What website analytics measures
- Acquisition: the channels that bring visitors, such as organic search, paid ads, social media, email and referrals.
- Behavior: which pages people view, how long they engage and where they leave.
- Conversions: purchases, form submissions, calls, sign-ups and downloads.
- Audience: devices, countries, languages and new vs returning visitors.
- Technical performance: page speed and errors.
Common tools
- Google Analytics 4: the most widely used, and free.
- Privacy-focused analytics: such as Matomo, Plausible and Fathom, which collect less personal data.
- Google Search Console: how the site performs in Google Search.
- Behavior tools: heatmaps and session recordings from tools such as Microsoft Clarity or Hotjar.
Getting useful answers
- Decide what counts as success, and track those actions as key events.
- Tag campaign links with UTM parameters, so every channel gets the right credit.
- Follow privacy rules: in the EU and UK, analytics cookies usually need consent.
- Review the numbers regularly and turn them into decisions, not just reports.
Website analytics example
A clinic’s report shows that 60% of visits come from mobile phones, but the booking form on mobile has a completion rate half that of desktop. The team checks recordings, finds that the date picker is hard to use on phones, replaces it and sees mobile bookings rise. Without analytics broken down by device, the problem would have gone unnoticed.
A monthly website analytics checklist
- Compare visits, engaged sessions and conversions with the previous month and year.
- Check the channels that bring visitors and the quality of their visits.
- Look at the top landing pages and where visitors leave.
- Check conversion tracking is still firing correctly.
- Review page speed and error reports.
- Write down three findings and one action for each.
Website analytics mistakes
- Looking at totals and never splitting by channel, device or page.
- Counting your own visits and bots.
- Not setting up goals or conversions.
- Ignoring consent rules for cookies and tracking.
Website analytics FAQs
Which tool should I use?
Google Analytics 4 is the most common, and privacy-focused tools are an option. See Google Analytics and marketing analytics.
How do I find out how people find my site in search?
Use Google Search Console. See also sessions and tracking codes.