Remember the framework
As outlined in our first Q&A, when looking at data, follow the cycle of gathering information, asking questions, analyzing insights, and acting on those insights — and repeating. With this process, we can use data and operationalize it in order to constantly optimize our digital strategy. To start, ask your team, “What are you trying to figure out?” Then, use this approach (along with awesome tools like Google Analytics) to find the answer.
Now, where is our front door? What are the top landing pages of our website?
We’ll use Google Analytics to answer this question. First, what is a landing page? A landing page is the first page that users come to when they visit your site. This is not always the homepage, which is important to know to avoid what we call front door disease. Your website is not like a shop on Main Street, there is more than one way for people to find you, and you need to know what those entrance points are.
To find your top landing pages, go to Google Analytics » Behavior » Site Content and then Landing Pages. From there, you can choose the time frame you want to look at.
In the example shown in the video, we look at the all-time Google Analytics data for Power Poetry’s website. Then we can scroll down and see which landing pages are actually driving the most sessions. In the Power Poetry example, what percent of people are coming to the home page first? You may be surprised to learn that it is only 5% of sessions. That means 95% of sessions go to a different page first. Find that other page that is the real front door to your website and optimize it with clear calls to action so you can get those new users to take the next step, whether that is an email signup, volunteer signup, or donating. Also, take a look at what people are finding on that page and consider what information about your organization they may be missing; you may want to add that somewhere on the page.
Knowing where your front door is will help you to better understand how people are finding your site and using it. Now, go forth, find your front door, and optimize it for impact.
Got a Google Analytics question? Share it with us @WholeWhale and we’ll answer it!