google analytics

1. 68

   lucieanneposted 13 years ago

   Hi
   Can someone tell me what 'bounce rate' means in Google analytics please? Which is best, a low number or a high one?
   Cheers

   replyreport
   1. 70

      thisisoliposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      It's the percentage/number of people who leave the site/close the window after reading your article. THis is rather tahn visiting another page on your site.
      
      I am not 100% sure if this value includes clicking away form the site on an advert or not, could anyone clarify?
      
      You want this number to be as low as possible, but it will inveriably be high for most webpages.

      replyreport
      1. 68

         lucieanneposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         Thanks thisisoli. It was baffling me for some time. So it's all about traffic then. Not much I can do to change it then.

         replyreport
   2. 90

      Pcunixposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      It's the percentage of folks who did not read anything else on your site after the page they landed on.
      
      A bit meaningless for HubPages as a low rate might mean they went on to read other Hubbers pages (I am unsure how Google calculates that here).
      
      You might expect a high bounce rate on certain pages.  For example, I have several pages at my main site that give very specific help with very specific problems.  I would expect that most people landing there would read the solution and immediately leave to go implement it.  That explains the high BR.
      
      If a page that is part of a series and has links to the next part has a high BR, that's definitely not what you want.

      replyreport
      1. 68

         lucieanneposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         Thanks Pcunix. So it's just another stat to get in a flap over then. Nothing I can do to change it.

         replyreport
         1. 90

            Pcunixposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            No, no, that's not true at all.  If you have a series, you can encourage people to visit the next or previous part.  You can encourage people to look at your Rss feed.   You absolutely can work to improve it.

            replyreport
2. 90

   Pcunixposted 13 years ago

   I should probably explain what I meant by "probably meaningless here"
   
   At a site you own yourself, there is no question at all what BR means.
   
   Here, it depends on whether Google considers going to any hubpages.com page as staying on site, or only counts going to a page with your Analytics code on it.  It's easy to imagine them doing either, as they could pre or post process the link.
   
   Would they count it if  someone jumped from your page to mine and then  to Sam's and back to you?
   
   I do not know.

   replyreport
3. 68

   Peter Hogganposted 13 years ago

   As far as HubPages is concerned a bounce occurs when someone visits one of your hubs and then moves to another page that does not contain your analytics code. This could happen if a visitor leaves a hub by way of a link to a page external to HubPages or a hub by another author.
   
   Although the idea is to make a modest income through Adsense clicks, they will also show up as a bounce if a visitor lands on one of your pages and exits via an ad without visiting any other hub authored by you.
   
   If a visitor was to land on one of your hubs and then follow a link to another of your hubs this would not show up as a bounce. If they then moved away from hubpages this would show up in your analytics as an exit page rather than a bounce.

   replyreport
   1. 90

      Pcunixposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      So you know for sure that Analytics  is looking to land on a page containing your code?  I could see them doing that, but I could also see them just looking at the destination domain.   If they do it as you say, then it is accurate.  If they do it the other way, it is inaccurate in cases like HubPages.

      replyreport
      1. 68

         Peter Hogganposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         Yep that’s the way it works, the code has to be present, if not it will show up as a bounce or an exit.
         
         It’s impossible to make any sense of our own individual bounce rate as far as HubPages is concerned, to many reasons completely out of our control get factored in.

         replyreport
         1. 90

            Pcunixposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            Ok, but I'm not understanding how you know that this is how the code works. Did you do do some testing that proves it works that way?
            
            I thought about trying to create such a test, but couldn't think how to control it.

            replyreport
            1. 68

               Peter Hogganposted 13 years agoin reply to this

               Google analytics uses a system called page tagging, this means that pages are tagged with a few lines of JavaScript.
               
               Google analytics can only gather data from pages that contain the code snippet provide to you. This snippet is unique and will only feed data into your analytics account from pages that contain the snippet.
               
               It works like this, someone follows a link to your hub, their web browser loads the page and its underlying code, the JavaScript is activated and the browser passes information back to your analytics account. Thus you are able to get all the good information you find in your analytics.
               
               If the code was not present this would not happen so bounces and exits can be detected.

               replyreport
               1. 90

                  Pcunixposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                  I don't think you understand what I'm saying.  I've used  Analytics for years, by the way.
                  
                  There are two ways Google could decide if a bounce should be recorded when someone leaves a page.
                  
