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• GA360 vs GA4 : Key Differences and Challenges

  20 mai 2024, par Erin

  While the standard Universal Analytics (UA) was sunset for free users in July 2023, Google Analytics 360 (GA360) users could postpone the switch to GA4 for another 12 months. But time is running out. As July is rapidly approaching, GA360 customers need to prepare for the switch to Google Analytics 4 (GA4) or another solution. 

  This comparison post will help you understand the differences between GA360 vs. GA4. We’ll dive beneath the surface, examining each solution’s privacy implications and their usability, features, new metrics and measurement methods.

  What is Google Analytics 4 (Standard) ?

  GA4 is the latest version of Google Analytics, succeeding Universal Analytics. It was designed to address privacy issues with Universal Analytics, which made compliance with privacy regulations like GDPR difficult.

  It completely replaced Universal Analytics for free users in July 2023. GA4 Standard features many differences from the original UA, including :

  • Tracking and analysis are now events-based.
  • Insights are primarily powered by machine learning. (There are fewer reports and manual analysis tools).
  • Many users find the user interface to be too complex compared to Universal Analytics.

  The new tracking, reports and metrics already make GA4 feel like a completely different web analytics platform. The user interface itself also includes notable changes in navigation and implementation. These changes make the transition hard for experienced analysts and digital marketers alike. 

  For a more in-depth look at the differences, read our comparison of Google Analytics 4 and Universal Analytics.

  What is Google Analytics 360

  Google Analytics 360 is a paid version of Google Analytics, mostly aimed at enterprises that need to analyse a large amount of data.

  It significantly increases standard limits on data collection, sampling and processing. It also improves data granularity with more custom events and dimensions.

  Transitioning from Universal Analytics 360 to GA4 360

  You may still use the Universal Analytics tag and interface if you’ve been a Google Analytics 360 customer for multiple years. However, access to Universal Analytics 360 will be discontinued on July 1, 2024. Unlike the initial UA sunset (free version), you won’t be able to access the interface or your data after that, so it will be deleted.

  That means you will have to adapt to the new GA4 user interface, reports and metrics before the sunset or find an alternative solution.

  What is the difference between GA4 360 and free GA4 ?

  The key differences between GA4 360 and free GA4 are higher data limits, enterprise support, uptime guarantees and more robust administrative controls.

  

  GA4 offers most of the same features across the paid and free versions, but there are certain limits on data sampling, data processing and integrations. With the free version, you also can’t define as detailed events using event parameters as you can with GA4 360.

  Higher data collection, accuracy, storage and processing limits

  The biggest difference that GA4 360 brings to the table is more oomph in data collection, accuracy and analysis.

  You can collect more specific data (with 100 event parameters instead of 25 for custom metrics). GA4 360 lets you divide users using more custom dimensions based on events or user characteristics. Instead of 50 per property, you get up to 125 per property.

  And with up to 400 custom audiences, 360 is better for companies that heavily segment their users. More audiences, events and metrics per property mean more detailed insights.

  Sampling limits are also of a completely different scale. The max sample size in GA4 360 is 100x the free version of GA4, with up to 1 billion events per query. This makes analysis a lot more accurate for high-volume users. A slice of 10 million events is hardly representative if you have 200 million monthly events.

  Finally, GA4 360 lets you store all of that data for longer (up to 50 months vs up to 14 months). While new privacy regulations demand that you store user data only for the shortest time possible, website analytics data is often used for year-over-year analysis.

  Enterprise-grade support and uptime guarantees

  Because GA360 users are generally enterprises, Google offers service-level agreements for uptime and technical support response times.

  • Tracking : 99.9% uptime guarantee
  • Reporting : 99% uptime guarantee
  • Data processing : within 4 hours at a 98% uptime guarantee

  The free version of GA4 includes no such guarantees and limited access to professional support in the first place.

  Integrations

  GA4 360 increases limits for BigQuery and Google Ads Manager exports.

  

  The standard limits in the free version are 1 million events per day to BigQuery. In GA4 360, this is increased to billions of events per day. You also get up to 400 audiences for Search Ads 360 instead of the 100 limit in standard GA4.

  Roll-up analytics for agencies and enterprises

  If you manage a wide range of digital properties, checking each one separately isn’t very effective. You can export the data into a tool like Looker Studio (formerly Google Data Studio), but this requires extra work.

