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• Accessibility Testing : Why It Matters and How to Get Started

  7 mai 2024, par Erin

  Nearly 96% of website homepages had failures with meeting web accessibility criteria in 2024. Aside from not complying with web accessibility laws and regulations, companies are failing a growing number of users with accessibility needs.

  With disabilities, chronic illnesses and ageing populations all rising, brands need to take accessibility more seriously. 

  In this article, we explain why accessibility testing is so important and how you can get started today.

  What is accessibility testing ?

  Accessibility testing optimises digital experiences to make them accessible for users with a range of disabilities and impairments. This includes users with vision impairments, hearing loss, neurodivergence, motor disabilities and cognitive conditions.

  The goal is to create inclusive experiences for everyone by implementing UX principles that address the usability needs of diverse audiences.

  To help developers create accessible experiences, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) created the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). The international WCAG standards define the Four Principles of Accessibility :

  • Perceivable : Information and user interface components must be presentable to users in ways they perceive.

  • Operable : User interface components and navigation must be operable.

  • Understandable : Information and the operation of user interfaces must be understandable.
  • Robust : Content must be robust enough to be interpreted reliably by various user agents, including assistive technologies.

  

  The current version of WCAG (2.2) contains 86 success criteria with three grades representing conformance levels :

  • Level A is the minimum conformance rating, indicating that web content is accessible to most users.

  • Level AA is the recommended conformance level to make content accessible to almost everyone, including users with severe disabilities.
  • Level AAA is the highest conformance rating, making content accessible to everyone, regardless of disability.

  

  Why is accessibility testing important ?

  With record numbers of lawsuits over online accessibility cases, it’s clear that companies underestimate the importance of accessibility testing. Here are seven key reasons you should pay more attention to it :

  1. Create inclusive experiences : Above all, accessibility testing creates inclusive experiences for all users.
  2. Adhere to accessibility regulations : Accessibility laws in most major markets — including the EU web accessibility policy — make it illegal for companies to discriminate against users with disabilities.
  3. Social responsibility : Companies have an ethical responsibility to cater to all users and consumers. 57% say they’re more loyal to brands that commit to addressing social inequities.
  4. Accessibility needs are growing : 16% of the world’s population (1 in 6) experience significant disability and the number will continue to grow as ageing populations rise.
  5. Improve experiences for everyone : Accessibility improves experiences for all users — for example, 80% of UK viewers aged 18-25 (2021) watch content with subtitles enabled.
  6. Maximise marketing reach : Platforms like Google prioritise accessibility yearly, making accessible content and experiences more visible.
  7. Accessibility is profitable : Inclusive companies earn 1.6x more revenue, 2.6x more net income and 2x more profit, according to Accenture (PDF).

  

  Who needs inclusive UX ?

  Accessibility testing starts with understanding the usability needs of audiences with disabilities and impairments. Here’s a quick summary of the most common impairments and some of the needs they have in common :

  • Visual impairments : Users may rely on screen readers, magnification software, braille displays, etc. or require certain levels of contrast, text sizes and colour combinations to aid visibility.
  • Hearing impairments : Users may rely on closed captions and subtitles for video content, transcripts for multimedia content and visual alerts/notifications for updates.
  • Motor or mobility impairments : Users might rely on adaptive keyboards, voice recognition and other assistive devices.
  • Cognitive and neurological impairments : Users may rely on technologies like text-to-speech software or require simplified user interfaces, contrast designs, etc., to aid comprehension.
  • Speech impairments : Users may rely on speech recognition and dictation software for any interaction that requires them to speak (e.g., automated customer service machines).

  While accessibility tools can alleviate certain accessibility challenges, inclusive design can remove much of the burden from users. This can involve using plenty of contrast, careful font selection, increasing whitespace and plenty of other design choices.

  Refer to the latest version of the WCAG for further guidance.

  How to run accessibility testing

  Now that we’ve emphasised the importance of accessibility, let’s explain how you can implement your own accessibility testing strategy.

