By analysing the way visitors navigate through your Web pages, you can improve your customer service and make your site more appealing to users.
Here are five items to pay attention to:
1. The Most Popular Pages
The most highly trafficked pages on your site can tell you what type of information visitors hope to find when they come to it.
To make your site even more effective, you'll want to highlight this content by making it available in fewer clicks or finding ways to package it as "preferred" content. For instance, if you discover a particular product offering is receiving the most hits, position it on the home page where it will be easy to find, and group it with links to complementary products or services that may interest people who buy it.
2. The Least Popular Pages
Your site traffic can also tell you which site offerings are duds. For example, if you have a "joke of the day" feature that receives only three hits per month, you might consider replacing it with more details about your product offerings.
Be sure to analyse why a particular page is not popular before taking it down. Is it difficult to find? Does it take a long time to load? Is it relevant to only a small portion of site visitors? Keep in mind that even pages with low traffic may be closing sales for you. If it encourages even one person to do business with you, it's probably worth keeping.
3. Traffic Patterns
Study the length of time that visitors are staying on your site and how they are navigating through it. This may uncover a site structure that works well for users, so you can replicate it elsewhere on your site. It may also help you find inconsistencies in site navigation and information paths.
For example, if you notice that users jump to multiple pages, staying only a short time on each, and then leave your site completely, it may be a sign that it's difficult for visitors to find the details they need. It might also be a sign that your site takes too long to load, which will drive users away.
4. E-mail and Phone Queries
Track the e-mails and customer calls your business receives for signs of improvements that can be made to your site.
Do a number of customers ask similar questions? It may be time to update your FAQs. Are requests for product details common? You may need to make your product descriptions clearer or more robust. Are people confused about the status of their online orders? It may be time to review the ordering process.
Identifying trends in these communications can help you improve visitors' experiences with your site.
5. Customer Feedback
You can use your site to solicit direct feedback on its effectiveness by doing a little online market research.
Add a temporary customer survey to the home page and offer an incentive for completion, such as a 10% discount on your products and services. You can ask questions about site navigation, design, or ordering processes.
It's also a good idea to institute and monitor a permanent customer feedback e-mail address that visitors can access from any page on your site.
Find Companies who specialise in Web Site Analytics software in your local area.