Google Analytics Landing Pages: Ultimate Guide - Hotjar

Google Analytics Landing Pages is a useful report for gathering key metrics about your website traffic and analyzing how customers interact with your ... HotjarLogoProductWhyHotjarPricingLearnCompanySigninGetstartedfreeToggledarkmodeSwitchtodarkmodeTogglenavigationmenuToggledarkmodeGAglossary(A-Z)AudiencesBouncesandbouncerateConversionsDimensionsandmetricsEcommercetrackingEventsandeventtrackingExitsandexitrateGoalconversionrateLandingpagesSegmentsSessionsSessiondurationTransactionsUsersLearn/Guides/GAglossary(A-Z)BacktoguidesGoogleAnalyticsLandingPagesGoogleAnalyticsLandingPagesisausefulreportforgatheringkeymetricsaboutyourwebsitetrafficandanalyzinghowcustomersinteractwithyourlandingpages.ButtheGALandingPagesreportcanonlytellyousomuch.Takebouncerates,forexample:GAcantellyouwhichpageshaveahighbouncerate,butitcan’ttellyouwhycustomersleavebeforetakingactiononyoursite.Toknowthat,youneedtocomplementthequantitativedatafromGAwithqualitativeuserdatafromproductexperienceinsights.ThispageshowsyouhowtogetthemostoutoftheGALandingPagesreport:learnwhatitis,wheretofindit,andhowtouseproductexperienceinsightstoaddcontexttoyourlandingpagedata. GetthefullstorywithHotjarNumberscan’ttellyoueverything.Experienceyourlandingpagesthroughyourcustomers'eyeswithHotjar. Startnow!WhatistheLandingPagesreportinGoogleAnalytics?TheLandingPagesreportinGoogleAnalyticstellsyouwhichpagesvisitorsseefirstwhentheylandonyoursite—andwhetherthosevisitsturnintoclicksandconversions.ThereportcanbetrickytofindinGA,andevenonceyou’rethere,youmightgetconfusedbywhatyousee.That’sbecausethewaya'landingpage'isdefinedinthisreportisspecifictoGoogle.Let’sdigdeeper:HowdoesGoogleAnalyticsdefinelandingpages?InGoogleAnalytics,alandingpageisthefirstwebpagethatusersseewhentheyenteryoursite. Unlikeamarketingteam'sdefinitionofa'landingpage'—awebpagethathasbeendesignedtoconvert—GA'sdefinitionincludesanyfirstpageofasession,regardlessofthepurposeofthepage.ThatmeanstheLandingPagesreportcouldincludetrafficdataaboutproductpages,ablogpost,ahelppage,asign-uppage,orsomethingelseentirely.WhereistheGoogleAnalyticsreportforlandingpages? TofindtheLandingPagesreportinGoogleAnalytics,usethenavigationsidebarontheleftsideofyourscreen:Home>Reports>Behavior>SiteContent>LandingPages.Dependingonwhetheryou’velinkedyourwebsitetoGoogleSearchConsole,youmayalsofindareportinHome>Acquisition>SearchConsole>LandingPages.TheSearchConsolereportwillonlyshowyoulandingpagedatageneratedbysearchresults.We’llfocusonthereportfoundinSiteContentforthisguide.Protip:ifyou’rehavingtroublefindingLandingPages,tryusingthesearchbaratthetopoftheGAHomepage.Whatarethekeymetricsinthelandingpagesreport?LandingPagesreportshelpyouunderstandhowusersinteractwithkeypagesonyourwebsite.Herearesomemetricstolookoutfor:Sessions:thenumberofsessionsstartingfromaspecificlandingpageNewusers:thenumberoflandingpagevisitorswhohaveneverinteractedwithyourwebsitebeforeBouncerate:thepercentageofuserswholeftyoursitestraightafterarrivingatthelandingpage,withoutfurtherinteractionwithyourwebsiteAveragesessionduration:howlongusers,onaverage,stayonyourwebsiteduringasinglesessionProtip:tryadjustingthedaterangeoftheGALandingPagesreporttogetmoredatainsightsonkeymetrics.Top3benefitsofusingtheGoogleAnalyticslandingpagesreportAnalyzingyourlandingpagesisagoodplacetostartwhenyouwanttounderstandhowpeoplefindanduseyourwebsite.ThetopthreebenefitsofusingGALandingPagesare:1.FindoutwhichpagesareintroducingpeopletoyourwebsiteWhenyouknowwhichwebsitesaresuccessfullyintroducingpeopletoyourwebsiteandencouragingconversions,youcancreateoroptimizeotherlandingpagestodoubledownonwhatworks. Forexample,ifyouknowcustomersaresigningupforyourfreetrialthroughacalltoaction(CTA)onaspecificblogpost,youcantrytoreplicatethatsuccessbyincludingsimilarCTAlanguageandplacementonotherblogsposts,too.CoupleGA’sinsightswithbehavioranalyticssoftware,likeheatmapsandsessionrecordings,toseeexactlywhichelementsofyourlandingpagesaresuccessfullyengagingvisitors(moreonthislater).2.SeehowvisitorsarediscoveringyourcontentArrivingonalandingpageisn’tnecessarilythestartofyourcustomer’sjourney.Usesegmentstounderstandhownewvisitorsfoundyourwebsite,andwhattypeofusersengagewithdifferentelementsofyourlandingpages.Youcanusethisinformationfortargetedadvertisementstrategiesandsearchengineoptimization(SEO).Forexample,usingademographicsegment,youmightdiscoverthatpeoplebetweentheagesof26and30makepurchasesafterarrivingonyoursitethroughInstagramads.Basedonthisdata,youcanmoreconfidentlyadjustyourmarketingstrategytoinvestmoreintargetingthisdemographicthroughpaidchannels.3.MeasurelandingpageperformanceUsetheLandingPagesreporttofindoutwhichlandingpagesaresuccessfullyencouraginguserstostickaround—andconvert!—andwhichpagesneedmorework.Youcanusefiltersandsetconversiongoalstogetaclearpictureofwhatsuccesslookslikeforyoursite.Forexample,youmightnoticethataparticularlandingpagehasahigherbounceratethanothers,anddecidetotestsomechanges—likeoptimizingthepageformobiledevices. UsingfiltersintheGALandingPagesreport,youcantrackbounceratesovertimeandnoticewhichadjustmentssuccessfullyreduceyourbouncerate.Youcouldgoastepfurtherbyanalyzingsessionrecordings,whichshowyouhowdifferentelementsofyourlandingpagesarecausingfrustration(again,we’lltalkmoreaboutthislater).HowtouseadvancedfiltersinGoogleAnalyticsLandingPages UseadvancedfiltersinGAtolookattheperformanceofspecificpagetypesandunderstandhowtheyperformaslandingpages.Note:advancedfiltersrelyonthestructureofyourwebsiteURLs.IfyourURLsareproperlystructuredtocategorizeyourwebsitepages,thenusingadvancedfiltersisstraightforward—justclickthe‘advanced’buttoninGALandingPages,thenaddthecriteriayou’reinterestedin. Click‘advanced’:Addyoursearchcriteria: Forexample,youcouldlookmorecloselyattheperformanceofyourproductdemopagesbyusingthefilter‘product-demo’tolookateverylandingpagewiththistermincludedintheURL.HowtoaddanewgoalinGoogleAnalyticsLandingPagesSettinggoalsforlandingpagescanhelpyoudefineandtrackyourwebsiteperformance.Everywebsiteshouldbedevelopedwithagoalinmind,anactionyouwanttheusertotakeonyoursite.Evenabrochuresiteshouldstrivetoenticevisitorstofilloutaleadform,downloadadatasheet,orcompleteaquestionnaire.Onlybysettinggoalscanyouaccuratelyassessthesuccessorfailureofanysingleacquisitionchannel. RameezUsmanCMO,PureTuberHere’showtosetupanewgoal:ClickonthesmallcogatthebottomoftheGAnavigationsidebartoswitchtotheAdminpanel.Onceyou’reintheAdminpanel,click‘Goals’underthe‘View’columnonthefarright:Inthenextview,you’llseearedbuttonthatsays‘+NewGoal’.Clickthattobegingoalsetup.Fromhere,youcanchoosewhethertouseapre-madetemplateortosetacustomgoal.Ifyou’renewtogoals,werecommendstartingwithatemplate.Next,you’llbepromptedtoseta‘destination’.VisitstothedestinationURLwillindicategoalcompletion.Here’sanexampleofacompletedgoal: Theuserlandsonapageforapre-recordedproductdemo. Clicking‘downloadnow’sendsthemtoasign-upform. Aftercompletingtheform,theuserarrivesatanotherpagethatthanksthemforcompletingtheformandexplainsthatthedemowillbesenttotheemailaddresstheyprovided.Youpreviouslysettheform’s‘thankyou’pageasyourdestinationURL,sonowGAwillregisterthatyourgoalhasbeenmet,andyourgoalconversionratewillbeimproved.Protip:youcansetamonetaryvalueasagoalusingthe‘Value’field.UsethisalongsideGAEcommerceTrackingtohelpreachimportantKPIs.3waystobetterunderstandyourlandingpagetrends Asyou’veseen,GoogleAnalyticscanhelpyoumeasurekeytrendsinyourwebsitetraffic.ButGALandingPagesisonlyreportingthenumbers—thequantitativedata.Ifyouwanttoimproveyourlandingpagesandconversionrates,you’llneedtolookatacombinationofquantitativeandqualitativedata.That’sthedifferencebetweenseeingwhatusersaredoingonyourwebsiteandunderstandingwhytheydoit.Andthisiswhereproductexperienceinsightssoftwarecanhelp.WhenyoucombineGoogle’sstatswithacontextualunderstandingofhowyourcustomersexperienceyourwebsite,yourtrafficanduserdatastartstomakesense—youcanconnectthewhatwiththewhytomakedata-backedimprovementstoyoursite.Trythesebehavioranalyticstoolstohelpmakesenseofyourlandingpagetrends:1.Sessionrecordings