  With GA360, you can create “roll-up properties” to analyse data from multiple properties in the same space. It’s the best way to analyse larger trends and patterns across sites and apps.

  Administration and user access controls

  Beyond roll-up reporting, the other unique “advanced features” found in GA360 are related to administration and user access controls.

  

  First, GA360 lets you create custom user roles, giving different access levels to different properties. Sub-properties and roll-up properties are also useful tools for data governance purposes. They make it easier to limit access for specific analysts to the area they’re directly working on.

  You can also design custom reports for specific roles and employees based on their access levels.

  Pricing 

  While GA4 is free, Google Analytics 360 is priced based on your traffic volume. 

  With the introduction of GA4, Google implemented a revised pricing model. For GA4 360, pricing typically begins at USD $50,000/year which covers up to 25 million events per month. Beyond this limit, costs increase based on data usage, scaling accordingly.

  What’s not different : the interface, metrics, reports and basic features

  GA4 360 is the same analytics tool as the free version of GA4, with higher usage limits and a few enterprise features. You get more advanced tracking capabilities and more accurate analysis in the same GA4 packaging.

  If you already use and love GA4 but need to process more data, that’s great news. But if you’re using UA 360 and are hesitant to switch to the new interface, not so much. 

  Making the transition from UA to GA4 isn’t easy. Transferring the data means you need to figure out how to work with the API or use Google BigQuery.

  Plus, you have to deal with new metrics, reports and a new interface. For example, you don’t get to keep your custom funnel reports. You need to use “funnel explorations.”

  Going from UA to GA4 can feel like starting from scratch in a completely new web analytics tool.

  Which version of Google Analytics 4 is right for you ?

  Standard GA4 is a cost-effective web analytics option, but it’s not without its problems :

  • If you’re used to the UA interface, it feels clunky and difficult to analyse.
  • Data sampling is prevalent in the free version, leading to inaccuracies that can negatively affect decision-making and performance.

  And that’s just scratching the surface of common GA4 issues.

  Google Analytics 4 360 is a more reliable web analytics solution for enterprises. However, it suffers from many issues that made the GA4 transition painful for many free UA users last year.

  • You need to rebuild reports and adjust to the new complex interface.
  • To transfer historical data, you must use spreadsheets, the API, or BigQuery.

  You will still lose some of the data due to changes to the metrics and reporting.

  What if neither option is right for you ? Key considerations for choosing a Google Analytics alternative

  Despite what Google would like you to think, GA4 isn’t the only option for website analytics in 2024 — far from it. For companies that are used to UA 360, the right alternative can offer unique benefits to your company.

  Privacy regulations and future-proofing your analytics and marketing

  Although less flagrant than UA, GA4 is still in murky waters regarding compliance with GDPR and other privacy regulations. 

  And the issue isn’t just that you can get fined (which is bad enough). As part of a ruling, you may be ordered to change your analytics platform and protocol, which can completely disrupt your marketing workflow.

  When most marketing teams rely on web analytics to judge the ROI of their campaigns, this can be catastrophic. You may even have to pause campaigns as your team makes the adjustments.

  Avoid this risk completely by going with a privacy-friendly alternative.

  Features beyond basic web analytics

  To understand your users, you need to look at more than just events and conversions.

  That’s why some web analytics solutions have built-in behavioural analytics tools. Features like heatmaps (a visual pattern of popular clicks, scrolling and cursor movement) can help you understand how users interact with specific pages.

  

  Matomo allows you to consolidate behavioural analytics and regular web analytics into a single platform. You don’t need separate tools and subscriptions for heatmaps, session recordings, from analytics, media analytics and A/B testing. You can do all of this with Matomo.

  With insights about visits, sales, conversions, and usability in the same place, it’s a lot easier to improve your website.

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  Usability and familiar metrics

  The move to event tracking means new metrics, reports and tools. So, if you’re used to Universal Analytics, it can be tricky to transition to GA4. 

  But there’s no need to start from zero, learning to work with a brand-new interface. Many competing web analytics platforms offer familiar reports and metrics — ones your team has gotten used to. This will help you speed up the time to value with a shorter learning curve.

