Functionalism Metrics For Conservation Websites
May 8, 2008 by Drew Bernard
Shawn Kemp and I just spent a bit of time defining what metrics we think should be used by conservation groups to measure the success of pages on their website. For background on this, see my previous post regarding functionalism and website metrics for nonprofit websites.
1. Routers: These pages are designed to quickly move a visitor along to content they are looking for and that we want them to find.
* High click through rates.
* Low exit rates.
2. Engagers: Designed to get visitors to something, anything, on the website. Page the provides a compelling experience that moves people down an engagement path. (awareness, perception change, participation)
High rate of click through to targeted action (next step in engagement funnel)
Audience surveys indicate high percentage of target audience
High page rating
Low exit rate
3. Educators and Explainers: Designed to educate or explain a particular issue, project, program, or other effort.
Appropriate visit times
High rate of click through to targeted action (next step in engagement funnel)
High page rating
4. Convincers: Designed change the perception of target audience. (perception change phase)
What percentage of people rate that this page changed their perception (pop-up survey)
Low exit rate
5. Closer: Designed to get visitors to enter into an engagement process. Focuses on “selling” the visitor on a particular course of action or call to action.
High rate of final action taken at the end of the engagement funnel.
Low exit rate
6. Converters and Checkouts: Pages that are part of whatever is necessary to gather information/agreements and get a finished lead or transaction via the site.
High rate of action competed.
7. Re-Assurers: Pages designed to reassure a visitor about some potentially problematic issue or concern (legal, privacy policy, etc)
Low traffic
9. Tools: Pages designed to collected or provide information as part of a non-sales or closure process.
High traffic and usage
High percentage of repeat visitors
10. Completers: Thank you pages, etc.
Audience rates content as valuable
11. Sponsors: Pages or series of pages which themselves provide value to your organization, but whose content is mostly provided by a third party or partner.
Does partner perceive value of page
[...] Bernard and Shawn Kemp are burning up the internet tubes connecting Portland to Bellingham with some great thinking about how to apply “functional thinking” to environmental groupsR…. I love to see this kind of high-powered big-picture thinking in [...]
Thanks so much for this post! It’s so easy to think of “web metrics” only in aggregate. It’s nice to have this great framework that acknowledges the different goals for different parts of your site, as well as how to measure those goals.