As time goes on I’m learning more and more about Google Analytics, and how I can use it to fine-tune my web site.
I’ve recently found a feature called a Site Overlay, which is a tool that lets you see what parts of your site visitors click on when they visit it. After the redesign of my navigation tabs a few days ago, here is what the click patterns look like now:
Click to view larger.
Before the change I had noticed that 25% of my visitors clicked the heading of the blog to get to the main page. 25% also clicked the Home navigation tab, but that was the only tab I had at the time.
Now that I have identified different “content groups” that I have written about in the past, I can now measure which areas of my site are the most widely read. Now this data is still from less than 100 visitors, but over time I will be able to see what articles are gaining the most interest. Not surprising, the Typography category of posts is receiving the most attention, most likely due to the way I am marketing my blog currently.
To see your site overlay:
- Log in to Google Analytics.
-
click on View Report for the site profile you want to see the overlay for- Click content in the left menu- Click Site Overlay
Click View Report for the site you are interested in. Click on Content in the left hand menu and you’ll see the Content options:
- Click Site Overlay (you can also find it in the middle of the screen).
At this point a new browser window will open up and you can see your very own site overlay with click percentages!
Other sites of interest:
- Alternatives to Site Overlay when Site Overlay has shortcomings
- A short overview of the Overlay
- It sounds like something Jakob Neilsen would recommend, but here is a link on how to improve site usability which is really the goal
Enjoy this new found power, and use it to improve your site for your readers / visitors. If you have any tips related to site overlay or usability, drop me a comment or send a Tweet.
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