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• How to Increase Conversions With Form Analysis

  30 janvier 2024, par Erin

  Forms are one of the most important elements of your website. They are also one of the most difficult elements to analyse and improve. 

  Unlike a webpage, forms aren’t all that easy to analyse with standard web analytics tools. You need to learn how to conduct form analysis if you want to improve your forms’ conversion rates and increase revenue. 

  In this article, we’ll explain what form analysis is and why conducting a thorough form analysis is so important. 

  What is form analysis ?

  Form analysis is a process that measures the effectiveness of your forms. Form analysis uses several tools and techniques like a form analytics platform, heatmaps, and session recordings to collect user data and understand how visitors behave when filling in forms. 

  The goal is to improve the design and effectiveness of your forms, reducing abandonment rate and encouraging more users to submit them. 

  There are plenty of reasons visitors could be having trouble with your forms, from confusing form fields to poor design and lengthy verification processes. Form analytics can help you pinpoint why your form’s conversion rate is so low or why so many users abandon your form halfway through filling it in. 

  Why is form analysis important ?

  Website forms have some of the highest bounce rates and abandonments of any website element. By analysing your forms, you can achieve the following outcomes :

  

  Reduce form abandonment

  When it’s tough enough to get users to start filling in your form, the last thing you want them to do is abandon it halfway through. But that’s probably what your users are doing more than you’d like to think. 

  Why are they abandoning it ? Even if you’re humble enough to admit you didn’t create the greatest form the world’s ever seen, it can still be incredibly difficult to pin down why users give up on your form.

  That’s unless you conduct a form analysis. By analysing metrics and user behaviour, you can pinpoint and rectify the issues that cause users to abandon your form. 

  Improve the user experience

  Best practices will only take you so far. How users behave when filling in a form on your website may be completely different to how they behave on another site. That’s why you need to use form analysis to understand how users behave specifically on your website — and then use that information to optimise the design, layout, and content of the form to better suit them. 

  If one field is regularly left empty, for example, you can delete it. If users spend several minutes filling out a form with a high abandonment rate, you could shorten it. 

  The goal isn’t to make the best form ever but to make the best form for your audience. 

  Increase conversions

  Ultimately, form analysis helps you improve your form’s most important metric : conversions. Reducing your abandonment rate will naturally lead to more completions, but so will taking advantage of other optimisation opportunities that only become clear with form analysis. This can include optimisations like :

  • Moving the form higher up on the page
  • Shortening the form
  • Changing the heading and CTAs
  • Renaming field labels 

  A thorough form analysis process can ensure your forms generate as many conversions as possible. 

  Why do users abandon forms ?

  Are you already suffering from high form abandonment rates ? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. Marketers regularly make the same mistakes when creating forms that cause users to give up halfway through completion.

  Here are some of the most common reasons for form abandonment :

  • There are too many steps. If you’re telling users they’ve just completed step 2 of 12, you can bet they won’t bother finishing your form. 
  • They ask for too much information. No one wants to fill out a long form, and often, users won’t have the information on hand if you ask for too much. Just look at the rate left blank from the Unneeded Fields report in the screenshot below :

  

  • The form is confusing. Unclear form fields or directions can put users off. 
  • All the fields are free text and time-consuming. Filling out forms with long text fields takes too much time. To speed things up, use dropdown options in the fields, but keep the options to a minimum. This not only helps users finish the form faster but also makes it easier to analyse the data later because it keeps the data format consistent so you can organise the information more efficiently. 
  • Users don’t trust the form. This is a particular problem on checkout pages where users are entering sensitive information.

  How to conduct form analysis

  You need to collect user behaviour data to effectively analyse your forms. But a lot of traditional website analytics tools won’t have the required functionality. 

  Matomo is different. Our web analytics solution offers comprehensive web analytics as well as additional features like Heatmaps, Session Recordings, A/B Testing, and Form Analytics to provide all the functionality you need. 

  Now if you don’t use Matomo, you can try it free for 21 days (no credit card required) to see if it’s the right tool for you.

  Whether you use Matomo or not is up to you. But, once you have a suitable tool in place, just follow the steps below to conduct a form analysis. 

