analytics can seem vast and confusing if your are new to it.

But the reality is that tracking your website traffic is easier than you think and absolutely worth your time. Paying attention to how people use your website ultimately helps you build a better website and convert more often. It’s like having every single one of your visitors participate in a focus group survey.

Why Track Website Traffic?

The short answer is that it makes your entire online presence better.

Here’s how:

• Source Your Traffic – Find out which search engines and links are sending you the majority of your traffic and increase your presence at those sources.
• Audit Your Marketing – If you are spending time and money marketing online you need to use hard metrics to determine what is working and what is not.
• Evaluate Your Website – Discover which parts of your site people like and which they don’t so you can focus more of your efforts on the good.
• Spot Your Defects – Tracking website traffics reveals if your site has any defects that affect visitors using certain browsers or operating systems.
• Learn Your Customers – Learn about who is visiting and why so you can develop more refined sales strategies.

Which Metrics to Focus On?

You can track your website traffic in dozens of different ways but some metrics are more revealing than others:

• Unique Visitors – Instead of focusing on the total number of visitors, look at unique visitors instead. This gives you a more accurate picture of the size of the audience you’re reaching.
• Referrals – This metric reveals where your website traffic is coming from.
• Bounce Rate – It’s important to know how much of your traffic arrives at your site and then immediately leaves. Keeping your bounce rate low is essential for any site.
• Exit Pages – Unlike the bounce rate, this metric reveals which pages visitors left your site on after visiting multiple pages. Studying it can help you refine your content strategy and website design.
• Conversion Rate – If you’re using your website to the fullest, you’re trying to promote certain actions in your traffic (make a sale, sign up for emails, visit your Facebook, etc.). The conversion rate reveals how often you’re successful.
• Top Ten Pages – Your favorite parts of your site might be different from your visitor’s favorites. Analyzing your top ten pages shows you what your visitors really like.

Need Help Tracking Your Website Traffic?

If you would rather leave the analytics up to someone else, you may consider using an online marketing agency. You’ll want to glean deeper insights from your website traffic, and then turn those insights into marketing strategies that deliver results. Explore your options by downloading our all-inclusive 360 inbound marketing system.