  Why Matomo is a better option than GA4 360 for UA 360 users

  Matomo offers privacy-friendly tracking, built from the ground up to comply with regulations — including IP anonymisation and DoNotTrack settings. You also get 100% ownership of the data, which means we will never use your data for our own profit (unlike Google and other data giants).

  This is a big deal, as breaking GDPR rules can lead to fines of up to 4% of your annual revenue. At the same time, you’ll also future-proof your marketing workflow by choosing a web analytics provider built with privacy regulations in mind.

  Plus, for legacy UA 360 users, the Matomo interface will also feel a lot more intuitive and familiar. Matomo also provides marketing attribution models you know, like first click, which GA4 has removed.

  Finally, you can access various behavioural analytics tools in a single platform — heatmaps, session recordings, form analytics, A/B testing and more. That means you don’t need to pay for separate solutions for conversion rate optimisation efforts.

  And the transition is smooth. Matomo lets you import Universal Analytics data and offers ready-made Google Ads integration and Looker Studio Connector.

  Join over 1 million websites that choose Matomo as their web analytics solution. Try it free for a 21-days. No credit card required.

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• 10 Customer Segments Examples and Their Benefits

  9 mai 2024, par Erin

  Now that companies can segment buyers, the days of mass marketing are behind us. Customer segmentation offers various benefits for marketing, content creation, sales, analytics teams and more. Without customer segmentation, your personalised marketing efforts may fall flat. 

  According to the Twilio 2023 state of personalisation report, 69% of business leaders have increased their investment in personalisation. There’s a key reason for this — customer retention and loyalty directly benefit from personalisation. In fact, 62% of businesses have cited improved customer retention due to personalisation efforts. The numbers don’t lie. 

  Keep reading to learn how customer segments can help you fine-tune your personalised marketing campaigns. This article will give you a better understanding of customer segmentation and real-world customer segment examples. You’ll leave with the knowledge to empower your marketing strategies with effective customer segmentation. 

  What are customer segments ?

  Customer segments are distinct groups of people or organisations with similar characteristics, needs and behaviours. Like different species of plants in a garden, each customer segment has specific needs and care requirements. Customer segments are useful for tailoring personalised marketing campaigns for specific groups.

  Personalised marketing has been shown to have significant benefits — with 56% of consumers saying that a personalised experience would make them become repeat buyers. 

  Successful marketing teams typically focus on these types of customer segmentation :

  

  1. Geographic segmentation : groups buyers based on their physical location — country, city, region or climate — and language.
  2. Purchase history segmentation : categorises buyers based on their purchasing habits — how often they make purchases — and allows brands to distinguish between frequent, occasional and one-time buyers. 
  3. Product-based segmentation : groups buyers according to the products they prefer or end up purchasing. 
  4. Customer lifecycle segmentation : segments buyers based on where they are in the customer journey. Examples include new, repeat and lapsed buyers. This segmentation category is also useful for understanding the behaviour of loyal buyers and those at risk of churning. 
  5. Technographic segmentation : focuses on buyers’ technology preferences, including device type, browser type, and operating system. 
  6. Channel preference segmentation : helps us understand why buyers prefer to purchase via specific channels — whether online channels, physical stores or a combination of both. 
  7. Value-based segmentation : categorises buyers based on their average purchase value and sensitivity to pricing, for example. This type of segmentation can provide insights into the behaviours of price-conscious buyers and those willing to pay premium prices. 

  Customer segmentation vs. market segmentation

  Customer segmentation and market segmentation are related concepts, but they refer to different aspects of the segmentation process in marketing. 

  Market segmentation is the broader process of dividing the overall market into homogeneous groups. Market segmentation helps marketers identify different groups based on their characteristics or needs. These market segments make it easier for businesses to connect with new buyers by offering relevant products or new features. 

  On the other hand, customer segmentation is used to help you dig deep into the behaviour and preferences of your current customer base. Marketers use customer segmentation insights to create buyer personas. Buyer personas are essential for ensuring your personalised marketing efforts are relevant to the target audience. 

  10 customer segments examples

  Now that you better understand different customer segmentation categories, we’ll provide real-world examples of how customer segmentation can be applied. You’ll be able to draw a direct connection between the segmentation category or categories each example falls under.