  Check your analytics

  Tracking and analysing specific form metrics should be the first place you start. We recommend collecting data on the following metrics :

  • Form starter rate : the percentage of visitors who actually start to fill in your form
  • Completion rate : the percentage of visitors who complete the form
  • Form abandonment rate : the percentage of users who gave up filling in your form
  • Time spent completing your form : the average length of time users spend on your form

  Let’s look at these metrics are in Matomo’s Form Analytics :

  

  The dashboard shows an overview of these metrics over a given period, allowing you to see at a glance whether there are issues you need to rectify. 

  Next, deep dive into the performance of each form to see things like :

  • Drop off fields
  • Unused fields
  • Entry field
  • Most corrected fields 

  You can even use Matomo’s visitor log to see who’s behind every submission.

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  Use a heatmap

  A heatmap is a colour-based graphical representation of data. A heatmap will show what users to do on your website, including : 

  • How far they scroll
  • Which buttons they click on
  • Where they focus their attention

  When used on a webpage with a form, you’ll be able to see how often users interact with your form based on the heatmap colour, with warmer colours representing greater engagement levels.

  Let’s look at a heatmap in Matomo :

  

  This heatmap is showing us how far down users have scrolled. It’s clear that only 63% of visitors are reaching the point above our call to action to see all features. We might want to consider moving that call to action up in order to get more engagement. 

  A heatmap is a great way to see whether your form’s placement gets the level of attention you want from visitors and to what extent visitors interact with your field.

  Record user sessions

  Session replays go even further than heatmaps, recording a real-life user interacting with your site. It’s like looking over a visitor’s shoulder while they use your site.

  

  With Matomo, you can record any sessions where the user takes a certain action (like starting to fill in a form), allowing you to build a rich library of qualitative data. 

  You can then replay a recorded session at your leisure to understand exactly how users interact with your forms.

  Segment users

  If you really want to understand how visitors use your forms, then it’s essential to segment your data. 

  You can segment all Form Analytics reports by over 100 pre-built segments in Matomo.

  

  One way to segment your data is by comparing the average time on form of those who completed the form with those who abandoned it. 

  If users abandon a form quickly, that could indicate your form is irrelevant to this audience or too long. If users spend a lot of time on the form, however, it’s probably safe to assume that it is relevant but there is something wrong with the form itself. 

  Looking at the Field Timings report will help you pinpoint which field visitors are spending the most time on and causing frustration. 

  

  The Field Timings example report in Matomo above, it’s evident that the “Overview of your needs” field takes up the most time (avg. time spent is 1 min 40s). To improve this, we might want to change it to a dropdown field. This way, users can quickly select options, and if necessary, provide additional details.

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  Another way is to segment data by traffic source and compare each source’s conversion rate. This will show whether one traffic source converts better than another or if one source isn’t interested in your form at all.

  How to optimise web forms

  Want to implement what you’ve learnt from your form analysis ? Follow these steps to optimise your existing web forms. 

  Define your form’s purpose

  The first step in optimising your existing web forms is to give a clear and definitive purpose to every single one. 

  When you have a defined goal, creating a form users will complete is much easier. After all, if you don’t know why people should fill in one of your forms, how would a visitor possibly know ?

  Take a look at one of our forms below :

  

  The purpose of this form is to get users to sign up for a free trial of our web analytics platform, and every element works towards that goal :

  • The headline directs the user to take action
  • The copy explains that it’s a free trial that doesn’t require credit card details
  • The green call-to-action button reinforces the action and benefit 
  • There is validation to support this under the form – “Trusted on over 1 million websites in over 190+ countries”

  Our clear instructions leave users no doubt about why they should fill in the form or what will happen. 

  Choose the right type of form

  You can use several forms on your website, each with different designs, form fields, and goals.

  For example :

  • Registration forms are fairly minimalist and designed to collect the least amount of data possible. 
  • Contact forms are concise so that it’s easy for potential customers to reach your team. 
  • Checkout forms balance a need to collect important data with a streamlined design that doesn’t put users off.
  • Lead generation forms are compelling and usually include qualifying questions so sales teams can score leads.

  Make sure you are using the right type of form to avoid abandonments and other issues. For example, requiring users to fill in a lengthy lead generation-style form when you want them to sign up for a free trial will probably kill your conversion rate. 

  Test form elements

  If your form analysis has shed light on one or two issues, you can use A/B or multivariate testing to trial new elements or designs and see how they compare.

  There’s no shortage of elements you can test, including the form’s :

  • Headline
  • Placement
  • Design
  • CTA button
  • Colour-scheme
  • Length
  • Form fields

  

  Matomo makes it easy to create and run A/B tests on your website’s forms. 

