Exit Trends In Google Analytics

Please Tell Me You Know The Feeling

For most business owners, exit trends in Google Analytics is like that familiar movie you see in remote control passer by but never stop to see what it’s about. Until one day by accident you’re flipping the channels, nothing is on so you say “what the hell” and give it a go only to realize it’s one of the best movies you’ve ever seen.

Well, exit trends in Google Analytics is the equivalent to that feeling you get when the movie goes off and you’re stuck reading the credits, completely entranced at what you’ve just discovered. Alright so maybe it’s just me so overly enthralled in the moment but someone out there feels me too.

Can I Get an “Amen?”

Learning to identify exit trends in analytics is no different. Once you begin to expand you’ll realize everything you need to know about the behavior of your web traffic is right there in front of you, and guess what?

It’s been there all a long.

See Those Sugar Plums Dancing In Your Head?

That’s your business instincts kicking in. The answers to monetizing your website for higher conversion and ultimately more online revenue lies in between the statistics. But for the sake of today, let’s focus solely on the exit trends and what they mean.

What’s an Exit Trend Exactly?

An exit trend is exactly that-a page within your site where visitors leave. It’s important to think of an exit trend as a physical place of business. Every business has a set of doors and an exit; RIGHT? Which doors to your website tend to bring in the heaviest flow of traffic? Which doors have more exits? The purpose of course is to figure out how to keep them on your site longer, while identifying which pages tend to have higher exits and how you can make improvements in those areas.

But before we get into that, let’s get one thing straight, you can’t please everyone. It’s impossible to please the fickle people of the world for the same reason it’s impossible for an NFL quarterback to go an entire season without throwing an interception. At best, exit trends are a cat and mouse game, at worst it can leave you longing for an extended stay at your neighborhood mental hospital . The secret (as with anything) is repetition.

Things To Think About

Keeping Exit Percentages Below 35%

Typically the highest percentage of exits will occur on your homepage because the majority of visitors will land there first. The goal is to keep this under 35%. If at any point you begin to see an increase above 40%, it may indicate a need to tweak your home page introduction. Reasons for exits could be…

1. Homepage is too cluttered
2. Not enough call to action buttons
3. Too Sales Driven (Raises skepticism)
4. Less is always more (Keep it simple and to the point, the whole key is to initiate a conversation, information overload will only make them feel as if they can make a decision without even making an inquiry)

Time Frames to Use

This can get tricky because it’s awfully tempting to look at the daily charts as a means to draw conclusions. Daily metrics make it difficult to see the big picture because they can give you mixed signals.

Monthly and 90 days metrics are the best measuring sticks. They provide perspective from a far. The broader the view the easier it is to find the correlation of pages with higher exit trends. Remember each page is a tool to help initiate a different action from the visitor. Open another screen and log into your Google Analytics.

1. Which pages have exit trends averaging 35% or higher?
2. Which pages are under 30%? (that’s a solid number)
3. Where did the traffic come from? (entry points)
4. Are the entry points indicative to the keywords that drove them to the site? (make sure landing pages are relative to exactly what the traffic is searching for or exit trends will be loaded to begin with. When people don’t find exactly what they’re looking for, they feel lost)

Target Exit Pages

A great strategy for offsetting pages with higher exits is by using Google Adsense. For sites with moderate to larger traffic this can provide an extra revenue stream to monetize traffic already planning on leaving your website. Essentially it acts as an affiliate marketing program from companies looking to advertise their products or services. They usually pay on a per click bases. Some even provide a commission of sale for any purchases made as a result of your banner.

In any case, minimizing exit trends can go a long way in improving website conversions. There will always be trial and error, followed by more trial and error. Remember, practice makes perfect boys and girls, eventually you’ll begin to connect the dots providing you stick with it. Thanks and have a great day.

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