Google Analytics for Reporting Texas

By Julie BissingerShamoyita Dasgupta

Mason Scheer

Overall Findings

• Very high bounce rate– People aren’t staying on the site

• Major disparities between new and returning visitors

• Keywords referring to site– “Reporting Texas”

• Overall referrals to site – Facebook

Bounce Rate

Bounce Rate Statistics

• Overall bounce rate = 78.63%– Content may not be relevant to visitors’ needs– Accidentally click on the link– Content isn’t timely– Variety of stories doesn’t change

Page Views

Page View Statistics

• Overall page views = 11,498• Unique page views = 9,395• Top-visited pages– Home page, 2,756 views– Homecoming mum article, 713 views

Time Spent on Site

Time Spent on Site Statistics

• Average time for all visitors = 1:12 min.• Bounce rate correlates with percentage of

visitors who spend 0-10 seconds on site– 81.05%

• Approximately 13% of all visitors spend at least 60 seconds on the site

New Visitors vs. Returning Visitors

New Visitors• BR = 83.13%• Avg. time on site = 41

seconds• Avg. page views =

1.43 pgs per visit

Returning Visitors• BR = 63.77%• Avg. time on site =

2:51 min.• Avg. page views =

2.53 pgs per visit

What does this mean?

• Returning visitors are purposely visiting the site

• Returning visitors may read/skim more on the site– Know what they’re looking for but aren’t finding it

• New users accidently access the site and immediately leave– Aren’t drawn into the site and leave

New Visitors

Returning Visitors

Referrals

• 28.29% of page views– 1,930 visits

• Bounce rate is slightly lower than the average– 75.18%

• Facebook is the #1 referrer– Mobile Facebook is #2

• Disparity between the top 2 referrers

Referral Statistics

Keywords

• “Reporting Texas” = #1 keyword– 565 total views– 2.98 pgs/visit– 2:38 min. on site– 27.26% new visitors– 53.81% bounce rate

Top Keywords

Suggestions to Increase Traffic via Content

• Generate more timely content and more content in general– Seek out more students to contribute articles– Open the site up to non-journalism students

• Make headlines more attention-grabbing• Generate content that relates to the intended

audience– Students or media outlets?

Suggestions to Improve Site Usability

• Move the menu bar below the Reporting Texas banner– Delete the more detailed menu in the middle of the

page redundant• Story titles “below the fold” should be a sidebar– Visitors can readily see the articles and not have to

scroll around• Search bar and external links to Facebook, Twitter,

etc. should be moved to the top of the page

Usability Suggestions Cont.

• Scrolling stories move too fast and is distracting– Allow users to click and control which story

appears• Date the archives– Fix the search bar

• Provide links to content authors

Marketing Ideas

• Make story tags broader• Have KUT more actively promote their

partnership with RT• Regularly use proper hashtags on Twitter• Have the Carnegie Corporation of New York and

its Initiative on the Future of Journalism Education promote RT’s work

• Attract more students to want to participate in generating content for RT

Marketing Ideas Cont.

• Media outlets – utilize the @ feature on Twitter to directly Tweet to other media outlets about RT’s articles

Google AdWords

• Create an advertisement targeted to specific audiences

• Promotes content• Encourages people to check out the site

Marketing Ideas Cont.

• Promote RT’s endeavors around all of UT, rather than just to the journalism department

• Because RT’s editors are established journalists, they should more actively promote the site

• Advertise within The Daily Texan and the Texan’s website– The two publications aren’t competing with each

other

Expected Outcomes

• Increase in national, state, and local media audiences

• Increase student attention, curiosity, and participation

• Increase page views, traffic flow, time spent on the site/each page

• Decrease the bounce rate• RT may become a stronger outlet for UT students

to publish content to build their portfolios