Monitoring Website Feature Performance

Tracking the performance of a given page on a website is relatively easy. With Google Analytics and countless other analytics programs, by including a snippet of code within the back end of a page, data for metrics like clicks and the average time length of visits are recorded and easily viewed. 

But what about feature performance? How do you track how people are interacting with the features that exist on a page like clicks on a button or even where visitor attention is drawn to? 

In this post, I’ll cover a few options for learning more about how visitors are interacting with content on your practice’s website.

Google Page Analytics 

Does your practice’s website have Google Analytics tracking set up? If so, there is a free Chrome plugin available called Page Analytics that will allow you to see basic information about what visitors are clicking on, as the following screenshot illustrates:  

The catch is that this product from Google is now deprecated, and it hasn’t been updated since 2019. That means there is no available support from Google and the only way to determine if it will work for your practice’s needs is to download and test it. However, assuming you’re able to get it to work, the information can be useful.

Heat Mapping Software 

A more thorough option is to use heat mapping software. Some of the most well-known providers are Crazy Egg and Hotjar. 

Using 3rd-party heat mapping software that is added to a page’s code can provide a great understanding of how people are scrolling on a page and precisely where they are clicking. 

Here’s an example Hotjar provides on its website: 

This type of detailed information offers useful data for determining how to modify a given page to optimize based on the ways in which users are interacting with it. And with most heat mapping software companies, you can get a free trial or pay a low rate on a monthly basis in order to access the tool. 

The Sesame Team 

The website design and search teams at Sesame possess an abundance of experience. 

Sesame’s dedicated designers are constantly striving to build the perfect practice website while Sesame’s SEO experts continuously review and implement the latest search strategies for member practices.  

Due to this wealth of experience Sesame’s teams of specialists hold a strong understanding of what works well and what doesn’t on websites. If you are a Sesame Premium Website or SEO Member, don’t be shy about asking your Account Manager or SEO Specialist for advice. 

 

So, if you’re trying to determine how people are interacting with a page on your website using the Page Analytics plugin or getting 3rd party heat mapping software are good options to pursue. Existing customers can also leverage Sesame team members for recommendations. 

If you’d like more information about tracking onsite performance, feel free to reach out to us. 

 

—Mike Fitterer, Sr. Marketing Manager II, Sesame Communications