Above & Beyond Metrics: Tell a Story with Reports

Sarah Kaczmarek is an Analyst at the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

Last week I presented a webinar for DigitalGov University,  Above & Beyond Metrics: Tell a Story with Reports.  In this presentation I gave some  helpful tips to interpret and present your metrics in a meaningful and engaging manner.  Here are the highlights:

How to Interpret Your Metrics in Context

• Consider the purpose of your site. Take your bounce rate for example (the percentage of visitors that only looked at one page and immediately left your site). If your site primarily serves to refer visitors to other websites, then you would expect to see a higher bounce rate, perhaps 70% or above. On the other hand, if the purpose of your website is to provide content, you might hope to see a bounce rate closer to 30% or 40%.

• Look at how your metrics relate to one another. When looking at your bounce rate, for example, consider how it compares to your other engagement metrics. Comparing bounce rates with time on page, visits per visitor, and your percent of returning visitors can help you understand more about the experience your users are having.

Look at how your metrics relate to one another

• Listen to what your users have to say. Customer satisfaction information and usability testing can provide valuable context for interpreting your metrics. If you aren’t sure whether your bounce rate suggests users are quickly finding what they want and leaving, or that they simply left unsatisfied, there’s nothing like hearing feedback directly from your users themselves.

How to Tell a Story with Your Metrics

• Consider what surprised you in the data. You know your site well; if something surprised you, it’s worth exploring.

• Think about where you see room for improvement. Your ideas for site enhancements can help bring meaning to your metrics in your writing. Focus on a few key areas where concrete changes could improve users’ experience.

• Present your data in style. If you would be bored reading your report, chances are so will others, and they may just miss the message (same rule applies to presentations). Don’t be afraid to try something new, and make sure to use meaningful graphics to break up text.

Use meaningful graphics to present data

Next Steps:

Watch  Meaningful Metrics—From Gathering to Analyzing Digital Metrics

Review the Digital Metrics Guidance &  Google Analytics for Government Training Manual

Use the Quarterly analytics report template & Weekly analytics report template

Stay in Touch!

By email at Kaczmareks@gao.gov & Twitter @StudioSarah