  One thing to note is that you’ll want to consider privacy and compliance when you are considering collecting and analysing types of data such as gender, age, income level, profession or personal interests. Instead, you can focus on these privacy-friendly, ethical customer segmentation types :

  1. Geographic location (category : geographic segmentation)

  The North Face is an outdoor apparel and equipment company that relies on geographic segmentation to tailor its products toward buyers in specific regions and climates. 

  For instance, they’ll send targeted advertisements for insulated jackets and snow gear to buyers in colder climates. For folks in seasonal climates, The North Face may send personalised ads for snow gear in winter and ads for hiking or swimming gear in summer. 

  The North Face could also use geographic segmentation to determine buyers’ needs based on location. They can use this information to send targeted ads to specific customer segments during peak ski months to maximise profits.

  2. Preferred language (category : geographic segmentation)

  Your marketing approach will likely differ based on where your customers are and the language they speak. So, with that in mind, language may be another crucial variable you can introduce when identifying your target customers. 

  Language-based segmentation becomes even more important when one of your main business objectives is to expand into new markets and target international customers — especially now that global reach is made possible through digital channels. 

  Coca-Cola’s “Share a Coke” is a multi-national campaign with personalised cans and bottles featuring popular names from countries around the globe. It’s just one example of targeting customers based on language.

  3. Repeat users and loyal customers (category : customer lifecycle segmentation)

  Sephora, a large beauty supply company, is well-known for its Beauty Insider loyalty program. 

  It segments customers based on their purchase history and preferences and rewards their loyalty with gifts, discounts, exclusive offers and free samples. And since customers receive personalised product recommendations and other perks, it incentivises them to remain members of the Beauty Insider program — adding a boost to customer loyalty.

  By creating a memorable customer experience for this segment of their customer base, staying on top of beauty trends and listening to feedback, Sephora is able to keep buyers coming back.

  

  4. New customers (category : customer lifecycle segmentation)

  Subscription services use customer lifecycle segmentation to offer special promotions and trials for new customers. 

  HBO Max is a great example of a real company that excels at this strategy : 

  They offer 40% savings on an annual ad-free plan, which targets new customers who may be apprehensive about the added monthly cost of a recurring subscription.

  This marketing strategy prioritises fostering long-term customer relationships with new buyers to avoid high churn rates. 

  5. Cart abandonment (category : purchase history segmentation)

  With a rate of 85% among US-based mobile users, cart abandonment is a huge issue for ecommerce businesses. One way to deal with this is to segment inactive customers and cart abandoners — those who showed interest by adding products to their cart but haven’t converted yet — and send targeted emails to remind them about their abandoned carts.

  E-commerce companies like Ipsy, for example, track users who have added items to their cart but haven’t followed through on the purchase. The company’s messaging often contains incentives — like free shipping or a limited-time discount — to encourage passive users to return to their carts. 

  Research has found that cart abandonment emails with a coupon code have a high 44.37% average open rate. 

  6. Website activity (category : technographic segmentation)

  It’s also possible to segment customers based on website activity. Now, keep in mind that this is a relatively broad approach ; it covers every interaction that may occur while the customer is browsing your website. As such, it leaves room for many different types of segmentation. 

  For instance, you can segment your audience based on the pages they visited, the elements they interacted with — like CTAs and forms — how long they stayed on each page and whether they added products to their cart. 

  Matomo’s Event Tracking can provide additional context to each website visit and tell you more about the specific interactions that occur, making it particularly useful for segmenting customers based on how they spend their time on your website. 

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  Amazon segments its customers based on browsing behaviour — recently viewed products and categories, among other things — which, in turn, allows them to improve the customer’s experience and drive sales.

  7. Traffic source (category : channel segmentation) 

  You can also segment your audience based on traffic sources. For example, you can determine if your website visitors arrived through Google and other search engines, email newsletters, social media platforms or referrals. 

  In other words, you’ll create specific audience segments based on the original source. Matomo’s Acquisition feature can provide insights into five different types of traffic sources — search engines, social media, external websites, direct traffic and campaigns — to help you understand how users enter your website.

  You may find that most visitors arrive at your website through social media ads or predominantly discover your brand through search engines. Either way, by learning where they’re coming from, you’ll be able to determine which conversion paths you should prioritise and optimise further. 

  8. Device type (category : technographic segmentation)

  Device type is customer segmentation based on the devices that potential customers may use to access your website and view your content. 

