Website analytics play a pretty important part in both determining how much value you get from your website (in terms of traffic, enquiries and business etc), but also in finding areas in which you could make your website even more successful.

There are many different website statistics and analytics packages on the market, some are free, while some require payment. Our preference is to use the freely available Google Analytics, which offers plenty of valuable information about your website right away, but can also be customised to provide more in depth statistics.

So how can the statistics and information found in your site analytics help you improve your website?

This month's Web Wise Business 3 Free Tips looks at three prominent statistics and the types of improvements they suggest you should make:

1. Bounce Rate

Bounce rate refers to the percentage of visitors who have arrived on your website before quickly leaving to visit another website without viewing more than one page. Ideally you want this statistic to be low, while the average level for different types of sites (brochure, e-commerce, news, events etc) will vary, below 45% is pretty good going.

If you find you have a high bounce rate, you might want to consider more clearly defining your content and creating realistic visitor expectations in any directory listings or advertising before they land on your website. Someone clicking on a Google Ad for car parts which takes them to a photographers website isn't likely to stick around for long!

It is also worth considering how accessible your website is to users - how easy is it to navigate / find what your looking for, how intuitive is it to use etc.

2. Average Time on Site

This refers to the average amount of time visitors are spending on your website. Obviously, in most cases, the longer the better - though for some e-commerce sites, the quicker a visitors becomes a customer, the better.

If you find the average time visitors spend on your website to be low, you may want to consider how engaging and relevant the content on your website is likely to be to them - do you provide value enough to make them stick about?

Design can also be an important factor - visitors are more likely to spend time on an attractive, well presented website, than a relic of the late 90's.

3. % New Visits

This refers to the percentage of visitors to your website who have not visited before. When looking at this statistic, it is worth taking into account both the total number of visits to the website and the time period which you are looking at. While it is good to have a steady stream of new visitors to your website, if none of them comeback then chances are something isn't right!

If your find the percentage of new visits statistic to be unusually high, without any correlation to promotions such as competitions, then you may want to again consider the quality of the content you provide, along with how you maintain regular contact with visitors / customers. E-newsletters can be a very powerful tool for bringing visitors back to your website on a regular basis.

 

1. #1 isn't always the #1 place to be

2. Landing and take-off

3. Match point

 

1. Make It Easy To Digest

2. Compelling Headlines / Titles & Opening Paragraphs

3. Make It REALLY Easy To Share

Twitter , the latest social media phenomenon has garnered sizeable media coverage lately for its ability to allow individuals from across the globe to remain in communication on an almost continuous basis and for the speed with which news is spread over the platform.

1.  What's in it for your followers? - As with any social media platform, in order to have any hope of gaining any significant following  that can then be converted into value for your business, it is important to consider why someone would want to take the time to read what you have to say or even follow you in the first place. What's in it for them? What value are you providing them in return for them following you?
   
   With What's On Central, we have enabled followers to quickly find out which events are on, when and where, with a quick link to the actual event listing for more information.
   
   
2. Clearly present your business and what you provide -  When you create your business twitter account, be sure to create an appropriate and attractive background design, including your business logo and contact details. Also ensure that you provide an accurate description of what you do and a link to your website in the appropriate fields in order to make it as easy as possible for your followers to get to your website.
   
   
3. Be a part of the community - Perhaps most importantly, be a part of the community on Twitter. Try to get involved in discussions relating to the services you provide or the industry in which you are involved. Such discussions can be found using the Twitter search function or a variety of 3rd party applications. Being involved is the easiest way to build your Twitter following and also present yourself as a respected authority on the services your business provides. 

1. Internal Linking - Make sure that your internal web pages link to other, relevant pages on your website. For example, if you talk about the services you provide on your "About Us" page, link to the specific service pages. Making it as easy as possible for a visitor to navigate your website with as little thought required as is possible will ensure that they quickly find what they want and move through your websites selling cycle.
   
