Things to Know about Web Analytics

Website traffic is great, but it doesn't necessarily generate revenue. Good website analytics can tell you not only who is visiting your site, but also why. Many free website analytics packages are available, including the ubiquitous Google Analytics. From Entrepreneur.com, here are questions to ask yourself as you analyze the numbers for your website.

Do your website visitors already know you?
Your website should be linking you to potential new customers who were previously unfamiliar with your business. Ideally, only a small percentage of visitors to your site should have used the company's name to find it.

Are you bringing in potential customers?
The more specific the search term used to find your site, the more likely that searcher will buy from you.

Does your social media presence work?
"If you spend 10 percent of your online marketing efforts on social media and 25 percent of your website visits come from Facebook or Twitter, you're in good shape." Track how many people come to your site for specific promotions on social media.

Are visitors bailing from your homepage?
Bounce rate is the percentage of homepage visitors who never clicked on additional pages. Anything over 70% is problematic. If the search terms that led people to your site are the ones you want, then the bounce rate is likely due to design issues or content that isn't compelling.

Are they looking at your product or service pages?
Your homepage is failing if people never look at pages that allow them to buy. The homepage should be divided into decision-making paths that quickly separate visitors by their interests and lead them to the information they want.

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