In any industry, but especially in franchising when you are responsible for your brand as a whole and individual units, your digital presence has never mattered more. In addition to keeping up with all the latest core web vitals, your analytics are essential to continuously improving your website’s performance.
They are vital to understanding where you stand when it comes to Search Engine Optimization and can help you keep track of lead conversion. They tell you which pages users click on the most, which ones they stay on the longest, and which ones are most likely to prompt action (such as filling out a form, scheduling an appointment, finding directions to your locations, and so on).
No matter what analytics platform you use, there are universal, key terms you must fully understand to make the most of your data. This week, we’re breaking down some of the most common metrics:
Impressions:
One of the most basic measures of web traffic is your impressions - the number of times a page (or your website) is viewed. Keep in mind that impressions include the views themselves - not the users. So if the same user views a page 5 times, it would equal 5 impressions.
Unique Visitor (UVM):
Meanwhile, your unique visitor metric measures your reach - in other words, how many users visit your site in a specific time period (it is often abbreviated as UVM or UVPM, - “Unique Visitors Per Month”). With unique visitors, duplicate views by the same user are not counted, so if the same user views a page 5 times, it would still equal one unique visitor.
Bounce Rate:
Perhaps one of the most important when it comes to knowing what you need to improve is your bounce rate. This is the percentage of users who click on a page and then click out without exploring any further.
You want to aim for a bounce rate that’s below 40%. Because it is largely tied to relevancy, a bounce rate that is too high will negatively impact your SEO ranking.
If there are specific pages on your site with higher bounce rates, you likely need to update that page’s content to be more relevant and enticing. You’ll also want to take a closer look at your user experience.
A good way to test UX is to open your site on your computer and mobile devices. Click and scroll around as any other user would, and take note of anything that “gets in the way” of a smooth experience.
Some other reasons for high bounce rates include misleading page titles, slow load times, lack of ADA compliance, too many pop-ups/”moving parts”, and technical glitches.
Engagement Rate
On the flip side, your engagement rate is a measure of how good your website is. It measures the truly meaningful visits. Your engagement rate is driven by users who scroll through your website, open different pages, or take some sort of action (clicking a link, filling out a form, using a chatbot, etc.), and is one of the most valuable metrics that drive a successful website. It can be the “middle ground” between a user visiting your site and becoming a paying customer.
A good engagement rate is over 60%. While web traffic itself is always great, if your bounce rate is high and your engagement rate is low... all that traffic is not providing the value it could (and should) be.
Conversion Rate
As another solid measure of effectiveness, your conversation rate tracks the ratio of visits in which users took the desired action on a page. For instance, a landing page on your site typically has a specific goal.
Let’s say you have a page with a form or appointment scheduler on it. The conversion rate tracks how many of those sessions result in a form being completed or an appointment being scheduled. You should aim to keep your site’s conversion rate at about 2%.
Take Your Website’s Performance from “Ideal” to “Superior”
Web standards are constantly evolving, and each time they do: the longer your website is not up-to-date, the further it will fall in SEO rankings. Regularly tracking and addressing your analytics is key to maintaining a competitive edge and providing an optimal customer experience.
The good news is - with DevHub, you’ll never have to worry about keeping up with the latest web standards, technical glitches, or wondering why your bounce rate is so high again. You’ll have a partner dedicated to your success, with real-time support, regular audits, and constant improvements to ensure your site is always performing to its full potential.
On average, brands that switch CMS platforms experience a 10-22% increase in organic traffic - and you could be next. Schedule a demo today to learn more about the DevHub Difference!