5 Top Landing Page Metrics & How to Track Them

What Are Web Page Metrics?

Landing page metrics refer to data in Google Analytics GA4 that captures how well your landing pages are performing. These metrics provide a quantitative assessment of page performance and help you evaluate the effectiveness of your everyday business activities in achieving your key performance indicators (KPIs). Common metrics answer the following questions:

1. How many people visit your web page?
2. Are they interacting on your web page?
3. Are they purchasing a product/service from your website?

Here are some dos and don’ts for creating your landing page! 

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What’s The Difference With KPIs?

While landing page metrics measure the specific performance of a page or user behavior, KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) are broader, strategic goals that reflect overall business success. Metrics are the detailed data points, whereas KPIs are high-level objectives. For example, a KPI could be increasing sales by 20%, while landing page metrics like conversion rate and session duration help track the progress toward that KPI.

Top 5 Landing Page Metrics 

With many metrics available to see how well your landing page is, the importance of these metrics shifts from company to company. One critical metric to consider is how visitors interact on your landing page, as it provides insights into user engagement and content effectiveness. Each company has a different goal and KPIs, which means companies look at landing page success differently. We have selected these as our top Google Analytics GA4 web page metrics for performance.

1. Views

This is one the most important metrics to look for when searching for site performance. A page view described by Google Analytics (GA) Page views is “the total number of pages viewed, or repeated views of a single page are counted.” Point blank, this shows how many times your page has been viewed or visited, and the more landing page views, the better! Additionally, tracking landing page traffic helps you understand where your visitors are coming from and which marketing strategies are most effective. The more website visitors, the better opportunity for customers and conversions. Check this often.

• Difference with Google UA:
  The new GA4 views are focussed more on active users that interact on your page, eliminating inactive users that have the tab open.
• What does this metric mean?
  Views or page views measures the number of times your landing page has been viewed by visitors.
• Why is it important?
  This metric helps you understand which pages are driving the most traffic and which are underperforming.
• How to find?
  In GA4, go to Reports > Engagement > Pages and screens

2. Key events (Also Known As Conversions)

This is another great landing page metric to view when focused on performance. First, you’ll need to set these key events in Google Analytics GA4’s admin settings. You can create multiple key events that fit your site/page perfectly, whether it is a sale of a product/service, signing up for a newsletter and so much more. From there, not only can you see how many times your key event has been completed, but you can also see the conversion rate (percentage of visitors who converted). This is valuable when you have KPIs in mind.

• Difference with Google UA:
  Key events in GA4 replaced goals in Google analytics UA.
• What does this metric mean?
  In GA4, key events are specific user interactions that you identify as important for tracking and analysis, such as form fills, purchases, or newsletter signups.
• Why is it important?
  These events can be set up manually or automatically as “conversions”, which is one of the most important metrics that usually align with your company’s business goals. Conversion rate measures the number of people who took a desired action on your landing page.
• How to find?
  In GA4, go to Reports > Engagement > Pages and screens, and you’ll find the Key events under the engagement metrics

3. Sessions

Sessions are a key metric that track the number of distinct interactions users have with your website or landing page. Page load speed is another critical factor, as slow loading times can lead to higher bounce rates and shorter sessions. Google Analytics defines a session as “the period during which a user is actively engaged with your website.” Unlike views, which count each time a page is loaded, sessions give insight into how long and how often users are actively engaging with your content in a single visit.

• Difference with Google UA: UA tracked sessions based on time, while GA4 uses an event-driven model, making cross-platform tracking more accurate.
• What does this metric mean?A session counts all user activities during a single visit, offering insight into user engagement beyond just page views.
• Why is it important?Sessions show how engaged users are in a single visit, helping you assess user behavior and site performance.
• How to find in GA4?In GA4, go to Reports > Acquisition > Traffic Acquisition to see your session data.
• Difference between Sessions and Views:Sessions track user interactions in a single visit, while views count how many times a page is loaded, regardless of deeper engagement.

4. Bounce Rate

Bounce rate represents the percentage of single-page visits where the user leaves without interacting further with your website. It’s a key indicator of how engaging your landing page or content is and whether it encourages users to explore further.

