Do people like my website? Is it valuable? I ask these questions regularly, and I imagine they're on the mind of many website owners.
Sometimes I think about this because I want to serve my audience well. Other times, I ask those questions because I need a website to be trusted in order for it to fulfil its purpose.
Either way, user satisfaction is on my agenda. Can Google Analytics help me to measure it?
Here are some metrics that may provide the solution:
Average engagement time per active user
I think if someone appreciates a website they spend longer on it. And so average engagement time per active user seems a logical choice.
The number is unaffected by
seasonal changes, making it a good choice if you don't have enough past-data for year-on-year analysis.
Take care though: as
discussed previously,
average engagement time per active user can mislead you if your website is focussed on quick interactions, or if your calls-to-action lead off-site.
This metric is found in Google Analytics (GA) in Reports -> Engagement -> Overview
Returning users
This measure is the number of people who come back a second time in the specified date range. Be aware that if you expand the date range in GA then returning users grows for two reasons:
- you're catching multiple sessions from new users
- you're catching additional sessions from existing users, which redefines them as 'returning'.
I like returning users because it's simple: we all understand the concept of repeat customers.
It does have drawbacks though. One is that GA only gives this number rounded to the nearest 100. That might frustrate you if you run a small website.
Another drawback of returning users is the link to the date range. Imagine you have a website where you publish new content once a month. Many users will get used to the pace, and will only visit once a month. If you check this metric once a month those people will never get counted as returning users.
Perhaps the answer is to use this measure with an eye to the content schedule of your website. Report on it for a time period significantly greater than the interval between changes. In the example above, maybe check returning users once a quarter.
Bear in mind that
returning users does fluctuate with the
time of year.
This metric is found in Reports -> Retention
Active users
I sometimes forget that the most prominent metric in GA, active users, has audience satisfaction built-in.
visit for more than 10 seconds
or
view 2 or more pages
or
trigger a conversion event
or
make a first visit
Now, a person who stays for over 10 seconds, or visits several pages, is indicating some degree of satisfaction with the website. They certainly didn't "come, see, and puke" as
Avinash Kaushik used to say.
When we measure active users we're measuring some element of user satisfaction. So should we just track that number? I'm uneasy with that idea. I like my metrics to be more targeted.
WAU/MAU
Catchy name, eh? The longer version is: Weekly Active Users / Monthly Active Users. It's expressed as a percentage. This metric is about how many people who visit each month also visit each week.
I find WAU/MAU a bit complicated, which puts me off using it. I don't want to have to remind myself what a metric means each time I check my analytics.
I'm sceptical of the value of this metric because it hinges so much on the frequency with which you update your website. You might get a low number because your website changes once a month.
As in the case of returning users, you'll find WAU/MAU does vary with the time of year.
This measure is found in Reports -> Engagement -> Overview
Websites designed for infrequent use
Sometimes people don't return to a website because the driver for visits occurs rarely. An example of this is the UK website for passport applications. However brilliant the user experience is, most people visit once every 5 or 10 years.
Another example of a rarely-used website would be one that sells new cars. Do many customers buy a new car every quarter?
A context like these would significantly change the metrics you choose for user satisfaction.
Final thoughts
So, what do I use? I like returning users, for its simplicity.
Do you have views on the metrics I mentioned? Tell me more on
Bluesky or
Threads.
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