Nothing has been posted since before the holidays. Naturally, the holidays are busy, and when we got back, the whole family got sick. I didn’t get it nearly as bad as my wife and daughter; just a nagging cough and stuffy head. Nagging cough = no podcasts. However, I have been writing them. And when I can talk for 3 minutes without coughing, you will get a lot in a row.
This got the nerd in me thinking. We know when we are sick, but do we know when our website is sick? Do we know when it’s not operating 100%? Is something stopping your site from being the best it can be? There are symptoms doctors look for, and there are symptoms to look at for websites too. Here are a few symptoms that may suggest your website is sick (PROTIP- If you don’t have analytics, you’ll never even know if you are sick or healthy):
1) Bounce Rate: This is the ratio of visitors that view one page and then exit your site. A high bounce rate means users are not interested in your home page. Something is turning them off immediately. Benchmark performance, make a change & track the results. Later, rinse, repeat.
2) Time On Site: If users aren’t spending enough time on your site, make a change. Either navigation is bad, copy is bad, no clear direction on what they should do, or all of the above and many more not mentioned. If users are only spending seconds on your site, make a change and watch the results.
3) Pages Per Visit: Similiar to time on site. If you have 20 pages, but users are only viewing 2, you have a problem. View a path analysis & exit page report to see where uses are dropping off, and find a way to keep them on the site.
4) Exit Pages: Know the last page users were on before they left your site. If a high percentage of users leave from a page that you want them to stay on, make a change.
5) Geography: Notice a lot of visits from South America, but you don’t have a Spanish version of your site? Create a Spanish version.
6) New vs Return Visitors: If you have a site that thrives on repeat visitors (such as this one), it is important to see what percentage of users return to your site. If it’s incredibly low, create content that makes a user want to come back.
7) Position in Search Engines: This is a biggie. If your site can’t be found in search engines, the rest of these points are moot. Knowing where you rank & why is the first step to improving it. The Keyword report can show you what keywords users are searching for when they find you. If it’s not what you expect or want, make a change.
There you have it. These quick checks can help you determine the health of your website. Watch them all on your dashboard for an easy way to monitor your site’s performance.
If you have any questions on these, feel free to email justin@activatedbyrobots.com.