  Move your form above the fold

  One of the simplest ways to optimise your web form is to move it above the fold — that’s the section of the screen users see when they load your page. 

  Why ? Well, the more people who see your form, the more people will fill it in. And when it’s above the fold, users can’t help but see it.

  Conclusion

  Forms are one of the most important elements on your website, so why not treat them as such and regularly run a thorough form analysis ? By doing so, you’ll identify ways to optimise your form, improve the user experience, and improve conversions. 

  Matomo is the best platform for conducting form analysis. Our combination of web analytics, Form Analytics, Session Recordings, and Heatmaps means you have all the tools you need to learn exactly how visitors interact with your forms. 

  See just how powerful Matomo’s tools are by starting a free 21-day trial, no credit card required. 

  Try Matomo for Free

  21 day free trial. No credit card required.

  
  

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  Start improving your websites now

  

• Ffmpeg input seeking - "Invalid NAL unit size"

  30 janvier 2024, par Dimitris

  I'm trying to use ffmpeg to get a 10-second clip from the middle of a video. The execution time of the command is important, that's why I've decided to use combined input & output seeking (as illustrated here).
The input video file is a CMAF with fragmented MP4, duration of 10 minutes.

  


  I'm testing on a Mac, Ffmpeg version is 6.1.1.

  


  This is the command that I'm using :

  


  ffmpeg -nostdin -y -ss 290 -copyts -start_at_zero -i https://devcdn.flowplayer.com/5f07362e-c358-41d0-857a-c64302a3fcc9/cmaf/17bdb16d-71d1-414c-a291-a028bd45b9ec/playlist_360.m3u8 -ss 300.0 -t 10 -vcodec libwebp -lossless 0 -quality 60 -compression_level 2 -loop 0 -an -sn output.webp


  


  Result : no output file is created.

  


  From what I understand it fails to seek position "290" in the video, probably due to "Invalid NAL unit size" errors.

  


  Here's the output :

  


