Web/UX Analytics: A Google Data Studio report that will answer all your questions

I really appreciate when necessary information is structured and always at hand, so I try to incorporate as much useful information as possible on the report pages. This report was compiled based on the daily needs and requests that come to my Jira board every day. Perhaps if I worked in a different niche, my choice would have been different.

?Link report - https://lookerstudio.google.com/reporting/1943e1ff-f6a3-4607-b426-0b023e0af157

B8 Studio? is the name under which I offer my services, as well as related services such as technical and SEO audits. Therefore, if you liked the report, I would be happy to help you create a report that will solve your business tasks and help make data-driven decisions.

This report contains the following sections:

Website Performance: Key metrics regarding website traffic, traffic quality (engagement), user locations, most effective user acquisition channels, most frequently used devices by users, and website sales funnel.

Top Content: Pages with the best traffic or quality metrics, top channels, and products.

User Profile: Who your users are – where they are from, whether they want to return to your site, and which days and times they prefer to visit your site.

Monthly Activity: Most popular metrics with monthly calculations and dynamic changes.

Brief Advertising Report: Performance of advertising campaigns, devices from which conversions are made, and conversion dynamics over time.

How the report works:

To work with the report, you need to connect your dataset. To do this, copy the report (button with three dots at the top right) and select your Google Analytics 4 view.

On the left side of the page, below the logo, there is a menu that allows you to quickly navigate through the report. Below the menu, you will find a data source switcher that allows you to connect any of the available data sources from your Google Analytics.

At the top right, you can select the date range and device type.

At the bottom of the page, there is a button to contact me. Feedback and opinions are welcome!

The "Website Performance" tab:

The first two graphs are dedicated to the dynamics of traffic over the selected date range. This allows us to monitor if there were any disruptions in the website's operation and to pay attention to the traffic drop from January 28th to February 9th. What could have caused such a decline? It is worth checking if there were any issues with hosting, if any changes were introduced, or if additional components were installed that could have affected the traffic. Also, we should ensure that the SEO indicators of the website are all in order.

A set of metrics can be conditionally divided into traffic metrics (number of users, new and returning users) and engagement metrics (sessions per user, bounce rate, engagement rate, average session duration).

It is worth noting that fluctuations in the bounce rate and a traffic drop can indicate prolonged site loading times, so it is worth checking the site speed using Google PageSpeed Insight. Other metrics show that users who still managed to land on the site spent time effectively and enjoyed their experience – positive indicators of session duration, sessions per user, and engagement rate.

Engagement rate deserves a separate mention.

When we talk about an "engaged session" in GA4, we refer to a period of active interaction between a user and your website or mobile application. It's not just the time spent by the user on the site; rather, it's the time when the user engages with content, performs actions, and shows interest in the provided information or services.

Examples of engaged sessions may include:

?? Viewing multiple pages: When a user navigates from one page to another, it indicates interest and activity.

?? Extended time on the site or in the app: If a user spends a significant amount of time reading content, filling out forms, or interacting with features, it indicates their interest.

?? Completion of conversion actions: For example, making purchases, filling out forms, subscribing to newsletters, etc.

Next, we can familiarize ourselves with the most effective user acquisition channels. Ideally, you should aim for as much organic traffic as possible, as it is free and indicates that your content and SEO are working for you. However, the "Unassigned" source is a signal for analytics and a reason to reach out to your Data Layout Team to investigate what traffic remains undefined. Direct traffic is also an excellent indicator that users are sharing links to your site and bookmarking it. Additionally, a high level of direct traffic improves ranking indicators in Google.

The following graphs allow a better understanding of your users – where they come from and what devices they use. Here, it's important to evaluate not only the numbers but also their dynamics. For example, a drop in traffic on a particular type of device indicates the need to check the adaptability and usability of the site on that type of device. Traffic from other countries that are not within your trading interests should be investigated for referral traffic and advertising, as your advertising campaigns may have incorrect targeting or contain broad match keywords, thereby attracting traffic from other countries.

The sales funnel for the site may be more complex, but here is the simplest representation consisting of the following phases:

Acquisition stage. Users are acquired through various channels (Google search, advertising, social media) and land on your website.

Engagement stage: Users browse pages, perform actions. The goal is to retain user attention and create a positive interaction experience with the website.

Retention stage: Retaining users and encouraging repeat visits.

What is conversion (CR)? Conversion between stages refers to the successful progression of users from one phase to another.

Calculated as?

(engagement stage/acquisition stage)*100%

The sales funnel shows how many users progress to the next stage. For example, if 100 people visited your site and only 10 people bought a product, the conversion rate would be 10:100 = 0.1 (10%). Is this a good indicator? It all depends on the specifics of your business, the cost of acquiring a customer, and the average order value. Now let's look a little further ahead. Which is better, a customer who buys once and leaves, or a customer who returns and buys once a month? Of course, returned customers are better, so we need to calculate how many customers return and make a purchase.

In summary, only 2% of your customers make a purchase, but 50% of customers make repeat purchases. What does this tell us? The owner needs to attract more quality customers at the beginning of the funnel at the Acquisition stage and improve SEO, closely monitor advertising performance and targeting, gather quality content, and ensure website loading speed. If the situation with the funnel is the opposite (few customers return), then it is necessary to consider email marketing, customer incentive programs, creating a user account on the website, and methods of return and repeat purchases.

Top Pages

On the "Top Pages" tab, you'll find the main pages, referral sources, and products that are popular among users.

Also, it's worth paying attention to the events on the site, which will help answer what exactly users like to do the most – watch videos, read reviews, or browse product lists. By identifying the main user activities, you can increase engagement metrics and thereby improve your ranking in Google – just give the user what they want. If users enjoy watching videos, create video reviews of your products.

User Profile

The "User Profile" tab shows how many new and returning users visited your site, how much time they spent on the site, and how many pages they viewed. Here, it's also important not to focus solely on the numbers but to pay attention to the dynamics.

For advertising and content, there are tables dedicated to the time of day and days of user activity. This is the best time for posting new content and showing ads. It's also worth paying attention to the tables with devices and checking the adaptability of pages for these devices and users' interests.

Monthly Dynamics

A great page for tracking monthly dynamics and site performance and for promptly responding to negative trends.

Advertising Performance

Conversions – that's what all ecommerce sites are hunting for, so tracking the dynamics and devices from which conversions are made is crucial for usability and the retention stage of the funnel, and consequently for profitability.

A summary of advertising campaign performance will help determine how much money is being spent on advertising and how much profit it ultimately generates. It's also important to pay attention to the number of users, conversions, and profits. If there are many users and conversions but little profit, it's worth checking if the checkout and payment processes are working correctly. Also, pay attention to advertising costs and profits – is it worth the cost? Some campaigns can be optimized, while others may be more profitable to remove or pause.

I hope the report, like the article, will be beneficial for your business!

You can contact me via mail [email protected]. I look forward to your feedback and questions!

Wishing you all high conversions and only quality traffic!