  Create your accessibility testing plan

  Careful planning is crucial for making accessibility testing affordable and profitable. This starts with identifying the assets you need to test and optimise. This may include :

  • Website or web app
  • Mobile app
  • Videos
  • Podcasts and audio
  • PDFs
  • Marketing emails

  Map out all the assets your target audience interacts with and bring them into your accessibility testing plan. Optimising your website for screen readers is great, but you don’t want to forget your marketing emails and exclude vision-impaired users.

  Once you’ve got a complete list of assets, identify the elements and interactions with each one that require accessibility testing. For example, on your website, you should optimise navigation, user interfaces, layouts, web forms, etc.

  You also need to consider the impact of device types. For example, how touchscreens change the experience for motor impairments.

  Now that you know the scope of your testing strategy, it’s time to define your accessibility standards. Use external frameworks like WCAG guidelines and relevant legal requirements to create an internal set of standards.

  Once your accessibility standards are complete, train your staff at every level. This includes designers, developers, and content creators — everyone who works on assets is included in your accessibility testing strategy.

  Implement your accessibility standards throughout the design and development phases. Aim to create the most inclusive experiences possible before the accessibility testing stage.

  Implement accessibility practices at every level

  Treating accessibility as an afterthought is the biggest mistake you can make. Aside from neglecting the importance of accessibility, it’s simply not affordable to create assets and then optimise them for accessibility.

  Instead, you need to implement accessibility standards in every design and development stage. This way, you create inclusive assets from the beginning, and accessibility testing flags minor fixes rather than overhauls.

  By extension, you can take lessons from accessibility tests and update your accessibility standards to improve the quality of future assets.

  Set clear specifications in your accessibility standards for everyone to follow. For example, content publishers should be responsible for adding alt-text to all images. Make designers responsible for following contrast guidelines when optimising elements like CTA buttons.

  

  Next, managers can review assets and check for accessibility standards before anything is signed off. This way, you achieve higher test accessibility scores, and most fixes should be minor.

  This is the key to making accessibility testing manageable and profitable.

  Automate accessibility testing

  Automation is the other big factor in making accessibility efficient. With the right tools, you can run tests periodically without any manual workload, collecting data and flagging potential issues at almost no cost.

  For example, you can run automated accessibility tests on your website every month to check for common issues. This might flag up pages without alt-text for images, colour issues on a new batch of landing pages or a sudden drop in mobile loading times.

  Every automated test you can run reduces the manual workload of optimising accessibility. This frees up more time for the manual tests that require the attention of accessibility experts. 

  • Free up time for accessibility tasks that require manual testing
  • Identify issues with new content, assets, code, etc. faster
  • Run automated accessibility testing on new CRO changes

  Schedule manual accessibility reviews

  While it’s important to automate as much accessibility testing as possible, most accessibility standards require some form of manual testing. If we use the WCAG standards as a guideline, more than 70% of success require manual review and verification, including :

  • Testing websites with a screen reader
  • Navigating apps by only using a keyword
  • Quality assessing closed captions and subtitles
  • Testing web forms for people using speech input
  • Checking conversion actions for users with mobility issues (CTAs, forms, payments, etc.)

  Yes, you can automatically check all images for alt-text, but simply providing alt-text isn’t enough. You also have to review alt-text to make sure they’re descriptive, accurate and informative about the experience.

  Once again, the best way to minimise your time spent on manual testing is to implement accessibility standards throughout design and development. Train your content publishers to create alt-text that meets your criteria and editors to review them before pieces are signed off. 

  This way, you should always have the required alt-text before the content reaches the accessibility testing stage. The same applies to video transcriptions, web forms, website navigation, etc.

  Building a culture of accessibility makes the testing process as efficient as possible.

  What tools do you need for accessibility testing ?