  It’s worth noting that, on a global level, most people (96%) use mobile devices — primarily smartphones — for internet access. So, there’s a high chance that most of your website visitors are coming from mobile devices, too. 

  However, it’s best not to assume anything. Matomo can detect the operating system and the type of device — desktop, mobile device, tablet, console or TV, for example. 

  By introducing the device type variable into your customer segmentation efforts, you’ll be able to determine if there’s a preference for mobile or desktop devices. In return, you’ll have a better idea of how to optimise your website — and whether you should consider developing an app to meet the needs of mobile users.

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  9. Browser type (category : technographic segmentation)

  Besides devices, another type of segmentation that belongs to the technographic category and can provide valuable insights is browser-related. In this case, you’re tracking the internet browser your customers use. 

  Many browser types are available — including Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Safari, Firefox and Brave — and each may display your website and other content differently. 

  So, keeping track of your customers’ preferred choices is important. Otherwise, you won’t be able to fully understand their online experience — or ensure that these browsers are displaying your content properly. 

  

  10. Ecommerce activity (category : purchase history, value based, channel or product based segmentation) 

  Similar to website activity, looking at ecommerce activity can tell your sales teams more about which pages the customer has seen and how they have interacted with them. 

  With Matomo’s Ecommerce Tracking, you’ll be able to keep an eye on customers’ on-site behaviours, conversion rates, cart abandonment, purchased products and transaction data — including total revenue and average order value.

  Considering that the focus is on sales channels — such as your online store — this approach to customer segmentation can help you improve the sales experience and increase profitability. 

  Start implementing these customer segments examples

  With ever-evolving demographics and rapid technological advancements, customer segmentation is increasingly complex. The tips and real-world examples in this article break down and simplify customer segmentation so that you can adapt to your customer base. 

  Customer segmentation lays the groundwork for your personalised marketing campaigns to take off. By understanding your users better, you can effectively tailor each campaign to different segments. 

  If you’re ready to see how Matomo can elevate your personalised marketing campaigns, try it for free for 21 days. No credit card required.

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• CRO Program : Best Practices and KPIs to Track [2024]

  8 mai 2024, par Erin

  Driving traffic to your website is only one part of the equation ; the second part is getting those visitors to convert by completing a desired action — creating an account, signing up for a newsletter or completing a purchase. 

  But if you fail to optimise your website for conversions, you’ll have a hard time guiding visitors further down the funnel and turning them into customers.

  That’s where a CRO program (or conversion rate optimisation) can help. 

  This article will cover conversion rate optimisation best practices and outline key metrics and KPIs to start tracking to see an improvement in your conversion rates.

  What is a CRO program ? 

  In the simplest terms, a CRO program — also called a CRO plan — is a digital marketing strategy. It focuses on implementing different tactics that can lead to an increase in conversion rate and maximising revenue. 

  

  One thing to remember is that the definition of “conversion” varies from business to business. The most obvious type of conversion would be a financial transaction or a completed form — but it comes down to what you consider a valuable action. 

  Many different actions can count as conversions, depending on your marketing goals. 

  Besides making a purchase, other common examples of key conversion moments include creating a new account, signing up for a free trial, booking a demo and subscribing to an email newsletter. 

  Another thing worth noting is that while the average conversion rate on e-commerce websites is 3.76%, it might fluctuate across different industries and device types. Case in point — desktop devices have higher conversion rates than mobile devices, clocking in at 4.79% and 3.32%, respectively. 

  So, in addition to defining your key conversion moments, you should also go over conversion insights relevant to your specific industry. 

  

  The importance of conversion rate optimisation 

  You’d be right to assume that the ultimate goal of a conversion rate optimisation process is to drive revenue through higher conversion rates — but don’t focus solely on the numbers. The core principle of a CRO program is improving the customer experience. Once you’ve achieved that, the increase in conversion rate will follow. 

  

  According to a recent report, global conversion rate optimisation (CRO) software sales are expected to reach $3.7 billion by 2032 — up from $1.1 billion in 2021. 

  This growth indicates the increasing interest in strategies and tools that can help optimise the conversion funnel. Businesses are looking for ways to keep potential customers engaged and improve the average conversion rate — without necessarily increasing their spending. 

