What Is Web Analytics Your 101 on Analytics and How to Get Started

Wondering what is web analytics? Web analytics is a way of collecting and analyzing whats happening on your website, covering everything from what your visitors are doing, where they come from, what content they like, and a whole lot more.By using a web analytics tool to collect data, youll be able to know what is and isnt working, and then steer your website in the right direction.In this article, were going to answer the question: What is web analytics? in more detail, and talk about why its important. Then well show you five analytics metrics you need to start tracking right away. Lets talk numbers! An example of web analytics in the free Google Analytics toolThere is a lot of data you can collect about the way people interact with your website. For example, you can track overall visits, the pages users spend the most time on, which sites led them to your site, and more.If youre new to web analytics, the sheer amount of information you get access to can be overwhelming, as is figu ring out what to do with it. However, making sense of this data is essential, because it will enable you to keep a finger on your sites pulse.Lets take time on site, for example. This metric measures how long users spend on your site on average, and on each of your pages individually. Generally speaking, if visitors are only spending a few seconds on your website before leaving, this means theres something wrong with it.If youre wondering, users spend around three minutes on most websites on average.In the next section, were going to introduce you to some more key metrics you need to keep an eye on and why theyre important.Five key web analytics you should be trackingThere are a lot of metrics you can track using analytics tools. However, these five are a great place to start. Lets begin with your general visitor numbers.1. Overall trafficWhen we talk about web traffic, we refer to the number of visits your site gets over a specific period of time. This number is significant, becaus e it tells you if your website is getting the attention it deserves.Lets say youre getting about 50 visitors per day. Thats a low number if your website has been around for a year. However, its decent if you set up shop a  month ago. In other words, not only is it important to keep an eye on your traffic, but also the way it evolves.Ideally, your numbers will go up as your website grows older. If your traffic stagnates or diminishes over time, its a marker youre not doing something right. In most cases, it might be due to Search Engine Optimization (SEO) issues, so thats always a good place to start.2. Bounce rateWhen someone visits your site and leaves without viewing a second page, we call that a bounce. The percentage of those visits you get measured against your overall traffic makes up your bounce rate.This metric is important because it tells you if there are any outstanding usability issues with your website. Some of the most common causes for a high bounce rate include:Lon g loading timesA clunky navigation schemeAn unattractive web designThe average bounce rate for most websites is anywhere between 20 and 70% (lower is better). However, as a rule of thumb, if your bounce rate is higher than 30%, youll want to take a close look at the possible causes we mentioned above.However, bounce rate is highly dependent on what content your site provides and what searchers are looking for, so its not  always  Ã‚  a bad thing if youre above that number.3. Traffic sourcesIn most cases, first-time visitors will find your website via links instead of typing in your URL. The pages that link to your site are your traffic sources, and we can usually break them down into four categories:Search enginesLinks from other sitesVisits from email campaignsLinks from social mediaGenerally speaking, you want to build up all four sources of traffic. However, your primary focus will usually be search engines, because they have the potential to bring in massive traffic. More im portantly, if your website ranks consistently high in search results, it tends to be easier to get links from other sites, because theyll consider you a reputable source.With web analytics tools, you can easily monitor your traffic sources and adjust your strategy accordingly. For example, if you dont see much traffic from search engines, you know you have to revise your keyword strategy.4. Desktop vs. mobile visitsIt might not come as a surprise to learn that mobile traffic is now fully adopted by many web users. In fact, it overtook regular desktop traffic a while ago, which means its essential for your website to offer a strong mobile experience.With analytics tools, you can track what percentage of users are visiting your site through desktop or mobile browsers. Its a simple enough metric to interpret, and it tells you where to focus your efforts.Even if your website is getting more desktop than mobile traffic, we still recommend that you focus on optimizing its mobile experienc e. Adopting a mobile-first approach to web design will pay off over the long run.5. New and returning visitorsIdeally, you want people to keep coming back to your website over and over again. We call those users return visitors (and theyre the best!), but you can also think of them as your core audience.A lot of people have different ideas about what constitutes a decent returning user rate. In our experience, if your recurring traffic is anywhere around 30% of your total, youre doing pretty well.However, if its below 20%, this means your website isnt as engaging as it could be. This might be due to usability issues – such as those affecting your bounce rate – or your content strategy. In any case, its grounds for taking a close look at your site and figuring out how you can improve it.How to start collecting web analyticsThe most popular web analytics tool is Google Analytics. This official tool is 100% free and gives you access to all the metrics we covered above, pl us a whole lot more.To get started, you can follow our guide on how to set up Google Analytics on WordPress. Or, you can use a plugin like Google Analytics WD.Once you have Google Analytics working on your site, you can read our beginners guide to the Google Analytics interface to get your bearings. And once youve got the basics down, you might want to look into creating your own custom dashboards to quickly access important analytics data.ConclusionA lot of people run their websites without keeping an eye on their metrics. That  might  work, but you have so many great analytics tools at your disposal, its a waste if you dont use them. For example, just keeping an eye on your traffic alone can tell you if your content strategy is paying off (or if you need to try something new).There are a lot of numbers you need to pay attention to when it comes to web analytics. However, here are five of the most important metrics for you to keep an eye on:Overall trafficBounce rateTraffic sou rcesDesktop vs. mobile visitsNew and returning visitorsDo you have any questions about what is web analytics? Ask away in the comments section below! Confused by #web #analytics? Here's what they are, plus why they matter for your #website