Optimise User Behaviour
Anyone visiting your site and interacting with your content is a website user, and understanding user behaviour is key to boosting your conversion rates. Optimising your web pages will capture website visitors. In order to optimise, you need to monitor user behaviour and analyse visitor interactions. The analysis will give insights into when your visitors access and where and how. For example, segmenting data will allow you to see the devices your visitors use. This means that if your visitor numbers drop off on mobile devices, or the bounce rate is higher for certain pages, you can adjust the site to enhance the visitor experience and retain their interest. Monitoring segmented data also allows you to see which changes you have implemented are effective.
The importance of ongoing research
Just like you, your users’ needs are not static. Their preferences and behaviours will evolve, and it is the job of website optimisation to monitor changing user behaviours and trends, and take action to continue to meet the needs of your visitors. For example, if there is a downturn in browsing time, it is important to pinpoint the reasons why (e.g.: boredom or a cluttered site), and address them to avoid losing customers.
Assessment tools
If you are on a budget, the following free tools are specifically designed for researching the behaviour of your site users:
- Google Analytics: a powerful analytics tool including Adwords and Adsense. Google Adwords offers conversion tracking and data integration with Adsense.
- Awstats: a popular default log analyser
- io: a premium analysis tool that has the capability to scale up for larger enterprise-level demand.
Using data to influence user behaviour
Collecting data is only part of the puzzle. It’s important to understand the context of your data and use it to drive actionable change on your site. Segmented data can be excellent when you are experimenting because you can compare findings to your baseline data, and check for movement while you make experimental changes to different areas of your site. Basically, the data is there to help you pinpoint the triggers that convert browsers into customers, or visitors into followers.
Influencing user behaviour can be achieved through compelling copy that includes a call to action, ease of usability, and offers that your demographic cannot resist. For example, some customers may find offers to buy two and get the third one free irresistible, whereas other customers may prefer free shipping. Keep in mind that the internet is a busy and at times overwhelming, experience for users. Enhancing your site visitor experience through research and data will ensure your page remains alive and clicking.
Technical website audit
We Push Button offers a service called Technical Website Auditing, where we assess the success of your website in terms of visibility on search engines. We analyse how visitors interact with your site and identify any technical reasons why your website is not ranking as highly as your competitors.
Rob Jennings