  ffmpeg version N-106797-g580fb6a8c9-tessus Copyright (c) 2000-2022 the FFmpeg developersbuilt with Apple clang version 11.0.0 (clang-1100.0.33.17)configuration: --cc=/usr/bin/clang --prefix=/opt/ffmpeg --extra-version=tessus --enable-avisynth --enable-fontconfig --enable-gpl --enable-libaom --enable-libass --enable-libbluray --enable-libdav1d --enable-libfreetype --enable-libgsm --enable-libmodplug --enable-libmp3lame --enable-libmysofa --enable-libopencore-amrnb --enable-libopencore-amrwb --enable-libopenh264 --enable-libopenjpeg --enable-libopus --enable-librubberband --enable-libshine --enable-libsnappy --enable-libsoxr --enable-libspeex --enable-libtheora --enable-libtwolame --enable-libvidstab --enable-libvmaf --enable-libvo-amrwbenc --enable-libvorbis --enable-libvpx --enable-libwebp --enable-libx264 --enable-libx265 --enable-libxavs --enable-libxvid --enable-libzimg --enable-libzmq --enable-libzvbi --enable-version3 --pkg-config-flags=--static --disable-ffplaylibavutil      57. 24.101 / 57. 24.101libavcodec     59. 27.100 / 59. 27.100libavformat    59. 23.100 / 59. 23.100libavdevice    59.  6.100 / 59.  6.100libavfilter     8. 37.100 /  8. 37.100libswscale      6.  6.100 /  6.  6.100libswresample   4.  6.100 /  4.  6.100libpostproc    56.  5.100 / 56.  5.100Input #0, mov,mp4,m4a,3gp,3g2,mj2, from 'https://devcdn.flowplayer.com/5f07362e-c358-41d0-857a-c64302a3fcc9/cmaf/17bdb16d-71d1-414c-a291-a028bd45b9ec/playlist_360.cmfv':Metadata:major_brand     : isomminor_version   : 1compatible_brands: isomavc1dashcmfccreation_time   : 2024-01-30T07:41:03.000000ZDuration: 00:09:56.54, start: 0.083333, bitrate: 458 kb/sStream #0:0[0x1](und): Video: h264 (High) (avc1 / 0x31637661), yuv420p(tv, bt709, progressive), 640x360 [SAR 1:1 DAR 16:9], 1 kb/s, 24 fps, 24 tbr, 90k tbn (default)Metadata:creation_time   : 2024-01-30T07:41:03.000000Zhandler_name    : ETI ISO Video Media Handlervendor_id       : [0][0][0]ffmpeg version 6.1.1-tessus  https://evermeet.cx/ffmpeg/  Copyright (c) 2000-2023 the FFmpeg developers
  built with Apple clang version 11.0.0 (clang-1100.0.33.17)
  configuration: --cc=/usr/bin/clang --prefix=/opt/ffmpeg --extra-version=tessus --enable-avisynth --enable-fontconfig --enable-gpl --enable-libaom --enable-libass --enable-libbluray --enable-libdav1d --enable-libfreetype --enable-libgsm --enable-libmodplug --enable-libmp3lame --enable-libmysofa --enable-libopencore-amrnb --enable-libopencore-amrwb --enable-libopenh264 --enable-libopenjpeg --enable-libopus --enable-librubberband --enable-libshine --enable-libsnappy --enable-libsoxr --enable-libspeex --enable-libtheora --enable-libtwolame --enable-libvidstab --enable-libvmaf --enable-libvo-amrwbenc --enable-libvorbis --enable-libvpx --enable-libwebp --enable-libx264 --enable-libx265 --enable-libxavs --enable-libxml2 --enable-libxvid --enable-libzimg --enable-libzmq --enable-libzvbi --enable-version3 --pkg-config-flags=--static --disable-ffplay
  libavutil      58. 29.100 / 58. 29.100
  libavcodec     60. 31.102 / 60. 31.102
  libavformat    60. 16.100 / 60. 16.100
  libavdevice    60.  3.100 / 60.  3.100
  libavfilter     9. 12.100 /  9. 12.100
  libswscale      7.  5.100 /  7.  5.100
  libswresample   4. 12.100 /  4. 12.100
  libpostproc    57.  3.100 / 57.  3.100
[hls @ 0x7fc7bb904280] Skip ('#EXT-X-VERSION:6')
[hls @ 0x7fc7bb904280] Opening 'https://devcdn.flowplayer.com/5f07362e-c358-41d0-857a-c64302a3fcc9/cmaf/17bdb16d-71d1-414c-a291-a028bd45b9ec/playlist_360.cmfv' for reading
    Last message repeated 2 times
Input #0, hls, from '[**]/playlist_360.m3u8':
  Duration: 00:09:56.46, start: 0.083333, bitrate: 0 kb/s
  Program 0 
    Metadata:
      variant_bitrate : 0
  Stream #0:0(und): Video: h264 (High) (avc1 / 0x31637661), yuv420p(tv, bt709), 640x360 [SAR 1:1 DAR 16:9], 1 kb/s, 24 fps, 24 tbr, 90k tbn (default)
    Metadata:
      variant_bitrate : 0
      compatible_brands: isomavc1dashcmfc
      handler_name    : ETI ISO Video Media Handler
      vendor_id       : [0][0][0][0]
      encoder         : Elemental H.264
      major_brand     : isom
      minor_version   : 1
      creation_time   : 2024-01-30T07:41:03.000000Z
Stream mapping:
  Stream #0:0 -> #0:0 (h264 (native) -> webp (libwebp))
[hls @ 0x7fc7bb904280] Opening 'https://devcdn.flowplayer.com/5f07362e-c358-41d0-857a-c64302a3fcc9/cmaf/17bdb16d-71d1-414c-a291-a028bd45b9ec/playlist_360.cmfv' for reading
    Last message repeated 2 times
[NULL @ 0x7fc7bb804f40] Invalid NAL unit size (1772342253 > 1534).
[NULL @ 0x7fc7bb804f40] missing picture in access unit with size 1538
[NULL @ 0x7fc7bb804f40] Invalid NAL unit size (-1977545460 > 1481).
