Monitoring your web traffic

Just having a website is not enough. To get the most out of your investment you need to track visitors to your site and monitor what they do when they get there. You can then use this data to improve conversion rates. Read on and find out how to use web analytics.

Analysing how visitors find your website and what they do when they get there is an essential part of driving traffic to your site and increasing conversions – whether your objective is getting people to sign up to a newsletter or buy from an online shop.

“Most firms’ websites fail to perform because they ignore their objectives when creating a web strategy or don’t measure how well their online marketing performs against their targets,” reveals Peter Hawtin, founder of web marketing agency Brand New Way. “You need to monitor if your site is meeting your objectives by measuring key performance indicators.”

You can find out where your visitors come from and how they use your site by using free online tools such as Google Analytics or Clicky. “There are more advanced, paid-for tools available, but for most small firms the free tools are sufficient,” advises Hawtin.

Getting started with web analytics

One of the most commonly-used web analytics packages is Google Analytics. It's popular because it's free and has comprehensive features. If you're not sure which tool to start using, Google Analytics is probably your best option and it's easy to sign up to online.

Most packages track users in the same way. You have to place a special piece of tracking code on each page of your website. This enables your analytics package to follow visitors as they move through your site.

If you created your site using website building software then it may include an option to add your tracking code automatically. If not, you might need help from a web developer or IT supplier.

Analytics packages don't collect any personal information - so although you can see what each person does on your site, you can't identify who they are. However, most do place small files called cookies on people's computers, so you may need to notify visitors under the EU cookie law.

What to track with web analytics

Knowing how your visitors found your site is crucial, because it enables you to pinpoint which of your online marketing activities are effective. The results can show whether visitors arrived via a link on another site, pay-per-click advertising, an email or a search engine.

“Small businesses often don’t have the resources to do all types of online marketing, so they need to see where it's most worthwhile, and direct resources there,” explains Hawtin.

As well as telling you which channels visitors have used to find you, web analytics can also pinpoint their location. This can be useful if you plan to target customers in a particular area.

Monitor how visitors use your site

How visitors use your site speaks volumes about the quality of its content and navigation. Analysing this will help you to develop the site and improve your conversion rates.

“Find out what proportion of people coming to your website do what you want them to do and convert to your desired objective,” says Hawtin.

If conversion is low, look at aspects such as how much time visitors spend on particular pages, to determine how you can make your site more user-friendly or ‘sticky’.

You might discover that parts of your website content are ineffective. If your website is content-driven, you will want to increase the amount of time people spend on it by improving the content or updating it more regularly.    

However, your objective may not be as straightforward as getting people to spend more time on your site. “By simplifying an online application form or installing faster payment software, people will spend less time on your site but you’ll get a higher conversion because they’re more likely to complete the process,” explains Hawtin.

“There’s no point getting the results of your web analysis if you’re not going to do anything,” he concludes. “But if you interpret your results and make a one or two per cent improvement to them each quarter, it’s worthwhile.”

More information relating to web analytics:

• Video: why you need web analytics
• Working with a web agency: FAQ