   
2. Clear, Concise Page Titles - Make sure your page titles are easy to understand and give a clear expectation of what the content on the associated page is likely to relate to. There is no point calling a page relating to HR Consultancy "The Only Advice You Need", visitors are going to find it confusing and harder to find the information they want, particularly if they are looking for HR Consultancy services!
   
   
3. Display Contact Information - Just because you have a "Contact Us" page with all your details and an inquiry form on it you cannot guarantee that visitors will bother to visit these pages or click about to find your phone number or email address. Ideally you want to encourage visitors to take action (call/email you about your products or services or make an online purchase there and then) at the point at which their interest in what you offer on your website is highest - the specific product or service pages. Make sure your telephone number and email address are visible on every page of your website, particularly those pages which provide compelling and detailed information about what you offer.

1. What Would Google Do? - Jeff Jarvis
   
   The question all businesses should be asking themselves in the current age of online technology? According to author Jeff Jarvis that question is: What Would Google Do?. Thinking and acting like the fastest growing company in the history of the world should ensure you not only survive in the current climate, but also that you grow and prosper.
   
   
2.   Web Design for ROI - Lance Loveday and Sandra Niehaus
   
   A great introduction to how to make sure your website makes a return on your investment and more beyond that. Starting from a simple high level explanation, Web Design for ROI takes your through planning the purpose of your website and how to make sure you are targeting the correct audience.
   
   
3. Don't Make Me Think!: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability - Steve Krug
   
   Keeping things simple for visitors to your website is the easiest way to ensure they take the actions you want them to take, be that complete a form, continue deeper into the site for more information, or make a purchase. How often have you arrived on a website and not been given a clear direction on "here's what to do now"?

1. Incentivise - Give your potential customers a compelling reason to visit your website. Competitions work well here, as do prizes for interaction with the website. The latter is particularly useful on community websites for establishing user loyalty to your website as, in order to gain the prize, visitors have to get involved and contribute a certain amount or in a certain way. Typically, after the prize giving period has passed, these users will have become a part of the community and continue to stick around and contribute.
   
2. Exclusivity - Offer something exclusive to your potential customers on the website that wouldn't otherwise be available to them. Obviously this is a bit of an old trick, but you don't have to labour it. Simply letting customers know that they could get a better deal on your product or service if they come through your website should help draw visitors in.
   
3. Community - Community websites can work for many types of businesses, from car sales to insurance to kitchen equipment. At the most basic level, chances are, if your customer likes buying cars, they probably enjoy talking about them too. Providing a space for them to do so can encourage them to stick about on your site and draw more visitors in with their discussion.
   
   Another interesting, though slightly different, example of a community type websites for insurance is Compare the Markets Compare the Meerkat website, complete with videos and images of funny looking Meerkats.
   
   Obviously tying in with successful television advertising, this website is a different type of community website in that it doesn't allow for much discussion. It does draw in a lot of visitors though due to it's humourous nature and ensures that it isn't easy to forget Compare the Market when it comes time to search for car insurance!
   
   However, it is worth bearing in mind that community websites aren't so "simples!" to do, requiring careful planning to develop successfully and need to be of a high enough quality to encourage people to interact. That said, clearly they can be hugely successful when done right.

1. Plan Your Message - It is important to put some thought into your message if you want it to stand out from the crowd. Try to be concise and keep your video to no longer than 4 minutes in length. Don't feel the need to bombard the viewer with everything you want to say about your business. As with all types of advertising, the aim is to hit the viewer with one or two key messages that will make them want to know more about your product or services and ultimately contact you to do so.

For example, if you were selling web design services, instead of boring the user with technical information about what you can do, focus on the tangible impact on their business as a whole: "Would you like your business to grow, not shrink, in 2009? Would being visible to hundreds, even thousands more potential clients be more likely to make this possible? If you believe the answer is "Yes" then call Web Wise Business today on 01786 498 079 and find out what your new website could do for your business."

