- Allow users to more easily find the information you need
Have previously been introduced to allow users to more easily find the information you need to analyze and optimize the site's information architecture and site search, and the other on the user to play the role of a good guide is the site navigation features, so This article mainly analyzes the usage of the users of the site navigation features to optimize web site navigation design, and on this basis.
The role of site navigation
The ultimate goal of the site navigation is to help users find the information they need, and if I put more points, then can be summarized into the following three useful:
A guide the user to complete the jump between the website content pages. This is the most common, global navigation, local navigation and secondary navigation, etc. are in order to guide users to browse the relevant pages;
(2) clarify the links between the site content and links. Site to organize the content of an index and understand the most common application is the site map and content index table, show the whole site directory information to help users quickly find the appropriate content;
(3) to locate the user in the site location. This has been fully reflected in the breadcrumbs, it helps the user identification are currently browsing the pages and overall site content, and its links with other site and differentiate.
Analysis of site navigation
Analysis of the user to navigate through our site, to assess the merits of the site navigation features designed mainly from the utilization of navigation, to achieve the degree of effectiveness and compliance of four aspects were analyzed:
Utilization
Utilization of the site navigation, using various types of navigation features. The most intuitive analysis method is to use the click heat map, and concrete can refer to my previous article - Overlay (Overlay) website click on the heat map can also use the page, Google Analytics, the above default provider of the Home of the Overlay:
Home usage of area navigation functions can be distinguished from the figure, including the top navigation, the sidebar navigation module. If the navigation index page, we can view these pages views (Pageviews), Visits (Visits) and other indicators to analyze the situation they are used. For example, you have passed the "Site Map" click on my blog in the top navigation into the Category index page, you will see the URL of the page for the http://webdataanalysis.net/site-map/ we can in Google Analytics above the filter to see the visit of the page:
Compare the navigation page of these indicators, we can analyze the proportion of the overall usage of the navigation features as well as the use of navigation or preferences.
To achieve the degree of
We need to know how many users actually click on the link in the navigation when the user tries to use the navigation features, or how many users were the next step. Can analyze the navigation page click conversion rate (CTR), the number of user clicks / navigation page in the navigation page to be viewed, in fact, the above page Overlay refers directly gives each clickable object in the page click conversion rate, you can be aggregated is the click conversion rate of the entire page, you can also view the navigation page link click conversion rate. Google Analytics above is unable to provide a number of sub-page overlay, the only other tool or trying to monitor the click event of the navigation page.
Another analysis of the navigation features to achieve the degree of this indicator by the departure rate (Exit Rate), if a user enters a navigation page directly leave the site navigation feature is not implemented (Of course, if the user returns to the top page or back to the home page, the navigation function also does not implement these operations can not be reflected in the Exit Rate). Such as directory navigation page of my blog, the class URL of the page will contain "/ category /", it can also be directly above the GA filter out all of these addresses, we take a look at these pages Exit Rate situation, as shown :
Here because of a lack of evaluation of the navigation page of the Exit Rate benchmark, so I can not determine the effect of the navigation page in the end how interested friends in the comments below to your website or blog navigation page, the Exit Rate Tieshanglai look at the exchange A comparison.
Effectiveness of
And the content of the site page, navigation page, the goal is to allow users to quickly find the information you want, we do not need users to stay too long in the navigation page as Google's slogan: We may be the only people in the world who can say our goal is to have people leave our homepage as quickly as possible (to allow users to leave their site as soon as possible).
Therefore, for the navigation page, the page mean residence time (Avg. Time on Page), the shorter, the navigation page, the higher the quality (of course you have click on the job). Page fundamental measure of the average residence time the GA analysis page, on the map display.
Conformity
Or the effect known as the navigation, the user find the appropriate page using the navigation function, whether the page provide information of interest, or to say these are not what they're looking for information.
Assume that the user use the navigation features to find the information you need to complete the expected task performance, then the behavior may continue to use the navigation to stay on the site for some time, eventually reach the goal of mission success on a page or site page (such as a user to complete the registration, a single e-commerce site or a shopping success, etc.). Follow-up dwell time so that we can use the navigation, task completion, these analyzes of the target conversion rate metrics to measure the navigation to achieve the effect in the end how.
To summarize:
- Click on the heat map, Pageviews and Visits to measure the use of the navigation, click or browse the more higher the utilization of navigation;
- Measure of navigation with the click conversion rate (CTR) and the departure rate (Exit Rate), the higher the CTR, the Exit Rate is smaller, indicating navigation to achieve the better;
- Page mean residence time (Avg. Time on Page) to measure the effectiveness of navigation, the shorter residence time of the users of the page, the navigation function, the more effective (based navigation have better degrees);
- Residence time and tasks of the users use the navigation to complete the degree, the target conversion rate can measure the conformity of navigation, the user's task is completed, or target the higher the conversion rate, the navigation of the higher compliance.
Navigation design optimization
Based on the analysis of these four areas, we can be the site targeted optimization.
a) increase the effective utilization of navigation, the user is most commonly used or best navigation on the most eye-catching position;
Combination of the above analysis, the high utilization rate, the effect of good navigation features into a striking position, allowing users to more easily use these features.
b) the removal of invalid navigation or no use of navigation, streamline website design;
The navigation function is not possible, as long as the provision of adequate, effective navigation on the line, combined with the utilization and degree of the above, those who do not use or click on the conversion of poor navigation features to streamline.
c) Improving the description of navigation and the correlation of the corresponding content, and do not mislead the user, to win the trust of users and maintain the interest of users of the site;
Do not try to do it the title of the party, if a navigation page with a better utilization and to achieve the degree, then do not live up to the expectations of the user, provide them with consistent high-quality content, in order to truly retain users.
d) optimization of the organization and display of the navigation page content.
If the validity is not high, users often need to stay in the navigation page for some time to find the place you want to go, then maybe the navigation page lost its most fundamental values. How better to show the navigation may be a complex issue, involving information design, classification, sorting, or some website designers can come up with some ingenious way of display to attract the attention of the user, here, directly on the graph it:
Well, my analysis of the site navigation optimization finished, do you have more opinions are welcome to share in the comments below.
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Article to express the meaning is very characteristic of a number of indicators to measure the role of navigation. Article content is a bit obscure ...
The _AT_ Keven : This article may be textual description of the main lack of instance representation is not as straightforward.
Do not quite understand that utilization and realization of exactly where the difference between
@ P : Thank you for your comment.
Utilization is the main measure of user will use a navigation module; to achieve the degree is that the use of or access to a navigation module, did not produce valid clicks to enter a specific content page.
Such as the categories of my blog, just click the title of any category in the sidebar on the note is the use of the navigation; into the directory of the article table page, continue to click the article title to browse a the contents of the article, it shows the directory navigation functions.
In fact, these definitions are my own thought, need not be entangled in these definitions, you can own selective use of these indicators and metrics to analyze, as long as the results of site optimization guide on the line.
This easy to use.
But if the user inside the navigation page to open the content page in the newly installed port, then the residence time of the navigation page will be very long, but in fact achieve a high, this is the case, the residence time can not be used as the judgment of the effectiveness of
@ A Mao : That depends a new window is not in GA to the new session. Or based on a page in the original session, the Time on Page is still the trigger time less one, no problem; if a new session, if the navigation page there are other actions will you say, this is the indicator statistical problem, the residence time of the statistical inaccuracies.