  Now that we’ve covered the key essentials of accessibility testing, let’s look at some of the best accessibility testing tools to help you implement your strategy.

  accessiBe : AI-powered accessibility testing automation

  accessiBe is an accessibility testing automation and management system. It incorporates two core products : accessWidget for automating UI accessibility and accessFlow as an all-in-one solution for developers.

  

  Key features :

  • Automated accessibility testing
  • Accessibility widget for easy optimisation
  • Product accessibility for web, mobile and native apps
  • AI-powered accessibility insights
  • Compliance with WCAG, EAA and more

  As explained earlier, automation is crucial for making accessibility testing efficient and profitable. With accessiBe, you can automate the first line of accessibility checks so testers only need to get involved when manual action is necessary.

  Maze : Intelligent usability testing software

  Maze is a usability testing system that uses AI and automation to enhance traditional qualitative testing. You can run automated tests on live websites, capture survey feedback and recruit users to test experiences with real people.

  

  Key features :

  • Live website testing
  • Feedback surveys
  • Usability interviews
  • Test recruitment
  • Automated analysis

  While traditional usability interviews can provide in-depth insights, they’re expensive, time-consuming and difficult to run at scale. Maze’s solution is a hybrid testing system that automates data capture and analysis while supporting real user testing in one system.

  Matomo : Empowering people with ethical web analytics

  Matomo is a web analytics solution that gives you 100% data ownership while respecting user privacy. Think of this as a Google Analytics alternative that doesn’t use your visitors’ data for advertising purposes.

  

  Key features :

  • Privacy-friendly and GDPR-compliant tracking
  • Conversion rate optimisation features like heatmaps, session recordings, A/B testing and more
  • Accurate, unsampled data – see 40-60% more data than other analytics tools that sample data
  • Open-source

  Accessibility starts with creating quality experiences for everyone. Matomo reliably captures 100% of the data you need to optimise experiences without losing their trust. Instead of handing their personal info to Google or other tech giants, you retain full data ownership — fully compliant with GDPR, CCPA, etc.

  Try Matomo free for 21-days (no credit card required), or speak to our sales team for more info on how Matomo can enhance your site’s user experience and support your accessibility testing strategy.

  Try Matomo for Free

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

  Start for free

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  UserTesting : Video-based user testing software

  UserTesting is the more traditional system for running usability tests with real people. The platform helps you recruit users and manage usability tests with a series of sessions and video interviews.

  

  Key features :

  • Usability testing
  • Test recruitment
  • Live interviews
  • AI-powered insights
  • Usability services

  UserTesting is a slower, more expensive approach to testing experiences, but its video-based interviews allow you to have meaningful conversations with real users.

  Siteimprove : WCAG compliance testing

  Siteimprove automates website testing, accessibility and optimisation. It includes dedicated tools for checking WCAG and DCI compliance with an automated scoring system. This helps you keep track of scores and identify any accessibility and usability issues faster.

  

  Key features :

  • Automated accessibility checks
  • Inclusivity scores
  • Accessibility recommendations
  • Accessibility tracking
  • Marketing and revenue attribution
  • Usability insights

  Siteimprove provides a first line of accessibility testing with automated checks and practical recommendations. It also tracks accessibility scores, including ratings for all three WCAG compliance levels (A, AA and AAA).

  Find the value in accessibility testing

  Accessibility testing isn’t only a moral obligation ; it’s good business. Aside from avoiding fines and lawsuits, inclusive experiences are increasingly profitable. User bases with accessibility needs are only growing while non-disabled audiences are using accessibility resources like subtitles and transcripts in greater numbers.

  Accessibility improves everyone’s experiences, and this only does good things for conversion rates, revenue and profit.

  Start building your datasets for accessibility testing today with a Matomo 21-day free trial — no credit card required. Gain 100% ownership over your analytics data while complying with GDPR and other data privacy regulations.

  Try Matomo for Free

  21 day free trial. No credit card required.