2. Remember to Include Contact Details - Your message is sorted and you have a closing statement with a good hook to ensure viewers are going to contact you regarding your services, but how can they contact you if you don't include the relevant information? Always remember to have a final image of your business logo, telephone number, email and web address so that viewers are well equipped to contact you about your services should they wish to. Ensure that this image stays on screen long enough for viewers to note the details they require.

It is also a good idea to introduce yourself and have your name appear in text at the bottom of the screen when you do so. After all, as the saying goes "people do business with people".

3. Engaging Title, Description and Your URL and Tags - It may seem like a minor part of the whole process, but the title and description you provide with your video can have a large impact on how likely people are to want to view it. Try to make your title and description interesting and engaging in order to catch the viewers eye when they search, but don't over promise or exaggerate what you are offering or you risk letting the viewer down and creating negative opinion.

Web Wise Business provide Online Marketing and Search Engine Optimisation services to clients throughout Scotland and the UK, so if you think your website could use a boost in traffic and are considering improving your online marketing, why not give us a call on 01786 498 079, or email us at info@webwisebusiness.co.uk

We currently opperate our own channel on YouTube, so if you would like to find out a little more about what we do and what interests us then feel free to take a look at our Web Wise Business channel.

E-Newsletters  are a great way of keeping in touch with your clients and contacts. They allow you to keep them up to date with all the latest news and information about your business. Met people at a networking event that you would like to have know more about your business and what you have to offer? Simply add them to your E-Newsletter contact list and you can easily and regularly remind them of what you do and why, when they, or someone they know, requires the services you provide, they should work with you.

However, there are a couple of important things to bear in mind when creating your E-Newsletters to ensure that they make enough of an impact on those who open it that they want to read the articles contained within and therefore, click through to your website. With that in mind, here are Web Wise Business's 3 Free Tips for producing  Great E-Newsletters.

As most people are no doubt aware, the internet has undoubtedly revolutionised many facets of business and how business is conducted. Yet one of the best and easiest ways of acquiring new business online is still criminally under utilised by many individuals and businesses - Online Networking.

Physical networking is something which has been a common feature in the business development plans of both sales and marketing managers and new start businesses alike. It is a well held belief that people do business with people they know and trust, therefore continual contact and relationship building is an important factor. Why, therefore,  are there so few British businessmen and businesswomen using the power of the internet to conduct these important aspects of networking?

 One only has to look at the success of websites such as Facebook and MySpace to see how popular and successful online communication and relationship building have become. Now, you might be saying to yourself "But these sites are for kids and not business!", well then clearly you haven't heard of "Linked In". Linked In is a business networking website that allows its users to identify, make and maintain contact with other businessmen and businesswomen. It also has forum sections and "groups" where users can ask and answer business related questions.

So now that you know what Linked In is, here are 3 Free Tips from Web Wise Business on how to use Linked In to grow your business:

1.  Use Linked In to identify relationships between people you know and people you want to know

This is one of the greatest strengths of Linked In, the ability to see, at a glance, people you would like to know and identify whether they are connected to you in anyway through any existing business relationships. You could then request an introduction to the target individual you would like to know from your existing contact, and at the same time, acquire more detailed information about the individual and any business opportunities that might exist.

2. Use Linked In to promote your business and any significant news

When you have significant news about your business, for example, a big product launch or a new joint venture , you can use Linked In to notify your contacts by way of a profile update. Then, in your accompanying email message to your network, you could say “I would love to catch up with you - want to make time for a phone call?” This "keeping in touch" process can then spark conversations about opportunities both for you and your contacts.

3. Position yourself as an industry expert and promote your business to a wider group

 In the user created forums on Linked In, of which there is at least one for practically every industry, you can get involved in conversations with others, and answer questions on matters relating to your industry. This allows you to effectively promote yourself as an expert in your area, as well as allowing for some modest self promotion.