Optimizing User Experience Using Web Analytics – Part 1

Using link analysis in your web analytics application allows you to perform some powerful site optimization to improve user experience.

Such optimization is very effective when you are trying to improve retention on key landing pages, confirmation pages, and thank you pages.

I’ve come to learn that laying out links in certain order (vertically or horizontally) do not always get that typical results people would expect.

Typically, for links vertically arranged, links on the very top would generate higher clicks, but using web analytics, you might come to discover that certain links may perform in un-chronological order.

When you assess the links on those key pages, look at the links that are popular using your analytics tool.

Ask yourself why could the links be popular:

• Is it the way those links are worded?
• The popularity of the topics stated in the links?
• Is it the arrangements or order of the links?

From user behavior stand point, you may want to optimize those links so popular links are more visible buy bringing those links to the top of the list (assuming this is a vertically arranged list). That way, you are creating less chance for those site visitors to exit, increasing your retention rate in return.

Every site is unique in many ways, so continue testing these arrangements of the links to assess and optimize the performance of your key pages.