20: Squarespace Analytics 101: 5 website metrics you need to track
EPISODE SUMMARY
Ever wonder how successful websites know what their visitors love (and what needs a little work)? It's all thanks to something called website analytics! Don't worry, it's not as scary as it sounds. Think of it as a secret superpower that helps you understand your website visitors and make your site even more awesome.
In this episode of Think Inside the Square, I’m breaking down the top 5 website analytics metrics you should know. These are like little clues that tell you what's working and what could be improved on your website. By keeping an eye on these, you can make your website more engaging and keep visitors coming back for more!
Squarespace Analytics Metric #1: Bounce Rate
Imagine someone walks into your store, looks around for a second, and then walks right out. Website bounce rate is kind of like that. It tells you the percentage of visitors who leave your website after just viewing one page.
A high bounce rate could mean a few things. Maybe your website is a bit confusing, and visitors aren't sure where to go next. Or perhaps there's not a clear call to action (like a button or link telling them what to do). The good news is, by understanding your bounce rate, you can make changes to make your website more welcoming and keep visitors exploring!
Squarespace Analytics Metric #2: Pageviews
This one's pretty straightforward! Pageviews tell you how many times each page on your website has been viewed. It's like counting how many people wander into different sections of your store. By seeing which pages have the most views, you can understand what kind of content your visitors find most interesting. This can help you create even more awesome content that they'll love!
Squarespace Analytics Metric #3: Conversion Rate
Think of this as your website's "high five" metric! Conversions are actions you want visitors to take on your site, like signing up for your newsletter or downloading a freebie. The conversion rate tells you how many visitors are actually taking those actions.
Here's a cool tip: Don't compare apples to oranges! The conversion rate for a free download will naturally be higher than for a high-priced product. Track different types of conversions to get a better picture of what's working on your website.
Squarespace Analytics Metric #4: Visits by Traffic Source
Ever wonder how people find your website? Traffic sources tell you exactly that! This metric shows you if visitors are coming through search engines, social media, or other online channels. Knowing where your traffic comes from helps you focus your marketing efforts on the places that are sending you the most visitors!
Squarespace Analytics Metric #5: Average Session Duration
This metric tells you how long visitors typically spend on your website. Think of it like how long people spend browsing in your store. A longer session duration usually means your content is interesting and engaging. If the average session duration is low, it might be a sign that visitors aren't finding what they're looking for.
By keeping an eye on these five website analytics metrics, you'll gain superpowers (well, almost!) to understand what your visitors love and what could be improved. Remember, Becca has even more tips and tricks to share on the Think Inside the Square podcast, so be sure to check out the show notes for this episode and subscribe to learn more! Now, go out there and make your website the best it can be!
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Websites are not permanent. You can change the content anytime you want to, and to be honest, I think you should! In this episode of ThinkInsideTheSquare, we’ll be digging into analytics. I want to teach you about the top 5 metrics you should keep an eye on. These stats will help you learn how people interact with your content, and how you can make it better.
Welcome to ThinkinsideTheSquare, a podcast full of quick tips and tricks to help you create a Squarespace website that you’re proud of. I’m your host, Becca Harpain, Squarespace expert and founder of [insidethesquare.co](http://insidethesquare.co)
In this episode, we're diving into the five key analytics metrics that every website owner should track.
For a transcript of this episode along with the links to any resources mentioned, visit [insidethesquare.co](http://insidethesquare.co) forward slash podcast
The term Squarespace is a trademark of squarsapce inc. this content is not affiliated with Squarespace inc.
Reviewing your website metrics isn't just about numbers; it's about improving your website content so it helps the right people reach the right content and helps you achieve your goals.
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Now you can be using Squarespace Analytics, Google Analytics, or another third-party program; I honestly don't care where these numbers come from. It’s the patterns that matter the most. We want to dig into the details to find out what your audience likes, how they found you, and what you can do to help them and any future visitors find what they are looking for.
Let’s go ahead and start with one of the most important metrics - bound rate.