  
  

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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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• A Complete Guide to Metrics in Google Analytics

  11 janvier 2024, par Erin

  There’s no denying that Google Analytics is the most popular web analytics solution today. Many marketers choose it to understand user behaviour. But when it offers so many different types of metrics, it can be overwhelming to choose which ones to focus on. In this article, we’ll dive into how metrics work in Google Analytics 4 and how to decide which metrics may be most useful to you, depending on your analytics needs.

  However, there are alternative web analytics solutions that can provide more accurate data and supplement GA’s existing features. Keep reading to learn how to overcome Google Analytics limitations so you can get the more out of your web analytics.

  What is a metric in Google Analytics ?

  In Google Analytics, a metric is a quantitative measurement or numerical data that provides insights into specific aspects of user behaviour. Metrics represent the counts or sums of user interactions, events or other data points. You can use GA metrics to better understand how people engage with a website or mobile app. 

  Unlike the previous Universal Analytics (the previous version of GA), GA4 is event-centric and has automated and simplified the event tracking process. Compared to Universal Analytics, GA4 is more user-centric and lets you hone in on individual user journeys. Some examples of common key metrics in GA4 are : 

  • Sessions : A group of user interactions on your website that occur within a specific time period. A session concludes when there is no user activity for 30 minutes.
  • Total Users : The cumulative count of individuals who accessed your site within a specified date range.
  • Engagement Rate : The percentage of visits to your website or app that included engagement (e.g., one more pageview, one or more conversion, etc.), determined by dividing engaged sessions by sessions.

  

  Metrics are invaluable when it comes to website and conversion optimisation. Whether you’re on the marketing team, creating content or designing web pages, understanding how your users interact with your digital platforms is essential.

  GA4 metrics vs. dimensions

  GA4 uses metrics to discuss quantitative measurements and dimensions as qualitative descriptors that provide additional context to metrics. To make things crystal clear, here are some examples of how metrics and dimensions are used together : 

  • “Session duration” = metric, “device type” = dimension 
    • In this situation, the dimension can segment the data by device type so you can optimise the user experience for different devices.
  • “Bounce rate” = metric, “traffic source/medium” = dimension 
    • Here, the dimension helps you segment by traffic source to understand how different acquisition channels are performing. 
  • “Conversion rate” = metric, “Landing page” = dimension 
    • When the conversion rate data is segmented by landing page, you can better see the most effective landing pages. 

  You can get into the nitty gritty of granular analysis by combining metrics and dimensions to better understand specific user interactions.

  How do Google Analytics metrics work ?

  Before diving into the most important metrics you should track, let’s review how metrics in GA4 work. 

  

  1. Tracking code implementation

  The process begins with implementing Google Analytics 4 tracking code into the HTML of web pages. This tracking code is JavaScript added to each website page — it collects data related to user interactions, events and other important tidbits.

  2. Data collection

  As users interact with the website or app, the Google Analytics 4 tracking code captures various data points (i.e., page views, clicks, form submissions, custom events, etc.). This raw data is compiled and sent to Google Analytics servers for processing.

  3. Data processing algorithms

  When the data reaches Google Analytics servers, data processing algorithms come into play. These algorithms analyse the incoming raw data to identify the dataset’s trends, relationships and patterns. This part of the process involves cleaning and organising the data.

  4. Segmentation and customisation

  As discussed in the previous section, Google Analytics 4 allows for segmentation and customisation of data with dimensions. To analyse specific data groups, you can define segments based on various dimensions (e.g., traffic source, device type). Custom events and user properties can also be defined to tailor the tracking to the unique needs of your website or app.

  5. Report generation

  Google Analytics 4 can make comprehensive reports and dashboards based on the processed and segmented data. These reports, often in the form of graphs and charts, help identify patterns and trends in the data.

  What are the most important Google Analytics metrics to track ? 

  In this section, we’ll identify and define key metrics for marketing teams to track in Google Analytics 4. 

