Getting to grips with Google Analytics

September 21, 2010

Google Analytics is an extremely powerful tool for studying and analysing your web statistics. Understanding the basics of its terminology can help you decipher what the stats mean for your business.

What does Bounce Rate mean?

Bounce Rate – This is the percentage of visits for the amount of users that leave your website straight away from the home page (or landing page). A high bounce rate suggests that users are landing on the page and believing that the page does not have the information they need. A low bounce rate means that users are interested in the website or service and are then clicking through other pages of your website.

What does Average Time on Site mean?

Average Time on Site – A higher average time suggests that users are find your pages of use and relevant to what they need. Low average times suggest that either your pages need better content or that perhaps the keyterms you are using aren’t bringing the right user to your pages.

What does Traffic Sources mean?

Traffic Sources (on the left menu) – This can give you a better idea of how your visitors are reaching you. Are you getting the majority of your hits through the search engines or through your direct advertising? You can also see in the ‘Keywords’ section which keywords users are finding you for on Google.

What does ‘Visitors’ mean?

Visitors (on the left menu) – With this you can see whether users are new to the site or where they are returning visits. You can also go as far to see which browsers and screen resolution they are using to help identify any chinks in your existing design.

Google Analytics is a wealth of information that if taken too seriously can be a full-time job in itself. But used effectively, it can help eliminate weak parts of your website and make your online presence more efficient and effective.