Sessionrecordings,orsessionreplays,showyourealactionsuserstakeonyourwebsite.They’llhelpyouseewhatyouruserssee,includingtheproblemelementsyouweremissing.Watchingthemousemove,click,andscrollacrossmultiplepages,you’llnotice:HowusersnavigateyoursiteHowtheyinteractwithvariouselementsWheretheyhesitateWheretheygetstuckorfrustratedHowdosessionrecordingshelp?Onceyou’veusedGoogleAnalyticstoidentifywhichlandingpagesaren’tperformingwell,watchsessionrecordingsforeachpage.You’llseetherealexperiencesbehindeachbounceorlostconversion,andwiththeseinsights,you’llbeinabetterpositiontooptimizeyourpagesbasedonrealusers'needs.2.Heatmaps Heatmapsusecolor-codingtogiveavisualrepresentationofhowusersinteractwithyoursite.Whenit’salllaidoutincolor,caneasilyidentify:Whatattractsusers'attentionWhattheyignoreWhethertheirbehaviorchangesafteryoureleaseanupdateHowdoheatmapshelp?Heatmapsusecolortoshowwhichelementsofyourwebsitearehot(red)ornot(blue).Thisvisualrepresentationofpopularclicks,scrolls,andmousemovementsisusefulforunderstandingwhereinterestispiquedandlostacrossyourwebsite.Withevidenceofwhatworksandwhatdoesn’t,youcanimproveUXandanalyzeresponsestonewelements.3.CustomerfeedbackSurveysandIncomingFeedbackwidgetsarethebestwaytogetdetailedinsightintohowyourcustomersfeelaboutyourlandingpages,intheirownwords.Readingcustomerfeedbackhelpsyouputyourselfintheirshoesandunderstandtheirbehavioraltrendsincontext. Withsurveysandfeedbackwidgets,youcan:GatherinstantfeedbackasusersinteractwithyourwebsiteUnderstandthestrengthsandweaknessesofyourinterfaceDiscoverwhyusersexitorchurnTheHotjarIncomingFeedbackwidgetiseasytouseandquicktoimplementHowdoescustomerfeedbackhelp?IfyoustartmakingchangestoyourwebsitebasedonGAdataalone,you’llbeoperatinginthedark.Feedbackwidgetsmeasureinstantimpressionsfromusersastheynavigateyourwebsite,whilesurveysgiveyoudetailedfeedbackandideasforimprovement.UsethesecustomerexperienceinsightstoilluminateGAdataandmakemoreinformedimprovementstoyourlandingpages.GoogleAnalyticsLandingPagesvsproductexperienceinsightssoftwareIt’snotaquestionofcompetitionwhenitcomestousingGALandingPagesorproductexperienceinsightssoftware;thebestwaytounderstandyourcustomersistousedatafromboth.GALandingPageshelpsyouidentifykeymetrics,setgoals,andmeasureperformance.Butonlythecustomercantellyouexactlyhowthey'reexperiencingyourwebsiteandwhat’sdrivingthemtoconvert(ornot). Productexperienceinsightshelpyouunderstandtheuserexperiencethroughyourcustomer’seyes,andhelpyoudevelopuser-centricdigitalmarketingandproductstrategies.GetthefullstorywithHotjarNumberscan’ttellyoueverything.Experienceyourlandingpagesthroughyourcustomers'eyeswithHotjar. Startnow!FAQsaboutGoogleAnalyticsLandingPagesWhat’sthedifferencebetweenAllPagesandLandingPagesonGoogleAnalytics?AllPagesreportsonthetrafficofeverypageofyourwebsite. LandingPagesreportsonthefirstpageofauser'ssession.Youcan’tseepageviewsintheLandingPagesreport.That’sbecauseitfocusesinsteadonshowingyouthenumberoftimesapagehasbeenviewedasthefirstpageinasinglesession.GotoHome>Reports>Behavior>SiteContent>AllPagestoseehowmanytimesapagehasbeenviewed.Whatisagoodconversionrateforalandingpage?Theaverageconversionratefallsbetween2–5%,accordingtoananalysisbyWordStream.But‘average’isn’tthesameas‘good’—therearesitesthatachieveover10%conversion,sosuccessbytheirstandardsisaboutmuchmorethanbeatinganaverage.Whileit’susefultoknowthesefiguresasbenchmarks,there’snoone-size-fits-allanswertoyourconversionrategoals.TrycomparingyourownconversionratesovertimewhiletestinggoalsinGoogleAnalytics.Thiswillgiveyouaclearerpictureofwhatconstitutessuccessforyourlandingpages.WhatistrafficsourceinGoogleAnalytics?InGoogleAnalytics,thetrafficsourceisreferredtoasthechannel,whichtellsyouwhereuserscamefrom.Itgoesbeyondidentifyingasession’slandingpagetoindicatehowauserfoundthelandingpageinthefirstplace. Forexample,ifyouwanttoknowwhetheryourpaidsearchcampaignsareworking,gotoHome>Acquisition>AllTraffic>Channels.Fromthere,useadvancedfilterstonarrowdowntoresultsthatincludetheterm‘PaidSearch’.GoalconversionratePreviouschapterSegmentsNextchapterOnthispage