  Here are a few reasons why a CRO program deserves a spot in your broader digital marketing strategies : 

  • It can lower your cost per acquisition (CPA) : A CRO program is about optimising your conversion funnel by leveraging existing assets and website traffic rather than increasing your spending — which lowers the costs of acquiring new customers and, in turn, drives ROI. 
  • It can maximise customer lifetime value (CLV) : If you can turn one-time buyers into repeat customers, you’ll be one step closer to building a loyal user base and increasing your CLV. 
  • It can lead to increased sales and boost your revenue : Higher conversion rates typically mean higher revenue ; that’s arguably the most obvious benefit of implementing a CRO program. 
  • It improves the overall user experience : The goal is to make your site more accessible, easier to navigate and more engaging. Delivering the experience people want — and expect — when navigating your website is one of the core principles of a CRO program.
  • It helps you to get to know your customers better : You can’t meet your customers’ needs without taking the time to know them, create user personas and understand their preferences, pain points and conversion barriers they may be facing. 

  Conversion optimisation gives you a competitive edge in revenue and brand reputation. 

  5 CRO best practices 

  

  Here are five conversion rate optimisation strategies and best practices that can make a real difference in the customer experience — and drive potential conversions. 

  Create a CRO roadmap in advance 

  First and foremost, you’ll need a well-defined “game plan” that aligns with and reflects your conversion goals. 

  A CRO roadmap is a detailed manual that outlines how to implement different elements of your CRO-related efforts. Marketing teams can refer to this step-by-step framework for test planning, prioritisation and resource allocation while optimising their marketing strategy. 

  While conversion rate optimisation can be a complex process — especially when you don’t know what to tackle first — we’ve found that there are three things you need to consider when setting the foundations of a successful CRO program : 

  • The “why” behind your website traffic : You’re likely using different online marketing strategies — from SEO to pay-per-click (PPC). So, it’s best to start by gathering channel-specific conversion insights through marketing attribution. Then identify which of these efforts have the biggest impact on your target audience. 
  • The so-called “conversion blockers” that tell you where and why visitors tend to leave without completing a desired action : Funnel analysis might reveal problematic pages — drop-off points where you tend to lose most of your visitors. 
  • Your “hooks” : User feedback can be of great help here ; you can learn a lot by simply asking your customers to fill out a quick online survey and tell you what motivated them to take action.

  Before working on that “game plan,” perform a pre-test analysis. 

  Matomo combines web analytics and user behaviour analytics with features like Heatmaps, Session Recordings, Form Analytics, Funnel Analytics, A/B Testing and User Flow. It can give you those initial benchmarks for measuring progress and a potential increase in conversion rate. 

  Validate your ideas with A/B and multivariate testing 

  Conversion rate optimisation is an iterative process. So, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that A/B testing variants of page layouts, CTAs, headlines, copy and other elements is a big part of it.

  Multivariate and A/B testing allows you to test a wide range of elements across your site and identify what works — and, more importantly, what doesn’t — in terms of driving conversions.

  On that note, Matomo’s A/B Testing feature can support your conversion rate optimisation process by identifying variants that perform better based on statistical significance. 

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  Get to know your website visitors 

  Driving conversions comes down to understanding potential customer’s pain points and needs — and delivering an experience that positions you as the solution and gets them to take action. 

  Here are a few things that can help you understand your website visitors better : 

  • Collecting customer feedback through surveys and using it to identify main areas for improvement 
  • Creating detailed customer personas and optimising your website design and messaging based on your target audience’s pain points, needs and wants 
  • Using heatmaps — colour-coded data visualisation tools that illustrate user interactions — and scroll maps to get a comprehensive overview of online sessions and identify the most engaging elements and those that stand out as potential conversion barriers 

  Matomo’s Heatmaps can help you identify the most-clicked elements on the page and show how far users scroll — providing powerful user insights you can use to optimise these pages.

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  Remove friction points 

  As we previously discussed, identifying friction points and barriers to conversion — issues that prevent visitors from converting — is one of the crucial aspects of developing a CRO plan. 

  Many different “conversion blockers” are worth looking into, including : 

  • Lengthy or otherwise complex checkout processes 
  • No guest checkout feature 
  • Device type, browser and OS compatibility issues 
  • Slow site speed and other technical issues
  • Lack of free shipping and limited payment methods 
  • Absence of social proof (customer reviews and testimonials) and trust badges

  Once you’ve identified what’s slowing down or completely discouraging users from reaching key conversion moments, take the time to address it. 