  

  1. Pageviews are the total number of times a specific page or screen on your website or app is viewed by visitors. Pageviews are calculated each time a web page is loaded or reloaded in a browser. You can use this metric to measure the popularity of certain content on your website and what users are interested in. 
  2. Event tracking monitors user interactions with content on a website or app (i.e., clicks, downloads, video views, etc.). Event tracking provides detailed insights into user engagement so you can better understand how users interact with dynamic content. 
  3. Retention rate can be analysed with a pre-made overview report that Google Analytics 4 provides. This user metric measures the percentage of visitors who return to your website or app after their first visit within a specific time period. Retention rate = (users with subsequent visits / total users in the initial cohort) x 100. Use this information to understand how relevant or effective your content, user experience and marketing efforts are in retaining visitors. You probably have more loyal/returning buyers if you have a high retention rate. 
  4. Average session duration calculates the average time users spend on your website or app per session. Average session duration = total duration of all sessions / # of sessions. A high average session duration indicates how interested and engaged users are with your content. 
  5. Site searches and search queries on your website are automatically tracked by Google Analytics 4. These metrics include search terms, number of searches and user engagement post-search. You can use site search metrics to better understand user intent and refine content based on users’ searches. 
  6. Entrance and exit pages show where users first enter and leave your site. This metric is calculated by the percentage of sessions that start or end on a specific page. Knowing where users are entering and leaving your site can help identify places for content optimisation. 
  7. Device and browser info includes data about which devices and browsers websites or apps visitors use. This is another metric that Google Analytics 4 automatically collects and categorises during user sessions. You can use this data to improve the user experience on relevant devices and browsers. 
  8. Bounce rate is the percentage of single-page sessions where users leave your site or app without interacting further. Bounce rate = (# of single-page sessions / total # of sessions) x 100. Bounce rate is useful for determining how effective your landing pages are — pages with high bounce rates can be tweaked and optimised to enhance user engagement.

  Examples of how Matomo can elevate your web analytics

  Although Google Analytics is a powerful tool for understanding user behaviour, it also has privacy concerns, limitations and a list of issues. Another web analytics solution like Matomo can help fill those gaps so you can get the most out of your analytics.

  

  1. Cross-verify and validate your observations from Google Analytics by comparing data from Matomo’s Heatmaps and Session Recordings for the same pages. This process grants you access to these advanced features that GA4 does not offer.

  

  1. Matomo provides you with greater accuracy thanks to its privacy-friendly design. Unlike GA4, Matomo can be configured to operate without cookies. This means increased accuracy without intrusive cookie consent screens interrupting the user experience. It’s a win for you and for your users. Matomo also doesn’t apply data sampling so you can rest assured that the data you see is 100% accurate.

  3. Unlike GA4, Matomo offers direct access to customer support so you can save time sifting through community forum threads and online documentation. Gain personalised assistance and guidance for your analytics questions, and resolve issues efficiently.

  

  4. Matomo’s Form Analytics and Media Analytics extend your analytics capabilities beyond just pageviews and event tracking.

     Tracking user interactions with forms can tell you which fields users struggle with, common drop-off points, in addition to which parts of the form successfully guide visitors towards submission.

     See first-hand how Concrete CMS 3x their leads using Matomo’s Form Analytics.

     Media Analytics can provide insight into how users interact with image, video, or audio content on your website. You can use this feature to assess the relevance and popularity of specific content by knowing what your audience is engaged by.

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  Final thoughts

  Although Google Analytics is a powerful tool on its own, Matomo can elevate your web analytics by offering advanced features, data accuracy and a privacy-friendly design. Don’t play a guessing game with your data — Matomo provides 100% accurate data so you don’t have to rely on AI or machine learning to fill in the gaps. Matomo can be configured cookieless which also provides you with more accurate data and a better user experience. 

  Lastly, Matomo is fully compliant with some of the world’s strictest privacy regulations like GPDR. You won’t have to sacrifice compliance for accurate, high quality data. 

  Start your 21-day free trial of Matomo — no credit card required.

  Try Matomo for Free

  21 day free trial. No credit card required.

  
  

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