[NULL @ 0x7fc7bb804f40] missing picture in access unit with size 1485
[NULL @ 0x7fc7bb804f40] Invalid NAL unit size (1694403391 > 1582).
[NULL @ 0x7fc7bb804f40] missing picture in access unit with size 1586
[NULL @ 0x7fc7bb804f40] Invalid NAL unit size (-1404850266 > 1661).
[NULL @ 0x7fc7bb804f40] missing picture in access unit with size 1665
[NULL @ 0x7fc7bb804f40] Invalid NAL unit size (703351242 > 1680).
[NULL @ 0x7fc7bb804f40] missing picture in access unit with size 1684
[NULL @ 0x7fc7bb804f40] Invalid NAL unit size (-836978648 > 1751).
[NULL @ 0x7fc7bb804f40] missing picture in access unit with size 1755
[NULL @ 0x7fc7bb804f40] Invalid NAL unit size (752797651 > 1867).
[NULL @ 0x7fc7bb804f40] missing picture in access unit with size 1871
[NULL @ 0x7fc7bb804f40] Invalid NAL unit size (-1831058223 > 1833).
[NULL @ 0x7fc7bb804f40] missing picture in access unit with size 1837
[NULL @ 0x7fc7bb804f40] Invalid NAL unit size (-1238958831 > 2067).
[NULL @ 0x7fc7bb804f40] missing picture in access unit with size 2071
[NULL @ 0x7fc7bb804f40] Invalid NAL unit size (435683248 > 2090).
[NULL @ 0x7fc7bb804f40] missing picture in access unit with size 2094
[NULL @ 0x7fc7bb804f40] Invalid NAL unit size (2136335178 > 2229).
[NULL @ 0x7fc7bb804f40] missing picture in access unit with size 2233
[NULL @ 0x7fc7bb804f40] Invalid NAL unit size (-1468707300 > 2203).
[NULL @ 0x7fc7bb804f40] missing picture in access unit with size 2207
[NULL @ 0x7fc7bb804f40] Invalid NAL unit size (482758774 > 2402).
[NULL @ 0x7fc7bb804f40] missing picture in access unit with size 2406
[NULL @ 0x7fc7bb804f40] Invalid NAL unit size (-1079612217 > 2417).
[NULL @ 0x7fc7bb804f40] missing picture in access unit with size 2421
[NULL @ 0x7fc7bb804f40] Invalid NAL unit size (-608087491 > 2546).
[NULL @ 0x7fc7bb804f40] missing picture in access unit with size 2550
[NULL @ 0x7fc7bb804f40] Invalid NAL unit size (-1457748625 > 2527).
[NULL @ 0x7fc7bb804f40] missing picture in access unit with size 2531
[NULL @ 0x7fc7bb804f40] Invalid NAL unit size (1933919710 > 2734).
[NULL @ 0x7fc7bb804f40] missing picture in access unit with size 2738
[NULL @ 0x7fc7bb804f40] Invalid NAL unit size (1004643870 > 2803).
[NULL @ 0x7fc7bb804f40] missing picture in access unit with size 2807
[NULL @ 0x7fc7bb804f40] Invalid NAL unit size (-207765435 > 2988).
[NULL @ 0x7fc7bb804f40] missing picture in access unit with size 2992
[NULL @ 0x7fc7bb804f40] Invalid NAL unit size (-196888537 > 2306).
[NULL @ 0x7fc7bb804f40] missing picture in access unit with size 2310
[NULL @ 0x7fc7bb804f40] Invalid NAL unit size (1118966683 > 2620).
[NULL @ 0x7fc7bb804f40] missing picture in access unit with size 2624
[NULL @ 0x7fc7bb804f40] Invalid NAL unit size (1325583054 > 2715).
[NULL @ 0x7fc7bb804f40] missing picture in access unit with size 2719
[NULL @ 0x7fc7bb804f40] Invalid NAL unit size (-2003602869 > 2906).
[NULL @ 0x7fc7bb804f40] missing picture in access unit with size 2910
[NULL @ 0x7fc7bb804f40] Invalid NAL unit size (1666330272 > 3085).
[NULL @ 0x7fc7bb804f40] missing picture in access unit with size 3089
[NULL @ 0x7fc7bb804f40] Invalid NAL unit size (-742329993 > 2593).
[NULL @ 0x7fc7bb804f40] missing picture in access unit with size 2597
[NULL @ 0x7fc7bb804f40] Invalid NAL unit size (1326266794 > 2347).
[NULL @ 0x7fc7bb804f40] missing picture in access unit with size 2351
[NULL @ 0x7fc7bb804f40] Invalid NAL unit size (2459776 > 2155).
[NULL @ 0x7fc7bb804f40] missing picture in access unit with size 2159
[https @ 0x7fc7ba022a00] Opening 'https://devcdn.flowplayer.com/5f07362e-c358-41d0-857a-c64302a3fcc9/cmaf/17bdb16d-71d1-414c-a291-a028bd45b9ec/playlist_360.cmfv' for reading
[...]
[vost#0:0/libwebp @ 0x7fc7bbb05780] No filtered frames for output stream, trying to initialize anyway.
Output #0, webp, to 'output.webp':
  Metadata:
    encoder         : Lavf60.16.100
  Stream #0:0(und): Video: webp, yuv420p(progressive), 640x360 [SAR 1:1 DAR 16:9], q=2-31, 200 kb/s, 24 fps, 1k tbn (default)
    Metadata:
      variant_bitrate : 0
      compatible_brands: isomavc1dashcmfc
      handler_name    : ETI ISO Video Media Handler
      vendor_id       : [0][0][0][0]
      creation_time   : 2024-01-30T07:41:03.000000Z
      major_brand     : isom
      minor_version   : 1
      encoder         : Lavc60.31.102 libwebp
[out#0/webp @ 0x7fc7bbb04900] video:0kB audio:0kB subtitle:0kB other streams:0kB global headers:0kB muxing overhead: unknown
[out#0/webp @ 0x7fc7bbb04900] Output file is empty, nothing was encoded(check -ss / -t / -frames parameters if used)
frame=    0 fps=0.0 q=0.0 Lsize=       0kB time=N/A bitrate=N/A speed=N/A 