  Switch to text-based CTAs 

  Calls-to-action (CTAs) play a crucial role in guiding customers from interest to action. However, sometimes they fail to do their job — encouraging website visitors to proceed to the next step — effectively. 

  The most obvious reason is that your CTAs aren’t visually engaging or clear enough. In that case, you can try using action-oriented language and stronger visual elements and aligning the CTA copy with the context of the page. 

  But more often than not, the issue comes down to a phenomenon called “banner blindness” — the tendency of website visitors to ignore (either intentionally or unintentionally) elements on a page that resemble banner ads. 

  And if that’s what’s preventing visitors from converting, consider switching to text-based CTAs. 

  Conversion rate optimisation metrics and KPIs 

  At this point, you should know the outcomes you hope to achieve. Your next step should be to figure out how you’re going to measure and analyse results — and identify the changes that made the most impact on your conversion funnel. 

  After all, your CRO action plan should be based on data — assumptions and “gut feelings” will rarely lead to a notable increase in conversion rates. 

  

  That brings us to key performance indicators (KPIs) : 

  Tracking CRO metrics and website KPIs can help you understand the customer’s journey and path to purchase, identify opportunities for improving the user experience (UX) and determine how to optimise conversions.

  That said, you shouldn’t try to track every metric in the book ; think about your ultimate goal and identify the metrics and KPIs most relevant to your business. 

  We’ll assume that you’re already tracking macro- and micro-conversions. However, we’ve outlined a few additional key conversion rate optimisation metrics you should keep an eye on to make sure that your CRO program is performing as intended : 

  • Cost-per-conversion : By measuring how much you spend on each successful conversion — again, completed forms, sign-ups and sales all count as key conversion moments — you’ll be in a better position to assess the cost-effectiveness of your online marketing strategies.
  • Starter rate : This metric tells you the number of people who start filling out the form, after seeing it. This metric is particularly important for companies that rely on getting leads from forms. 
  • Average order value (AOV) : This metric is important for e-commerce sites to understand the value of their transactions. AOV calculates the average monetary value of each order.

  That’s not all ; you can also use a web analytics tool like Matomo to gain granular insights into visitors : 

  • Unique, new and returning visitors : Tracking the number of new and returning visitors your website gets within a given timeframe will help you understand your user base and determine if your content resonates with them. While you want a constant stream of new traffic, don’t overlook the importance of returning visitors ; they’re the foundation of a loyal customer base.
  • User flows : By analysing the user flows, you’ll have a visual representation of how visitors use your website, which will help you understand their journey and the specific path they take. 
  • Bounce rate : This metric tells you how many users viewed a single page on your site and ended up leaving before they took any kind of action. As such, it’s a clear indicator of how good your content, CTAs and website layout are at keeping users engaged.
  • Exit rate : Another key metric to track is the exit rate — the percentage of users who drop off at a specific page. High-exit pages usually lack important information and CTAs, cause frustration or otherwise fail to meet users’ expectations. Keep in mind that there’s a difference between bounce rate and exit rate — the latter involves users who viewed at least one other page. 

  There are many other user engagement metrics you should keep an eye on in addition to the ones mentioned above — including time on-page, actions per visit, scroll depth and traffic source. You’ll find all this information — and more — in Matomo’s Page Analytics Report. 

  Conclusion 

  Implementing a CRO program can be a time-consuming and iterative process. However, it’s vital for guiding your marketing efforts and making data-driven decisions that’ll ultimately help you drive growth and reach your business goals. 

  It’s best to start by identifying where your website visitors come from and what contributes to — or prevents them from — taking further action. But that’s easier said than done. You’ll need to leverage web analytics tools like Matomo to gather powerful user insights and monitor your website’s performance. 

  As an all-in-one, privacy-friendly web analytics solution, Matomo combines traditional web analytics and advanced behavioural analytics — delivering a consistent experience based on 100% accurate, unsampled data.

  Join the 1 million websites that have chosen Matomo as their web analytics platform. Start your 21-day free trial today — and see how Matomo can help you improve your website’s conversion rates. No credit card required.

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