Understanding User Behavior with Google Analytics

Pages Per Session, Times Spent On Site, and Bounce Rate

A web visitor sticks around to see what else there is on your site? Google sees this as a positive signal and rewards you! The importance of website engagement is a topic that has been discussed ad nauseam. We could add to the plethora of articles on the topic but would be writing for days, and this is beyond the scope of our article.

Instead, we are going to give you a few tips that can help improve the time spent on the site, increase the number of pages visited per session whilst reducing bounce rate.

Tips to improve the time spent on the site

• Navigation should be optimized and clear for all devices.
• The content should be scannable.
• Write content that is to the point. Do not include fluff.
• Include an internal search function.
• Make it easy to exit pop-ups.

Tips to improve the number of pages visited per session

• Add relevant internal links in your pages or blog posts.
• Use anchor texts that make sense to the users, hyperlinks that are good for UX
• Find ways to always showcase the most popular articles to your visitors.
• Build trust and gain the loyalty of your readers; become a great resource for them.

Tips to improve page speed and tackle bounce rate

Is your bounce rate too high? What is a high bounce rate anyways? When you read about bounce rate, you will see that it is a source of much controversy. In Google Analytics, when bounce rate is seen as a standalone metric, it shows the number of visitors who leave a web site without going to a second page.

However, let’s start by saying that it’s not always a bad thing when, as a user, you leave a website after visiting just one page. You might visit a site that gives immediate answers to specific queries. For example, you may want to know how many ounces of water are in a gallon. You visit the site and see the answer instantly. There is no reason to stick around. You just wanted your answer. A site like this is going to naturally have a higher bounce rate than others. This shows that you shouldn’t make strategic SEO decisions based on bounce rate without having enough contextual information, including content type, calls to action, users intent, industry benchmarks, etc.

Page speed is ranking factor, especially for mobile searches

Since 2010, Google has made it clear that page speed is a factor in ranking. Moz and other authorities on the topic also indicate that this is the case. Additionally, in March 2017, Gary Illyes of Google said that page loading speed is a ranking factor of great importance in a mobile first world.

As of July 1, 2019, mobile first indexing is enabled by default on all new websites. Older websites need to make adjustments so that their users have the best experience, whether they are visiting from a desktop, PC, or mobile device. The point is that a website that loads quickly, whether it’s mobile or on a PC, is good for user experience and search engine optimization.

A fast loading website does not happen by accident, you have to put in the work. There are several aspects of your website you will need to control in order to get it to perform faster. Read also: SEO Best Practices: Getting your WordPress site to load blazing fast!

Interested in Learning More?

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