• Difference with Google UA:
  In UA, bounce rate was calculated by dividing single-page sessions by total sessions. In GA4, bounce rate is calculated based on the inverse of the engagement rate, focusing more on interactions.
• What does this metric mean?
  Bounce rate measures the percentage of users who visit one page and leave without taking any further action, indicating how well your content retains users.
• Why is it important?
  A high bounce rate can signal issues with user experience, page load time, or irrelevant content, making it crucial for improving site performance and engagement.
• How to find in GA4?
  In GA4, go to Reports > Engagement > Pages and screens, and you’ll find the bounce rate under the engagement metrics, where it reflects how many users left after viewing only one page.

5. Average Engagement Time

Average engagement time measures the average amount of time users actively spend engaging with your website or app, such as scrolling, clicking, or viewing content. It reflects how long users interact with your site, excluding idle or inactive time.

• Difference with Google UA:
  UA used average session duration, which included total time spent, even idle time. In GA4, average engagement time only counts active interaction time, providing a more accurate measure of user engagement.
• What does this metric mean?
  It indicates how long, on average, users are actively interacting with your website, offering insights into content effectiveness and user interest.
• Why is it important?
  Higher average engagement time suggests better content or user experience, while lower time may indicate users aren’t finding what they’re looking for.
• How to find in GA4?
  In GA4, go to Reports > Engagement > Page and screens, where you’ll see average engagement time displayed alongside other engagement metrics.

Other Important Metrics

1. Loading Speed: A slow-loading page can lead to high bounce rates, negatively impacting conversion rates and ultimately, your bottom line.
2. Form Abandonment: Tracking form abandonment helps you identify areas for improvement and optimize your forms to increase conversions and reduce abandonment rates.
3. Returning vs. New Users This metric shows how well your website retains users and attracts new ones. You can find this data in Google Analytics under Reports > Acquisition > User Acquisition > Edit report top left to add new metrics

Setting Up and Tracking Landing Page Metrics

Setting up key goals

Before you get started, you need to define what a key goal is based on your company’s business goal. A good example is a sale or a form fill. To set this up go to Google Analytics GA4’s admin panel > Data display > Key events

How to Track these Metrics

• Page Views: In GA4, go to Reports > Engagement > Page and screens > Views
• Conversions: In GA4, go to Reports > Engagement > Page and screens > Key Events
• Average Time on Page: In GA4, go to Reports > Traffic > Pages and Screens > Average engagement time
• Sessions: Sign into GA4, go to Reports > Aquisition > Traffic acquisition > Sessions
• Bounce Rate: In GA4, go to Reports > Aquisition > Traffic acquisition > Bounce rate

Tools for Optimizing Web Page Performance

Pagespeed Insights for Loading Speed

Loading speed is crucial for landing page success as it’s become one of Google’s primary ranking factors. A slow-loading page can lead to high bounce rates, negatively impacting conversion rates and ultimately, your bottom line.

Use tools like Pagespeed Insights to ensure your landing pages load quickly to maximize performance.

Microsoft Clarity to Discover Form Abandonment

To improve conversion rate, focus on continuously testing and improving your landing page. Use A/B testing and visualization tools like Microsoft Clarity to identify which elements of your landing page are impacting conversion rates.
Make data-driven decisions to optimize your landing page’s performance.

GA4 or Looker Studio Dashboard Templates

• Google Analytics GA4 offers some of the most robust dashboard templates in the industry.
• You can use dashboard software like Databox to make data navigation easier.
• Download our free landing page tracking dashboard templates to track your landing page metrics.

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Yoast to improve meta data

To reduce bounce rate, focus on improving your landing page’s design, load speed, and match meta titles & descriptions with your content.
Ensure your landing page offer is clear and your user experience is intuitive. Use user engagement metrics to understand how visitors are interacting with your landing page.

Creating Effective Landing Pages

• Create effective landing pages by focusing on clear and concise messaging.
• Use compelling visuals and a clear call-to-action to drive conversions.
• Ensure your landing page is optimized for mobile and tablet devices.

Measuring Landing Page Success

• Measure landing page success by tracking key landing page metrics.
• Use Google Analytics to track your landing page’s performance.
• Regularly monitor and analyze your landing page metrics to optimize performance.

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