                  One is what you suggest: see if we end up on a page that has the same Analytics tag.
                  
                  The other way is simply to capture the click and see if it points to the same domain.
                  
                  The second method is simpler, but it would give inaccurate results for sites like HubPages.  It would also be inaccurate in the case of off-site redirects. 
                  
                  I would *assume* that Google desires accuracy for redirects even if they don't care about our little needs at HP, but I do not know that and I remain unclear as to whether you know or are just assuming as I would.

                  replyreport
4. 80

   Aficionadaposted 13 years ago

   Another Google Analytics question - slightly urgent.  I've just signed up and entered the code in my affiliate settings (on the My Account page).  But on the Analytics page, it shows the icon that means that the code is unknown or not verified.  So, two questions:
   
   How long does it take for the code to be verified? and
   
   when the UA-XXXXXXX-X number is entered (in the affiliate settings box), should it include the single quote marks that were with it in the original, long Java-script code or not?  That is, in my affiliate settings, do I enter
   
   'UA-XXXXXXX-X'  OR
   
   UA-XXXXXXX-X
   
   ???
   
   Thanks!

   replyreport
   1. 83

      Rafiniposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      I copied and pasted mine....I don't think there were any quotation marks....
      I believe it can take several days for the code to be verified & for stats to show up. (I just got mine done today, so...I'll be finding out for sure soon!)

      replyreport
5. 80

   Aficionadaposted 13 years ago

   Thanks.  I tried it first without the quotation marks, then with.  I was trying to follow step-by-step from the Hub by Caspar (I think that's his name).  I did understand that the stats would take several days, but I didn't quite understand that it would take that long for the code to be verified, so when it wasn't done soon, I made the change.  I'll change it back.

   replyreport
6. 80

   Aficionadaposted 13 years ago

   I guess I could have asked this, Rafini:  on your Google Analytics page, under Status did it show a little clock or the triangle with an exclamation point in it?

   replyreport
   1. 83

      Rafiniposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      the triangle with an exclamation point, then I posted a question in the forums to find out how to set it up.   (earlier today, in fact)
      I haven't been back to check on it.  I will now and I'll be right back.
      
      Nope, now I have a green checkmark.  OMG!  I have info!!  lol   8 page views at a time of 00:17:32!  (does that mean minutes or seconds...?)

      replyreport
7. 70

   thisisoliposted 13 years ago

   Don't include the quotation marks!

   replyreport
   1. 68

      lucieanneposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Clear as mud !! (lol)

      replyreport
8. 0

   Website Examinerposted 13 years ago

   Learned Thisisoli was referring to this post, I think:
   
   http://hubpages.com/forum/post/1074406

   replyreport
9. 80

   Aficionadaposted 13 years ago

   lucieanne, he was replying to my question, several posts above.  When I copied the UA-XXXXXX-X code (in the process of signing up with GA), my copy showed single quotation marks.  I didn't know whether those belonged in the Google Analytics box on my Affiliate Settings section of the My Account page.
   
   Thanks, everyone.  I'm signed up now, my code has been detected, and I'm eager to see the results.

   replyreport
10. 80

    Aficionadaposted 13 years ago

    WE, I do believe our posts happened at the same time.  What are the odds?? 

    replyreport
    1. 0

       Website Examinerposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       Maybe not as low as you think. It happened to me twice today, then, how are the odds of that?

       replyreport
       1. 80

          Aficionadaposted 13 years agoin reply to this

          Well, actually I was trying to be ironic, but perhaps not very successfully.  I've seen it happen quite often.  The first few times, it seemed amazing, but since then it has become more commonplace.  Once in a store, I commented on the fact that the amount I owed was an even dollar amount - the first time it had ever happened to me.  But the cashier said it's pretty common. 
          
          I guess "that's life" - a good part of it for me, anyway:  a constant process of revising theories about norms and differences.

          replyreport
          1. 0

             Website Examinerposted 13 years agoin reply to this

             I believe that too: There are so many transactions and interactions, many more than we notice - and suddenly these "inexplicable" coincidences occur.
             
             Don't worry, I got it - to me, you will always be the "Über poster."

             replyreport
             1. 80

                Aficionadaposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                Wow!
                
                We'll have to start a Mutual Admiration Society, okay?
                
                       

                replyreport
11. 0

    Website Examinerposted 13 years ago

    Société d'admiration Mutuelle is hereby established!

    replyreport