Your medical office has had the new website up and running for a year, maybe a few. You’ve heard some good things from patients and that’s gratifying. But you can’t get past the gnawing question—is the site really getting significant traffic? And does that traffic matter to who walks in your door?
The good news is there are answers at your fingertips. Google Analytics provides a treasure trove of information about how people use your site. If you know how to use Google Analytics, you can understand how the site is working for you—and where it could be better.
Before anyone dives into Google Analytics, it’s important to understand that your website is different from the site you may browse for news. A news website can focus heavily on raw traffic volume and the total number of page views. Those are the metrics that drive their advertising revenue.
But a niche doctor’s office website is different and not just in terms of total traffic volume. You’re playing a longer game. You aren’t going to monetize the person who visits your site today—in fact, you may not ever monetize them. You’re after great visibility for your practice in the community, where the impact on your bottom line is likely to more indirect.
How then, do you approach all the data in Google Analytics? Here are some important metrics to evaluate and factors to consider.
Tip #1: Look at geography.
If you’ve done a good job at producing content for your website, it’s likely you’ll get traffic from around the world. How to treat the flu or the common cold are questions of universal interest. But the traffic that counts is what comes from your home area; Analytics allows you to see where people are coming from, right down to the specific city.
Tip #2: Use event tracking.
A part of producing good content is having some video presentations. The event tracking tags can allow you to see how many people are actually watching your videos. Another event tag that can be implemented is Scroll Depth—you can tell how far down a page people read, as measured in quarterly increments. This is especially pertinent to more in-depth articles and how users engage with them.
Tip #3: Set up Goals.
Think about how you want people to interact with your website. Think realistically—yes, it would be ideal for them to call immediately for an appointment. But a more reasonable goal would be for them to look at X number of pages on the site, indicating they’ve browsed the content. You can set up a Goal to track what percentage of users do this.
Tip #4: Implement Audience Lists.
These directly spawn from Goals and presume that you have an account for a Google Ads campaign. An Audience List gathers the IP addresses and stores them for up to a year for an Ads campaign. When you use your Audience Lists in a campaign, it reduces the ad spend and makes it more likely your ads will find a receptive audience.