In the 1996 film adaptation of Mission Impossible, Tom Cruise's character repels into a secure room while trying to steal sensitive data from a computer. There are three apparent ways that he can trip the security system:
1. Making any noise
2. Touching walls or the floor
3. (Obviously) being seen
Those holding the sensitive data clearly considered multiple tripwires to determine when and how an intruder had entered the room.
What does Tom Cruise have to do with website analytics and search engine marketing?
What does Tom Cruise have to do with website analytics and search engine marketing?
Allow me to explain.
Imagine your website visitors are little Tom Cruises. Each visitor is repelling into your site looking to achieve a goal, whether that be to find information, buy your product, or maybe even to steal sensitive data. During each visit, your own system of tripwires should let you know when actions take place - beyond just the final conversion process.
Website Tripwires can be crucial to determining where your audience is in the decision funnel, where holes lie, or what information or events visitors are looking for.
Types of Website Tripwires
When setting up your Analytics solution, consider all areas of your website for secondary conversion. Besides, if there isn't an opportunity for conversion or secondary action on a page, why does the page exist at all?
Tripwires can be leveraged just about anywhere. Here are ten of my favorite uses:
1. Google Analytics Javascript Tracking: Use Google Analytics "onclick" code, or pageview tracking, to measure events such as clicks. Set up pageviews as conversions in your Analytics profile (preferably a new goal set, if it is a secondary goal), and measure away. Note: When setting up onclick code, you will likely have an influx of pageviews and thus your pages per visit will increase.
2. Google Analytics Event Tracking: Google Analytics Event Tracking is similar to the pageview tracking above, but it does not come through as pageviews, rather as "events". The advantage here is not having your pageviews disrupted, and it also allows you to determine categories of events, which is extremely helpful when you are measuring multiple layers of the same action. The drawback may be that your events are tracked almost entirely separate from other data and may be difficult to determine traffic sources, navigation, etc. Try using audience segmentation to find this data.
3. Flash Heat Mapping: If you make use of flash on your website, especially when users can engage within the flash, you may want to consider flash heat mapping as an interesting measure of user activity.
4. Printing/Bookmarking: If a webpage is offering crucial information, users often elect to print or bookmark to keep tabs. Use click-tracking to determine when one of these events takes place, as they may share key data about a user's mindset when browsing your website. For information-rich pages, you may want to add clearer print or bookmark buttons to facilitate action.
5. Share/RSS/Social Buttons: Like the above actions, sharing or feeding information can provide valuable insights regarding what a visitors deems most useful.
6. User Opt-in: With mid-funnel opt-in, you may have the opportunity to capture valuable nuggets of user data, giving you the ability to maintain communication during a longer decision cycle. Consider adding email signups for newsletters or just to get more information if a user is not ready to convert then and there.
7. Information Download: For longer purchase cycles, downloadable content such as case studies, white papers, press releases or information guides can be the bridge from consideration to conversion. Allow these breadcrumbs to be downloaded, and track each one as a lower-funnel tripwire.
8. Video Play: Getting a visitor to sit and watch your video content is no simple task, and could be indicative of a visitor that is ready to convert or move along in the process. Looking at something as simple as time on pages where videos are present could be enough to incite value, but a better option would be to tag video "plays" as tripwire goals.
9. Outbound Linking: If a user is clicking to leave your site via in-text or footer links, what does that say about your content? Why is the user leaving, and is there some information that they expect to find elsewhere? Finding these answers could hold the key to moving users along the funnel.
10. Pure Engagement: Traditional engagement statistics are "low-hanging fruit" tripwires, and though sometimes overstated, can often prove value. Google Analytics allows you to identify certain time on site as a goal conversion, which might lead to further insights regarding which visitors are there for some real engagement.
Ultimately, you should be able to fill in the missing pieces about each visitor's experience on your website by tracking each action as an important event. Connect all of the dots using website tripwires and the full picture will come into view.
That is your mission, if you choose to accept it.
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