  


  What I've tried so far :

  


  


  1. Downloaded the input file to a local directory and used it as input to ffmpeg - same results.

     


  


  2. Used the mp4 file from the playlist directly as an input to ffmpeg - worked but execution time is very slow

     


  


  3. Emmited the input seeking part (-ss 290 -copyts -start_at_zero) from the command - worked but also very slow in terms of execution time

     


  


  


  Any ideas on why I'm getting "Invalid NAL unit size" and how to make the command work with input seeking ?

  


• Web Analytics Reports : 10 Key Types and How to Use Them

  29 janvier 2024, par Erin

  You can’t optimise your website to drive better results if you don’t know how visitors are engaging with your site.

  But how do you correctly analyse data and identify patterns ? With the right platform, you can use a wide range of web analytics reports to dive deep into the data.

  In this article, we’ll discuss what website analytics reports are, different types, why you need them, and how to use reports to find the insights you need.

  What is web analytics ?

  Website analytics is the process of gathering, processing, and analysing data that shows what users are doing when they visit your website. 

  You typically achieve this with web analytics tools by adding a tracking code that shares data with the analytics platform when someone visits the site.

  

  The visitors trigger the tracking code, which collects data on how they act while on your site and then sends that information to the analytics platform. You can then see the data in your analytics solution and create reports based on this data.

  While there are a lot of web analytics solutions available, this article will specifically demonstrate reports using Matomo.

  What are web analytics reports ?

  Web analytics reports are analyses that focus on specific data points within your analytics platform. 

  For example, this channel report in Matomo shows the top referring channels of a website.

  

  Your marketing team can use this report to determine which channels drive the best results. In the example above, organic search drives almost double the visits and actions of social campaigns. 

  If you’re investing the same amount of money, you’d want to move more of your budget from social to search.

  Why you need to get familiar with specific web analytics reports

  The default web analytics dashboard offers an overview of high-level trends in performance. However, it usually does not give you specific insights that can help you optimise your marketing campaigns.

  For example, you can see that your conversions are down month over month. But, at a glance, you do not understand why that is.

  To understand why, you need to go granular and wider — looking into qualifying data that separates different types of visitors from each other.

  Gartner predicts that 70% of organisations will focus on “small and wide” data by 2025 over “big data.” Most companies lack the data volume to simply let big data and algorithms handle the optimising.

  What you can do instead is dive deep into each visitor. Figure out how they engage with your site, and then you can adjust your campaigns and page content accordingly.

  Common types of web analytics reports

  There are dozens of different web analytics reports, but they usually fall into four separate categories :

  

  • Referral sources : These reports show where your visitors come from. They range from channel reports — search, social media — to specific campaigns and ads.
  • Engagement (on-site actions) : These reports dive into what visitors are doing on your site. They break down clicks, scrolling, completed conversion goals, and more.
  • E-commerce performance : These reports show the performance of your e-commerce store. They’ll help you dive into the sales of individual products, trends in cart abandonment and more.
  • Demographics : These reports help you understand more about your visitors — where they’re visiting from, their browser language, device, and more.

  You can even combine insights across all four using audience segmentation and custom reports. (We’ll cover this in more detail later.)

  How to use 10 important website analytics reports

  The first step is to install the website analytics code on your website. (We include more detailed information in our guide on how to track website visitors.)