Bounce Rate is the percentage of visitors who land on a page of your site and then...bounce away without exploring further. They don't click on a button. They don't go to another page. They don't play a video. They load the page and leave.
Why does this matter? Well, a high bounce rate could be a sign of a few different problems. If you look at your analytics and you see a page or a few pages with a high bounce rate I want you to ask yourself these questions.
Is the page confusing? Are the next steps clear, or is there so much going on that people would rather leave than choose their own adventure?
Next question - is there anything to do? Is it a blog post with no lead magnet, no call to action, no recommended articles below; nothing for them to do but read and leave? Then you have some updates to make, my friend!
And the last question - is your page outdated or showing up for the wrong reasons? If it’s obviously old content, people aren’t likely to stick around. If it’s showing up in search results for the wrong topic, that’s a red flag right there. Both of these are reasons to redesign and re-optimize your site.
Onto the second metric - **Pageviews**
This metric tells you how many times a page on your website has been viewed. Why is this important? It helps you understand which pages are the most popular. You can use this information to optimize content and drive more traffic to high-value areas of your site.
it’s also good to do a quick check - compare total visits to page views. Are people looking at more than one thing? That paired with a low bounce rate is a great sign. It means that people are exploring more about what you have to share once they are on your site. a low number of page views compared to total visits paired with a high bounce rate is not great - it means people are getting to your site and not interested in what they see. it might be time to reevaluate your menu structure, your page layout, or the type of content you are sharing.
**Conversion Rate is our next metric.**
It sounds like a sales thing, and technically it is, but not always! A conversation can be about any action you want your visitor to take. Signing up for a newsletter, downloading a freebie, making a purchase. This metric tells you how well your website is at turning visitors into conversions - customers and/or leads.
It’s important to group these by type because some conversions will be higher than others because of what the conversion actually is. A freebie or lead magnet as some folks call it should have a higher conversion than an actual product. And low price products should have a higher conversion than big-ticket items. But regardless of what the conversion rate should be, I think it should be tracked for any and every major action a person can take on your website.
The fourth metric**: visits by Traffic Source**
Knowing where your traffic comes from is a game-changer. "Traffic Sources" show you if people find your website through search engines, social media, or other means. Understanding this metric helps you focus your marketing efforts and maximize the channels that work best for you. You can take this a step further and dig into bounce rate by traffic source, pageviews by traffic source, time on site and all that magic. I recommend that everyone start with tracking visits and then you can go from there.
The fifth metric is **Average Session Duration.**
It's the amount of time, on average, that a visitor spends on your site. It can be different for some folks, but usually, the longer, the better. A high average session duration can indicate that your content is engaging and valuable, while a low duration may mean it's time for a revamp.
It’s important to group these by type, just like we did for conversion rate. My blog posts have a high session duration thanks to my video content, while some of my resource articles don't. That’s why I like to look at average session duration in groups of page types, comparing my blog posts with one another and my landing page and resource guides separately.
There you have it, the five essential metrics every website owner should track. Let’s recap shall we?
Number one - bounce rate. Why are people leaving so fast, and how can you make sure they find what they are looking for?
Number two: page views. how many pages are they looking at once they get to your site.
Number three: conversion rate. group these by type; freebies should have a higher conversion than a paid product.
Number four: visits by traffic sources. where is your traffic coming from and can you do any strategic marketing to increase those stats for a specific channel?
Number five: average season duration. Once someone gets to your site, how long do they stay?
if you want a list of these metrics to keep on hand the next time you dig into your data, visit the shownotes for this episode at [insidethesquare.co/podcast](http://insidethesquare.co/podcast)
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Thank you so much for listening to this episode of Think Inside the Square; I hope you loved it.
I have a lot more tips and tricks to share with you about making an amazing Squarespace website that is uniquely yours. So be sure to subscribe to my brand new podcast wherever you happen to be listening to this episode.
Thanks again for listening. And most importantly, have fun with your Squarespace website. Bye for now.
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