Do website metrics on your site leave you feeling confused? Do you ever feel overwhelmed by measuring data for your website, or even wonder what data is critical to measure in a scenario of TMD (too much data)? I know I sometimes do. Maybe just glancing at your Google Analytics dashboard leaves you feeling a little overwhelmed. Much like the busy highway, your website has many entry points and exits. Understanding these will help you to keep more visitors on your website longer and convert them to customers.
Website Metrics Matter
It doesn’t matter if you are using Google or another third-party provider to supply you with the raw data for the traffic coming to your site, it’s bound to leave you feeling overwhelmed and wondering what data matters.
3 Website Metrics to Monitor, Measure and Improve
Today we’ll talk about three metrics that it is wise to keep an eye on, and show you how to make it simpler to achieve success with your website.
1. Test Call to Actions
While the Call to Action (CTA) may be the last thing that a visitor on your site sees, we are going to talk about it first. I think it’s one of the most important, one of the easiest to change, and to test. Most people may only think of changing the color of the button. However, there are other things to consider such as placement, size, and shape of your button. And of course, there is always the message in your Call to Action.
I like keeping a swipe file with catchy CTAs (and headlines) from magazines and advertisements I receive in the mail. If I’m feeling less than inspired when it’s time to write a call to action, I’ll pull out the file and read through it for inspiration. For me, it’s a great way to think more creatively.
Try A/B split testing to change these different elements to see what converts best, both on your website and sales pages.
2. Optimize those Headlines
Headlines are crucial because it’s the first thing that a reader sees, and it determines whether they will click and start reading, or move on. If your headlines are duds, it doesn’t matter how fantastic the blog post, sales page, or social media post is – more times than not, it’s not going to get read.
Need good inspiration for headline writing? Thumb through Oprah or an excellent magazine in your niche. Don’t steal the headline word-for-word – that is, of course, plagiarism – but it can definitely get the creative juices flowing. If you are running ads, try using different headlines and test to determine what works. Keep notes to refer back to what your audience liked, and what they didn’t like. Here’s a free headline testing tool to try out.
3. Put Heatmaps to Work
Do you track where your readers go on your site? Do you see how long they stay there? If you do not monitor where they are, how can you tell what they like, and understand how to give them more of it? Heatmap plugins for WordPress include Hotspots Analytics, Clicky Analytics, Heatmap for WordPress, and more of course.
I just recently added a WordPress heatmap plugin to my own site. Most are free to get started and effortless to use. It shows me what content I want to change because readers aren’t interested, and what they are reading, so I can give them more of the same kind of material.
Take Website Metrics Step-by-Step
These are just three easy ways that you can measure ROI on your website. I hope this makes you feel a little bit more at ease with a few of your analytics. If you just take them one at a time and break them down, you will find that they are not so hard to understand. You don’t have to understand everything at once, nor do you have to fix everything in one day.
Do you feel ready to take on that data now? Share your thoughts in the comments!
