Small incremental changes create a big impact
Now let’s answer this question honestly. When was the last time you took a deep dive into the analytics of your website? We’re going to take a bet that this is probably a bit longer than you’d like and we’re here to show you what you’re missing out on.
More often than not testing websites with real users is overlooked in the design and build of your website, and whilst this is an essential part of our offering, we know that’s not the case for all. Skipping this crucial step means that there are so many assumptions made along the way, be this your sitemap, user journeys, and the general look and feel of your website. The reality is that none of this has been validated by our users. If you can relate to this then the following is going to be of great value to you and your wider team.
Small incremental changes create a big impact
The best way to move forward is to really lean into and rely on your analytics. We can use this data to empower us and make small incremental changes to serve our users better.
We’re talking about going a level deeper than the surface-level stats that your Google Analytics dashboard provides. We want to get into the nitty gritty and see exactly how our users are navigating around the website and from this we’ll be able to discover:
- How we should be making our call to action clearer, perhaps even having more of them
- Understanding where users are dropping off on what we thought was an intuitive journey
- Identifying where we are experiencing high bounce rates and exploring ways to improve this
- Understanding the most popular search terms and how we could make this information more accessible at a higher level
Even just the examples above provide us with such great opportunities to improve our user experience, ensuring that people can find the information they want most easily and intuitively. Making these changes doesn’t always need to involve huge amounts of time and resources but if we make improvements little and often we’ll soon see the rewards.
Expanding our analytical avenues
The most popular choice when it comes to setting up analytics on your website is Google Analytics. They are the industry-leading option and there’s good reason for this but it doesn’t need to end there.
HotJar is a fantastic tool that can provide a whole host of additional data on how our users use our websites. Now typically this is a paid-for service but if you are an approved not-for-profit organisation then you can get your HotJar plan for free.
Here are just some of the features you’ll have access to:
- Heatmaps that visualise our user’s behaviour on a page-by-page basis
You can see exactly how far down the page your users scroll which highlights what content is getting missed. You also get to see if your call to actions are standing out enough for our users and if they are being clicked. - Recordings from your users
See exactly what their sessions look like on your website. Learn exactly how long they stay on a page and where they go next. - Ask for feedback
Add a simple widget to your website that allows you to collect feedback directly from your users when they are on your website.
Ongoing support from your digital partner
Having dedicated and ongoing support each month with your digital partner is the best way to ensure that your website is always evolving and your users are getting the best experience. This is why we favour long-term relationships with all our clients.
Being able to rely on a team of experts to guide you in what small changes will create a big impact is invaluable. We also understand that you may not have the time or even the skillset to know how to use Google Analytics and other tools to their potential. This ongoing time can be used to help train you in these tools if that’s something you desire or to be made aware of the opportunities the data is providing you with.