  Then, you need to wait until you have a few days (or, if you have limited traffic, a few weeks) of data. Without sufficient website visitor data, none of the reports will be meaningful.

  Visitor Overview report

  First, let’s take a look at the Visitor Overview report. It’s a general report that breaks down the visits over a given time period.

  

  What this report shows :

  • Trends in unique visits month over month
  • Basic engagement trends like the average visit length and bounce rate
  • The number of actions taken per page

  In general, this report is more of a high-level indicator you can use to explore certain areas more thoroughly. For example, if most of your traffic comes from organic traffic or social media, you can dive deeper into those channels.

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  Location report

  Next up, we have the most basic type of demographic report — the Location report. It shows where your visitors tend to access your website from.

  

  What this report shows :

  • The country, state or city your visitors access your website from

  This report is most useful for identifying regional trends. You may notice that your site is growing in popularity in a country. You can take advantage of this by creating a regional campaign to double down on a high performing audience.

  Device report

  Next, we have the Device report, which breaks down your visitors’ devices.

  

  What this report shows :

  • Overall device types used by your visitors
  • Specific device models used

  Today, most websites are responsive or use mobile-first design. So, just seeing that many people access your site through smartphones probably isn’t all that surprising.

  But you should ensure your responsive design doesn’t break down on popular devices. The design may not work effectively because many phones have different screen resolutions. 

  Users Flow report

  The Users Flow report dives deeper into visitor engagement — how your visitors act on your site. It shows common landing pages — the first page visitors land on — and how they usually navigate your site from there.

  

  What this report shows :

  • Popular landing pages
  • How your visitors most commonly navigate your site

  You can use this report to determine which intermediary pages are crucial to keeping visitors engaged. For example, you can prioritise optimisation and rewriting for case study pages that don’t get a lot of direct search or campaign traffic.

  Improving this flow can improve conversion rates and the impact of your marketing efforts.

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  Exit Pages report

  The Exit Pages report complements the Users Flow report well. It highlights the most common pages visitors leave your website from.

  

  What this report shows :

  • The most common exit pages on your website
  • The exit rates of these pages

  Pages with high exit rates fall into two categories. The first are pages where it makes sense that visitors leave, like a post-purchase thank-you page. The second are pages where you’d want your visitors to stay and keep flowing down the funnel. When the rates are unusually high on product pages, category pages, or case study pages, you may have found a problem.

  By combining insights from the Users Flow and Exit Pages reports, you can find valuable candidates for optimisation. This is a key aspect of effective conversion rate optimisation.

  Traffic Acquisition Channel report

  The Acquisition Channels report highlights the channels that drive the most visitors to your site.

  

  What this report shows :

  • Top referring traffic sources by channel type
  • The average time on site, bounce rates, and actions taken by the source

  Because of increasingly privacy-sensitive browsers and apps, the best way to reliably track traffic sources is to use campaign tracking URL. Matomo offers an easy-to-use campaign tracking URL builder to simplify this process.

  Search Engines and Keywords report

  The Search Engines and Keywords report shows which keywords are driving the most organic search traffic and from what search engines.

  

  What this report shows :

  • Search engine keywords that drive traffic
  • The different search engines that refer visitors

  One of the best ways to use this report is to identify low-hanging fruit. You want to find keywords driving some traffic where your page isn’t ranked in the top three results. If the keyword has high traffic potential, you should then work to optimise that page to rank higher and get more traffic. This technique is an efficient way to improve your SEO performance.

  Ecommerce Products report

  If you sell products directly on your website, the Ecommerce Products report is a lifesaver. It shows you exactly how all your products are performing.

  

  What this report shows :

  • How your products are selling
  • The average sale price (with coupons) and quantity

  This report could help an online retailer identify top-selling items, adjust pricing based on average sale prices, and strategically allocate resources to promote or restock high-performing products for maximum profitability.

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  Get the web insights you need, without compromising data accuracy.

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  Ecommerce Log report

  If you want to explore every single ecommerce interaction, the Ecommerce Log report is for you. It breaks down the actions of visitors who add products to their cart in real time.

  

  What this report shows :

  • The full journey of completed purchases and abandoned carts
  • The exact actions your potential customers take and how long their journeys last

  If you suspect that the user experience of your online store isn’t perfect, this report helps you confirm or deny that suspicion. By closely examining individual interactions, you can identify common exit pages or other issues.