What is web analytics?

Web analytics is a data collection and analysis method used for monitoring a website’s performance, traffic, and user behavior. 

It helps website builders make better web optimization choices, aiming for higher conversion rates, and better user experience.

A popular web analytics tool, Google Analytics lets you track all analytics data from a single dashboard. 

Web analytics metrics

Below are some of the key metrics that web analytics software usually tracks.

Traffic volume and sources

Website traffic is the metric that tells you how many website visitors you get.

There are four types of website traffic that most web analytics tools monitor, depending on their source:

• Organic traffic – traffic from search engines (a direct result of a successful search engine optimization (SEO) strategy
• Referral traffic – traffic that comes from other websites and social media
• Direct traffic – visitors who come to your website via your URL in their browser directly (without having to look it up first)
• Paid traffic – traffic generated by paid ads

High traffic volume indicates that a site has been successful in ranking in the search results page (SERP). 

This can be achieved by producing high-quality content, optimizing for keywords, building backlinks to the site, purchasing paid ads, and countless other techniques.

Knowing the source of your traffic can also help you to optimize your channels for maximum traffic. For example, low organic traffic signals poor SEO practices.

User behavior

User behavior refers to the way visitors interact with a website.

By knowing how users respond to your content, you know which web page gets the most and least traction and whether your site provides an optimal visitor experience. 

It also tracks new and returning visitors and how they navigate through your website – useful for perfecting the design and identifying any issues related to content placement.

Bounce rate

The bounce rate is the percentage of visitors who click off your website without exploring other pages.

A high bounce rate may indicate issues within your website such as:

• Low-quality or misleading content 
• Slow load speed
• Bad user experience
• Wrong target audience

Some exceptions apply to landing pages and one-page sites where visitors only interact with one page.

Mobile usage vs desktop usage

This metric tracks your site’s mobile and desktop traffic data. It compares both types of data in terms of quantity (number of visitors), session duration, and conversion rate.

The collection of data is useful for determining the best optimization strategies for mobile and desktop devices.

Why is web analytics important?

• Website analytics gives insights into your visitors’ browsing habits and preferences
• Detects any bottlenecks that may affect a website’s traffic volume and conversion rate
• Identifies your most and least popular web page for content optimization
• Tracks your website’s traffic and growth
• Helps to identify the best practices for marketing your website