{"id":17957,"date":"2021-09-08T08:30:56","date_gmt":"2021-09-08T12:30:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hingemarketing.com\/?p=17957"},"modified":"2025-11-05T09:05:26","modified_gmt":"2025-11-05T14:05:26","slug":"top-b2b-website-metrics-to-monitor-using-google-analytics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hingemarketing.com\/blog\/story\/top-b2b-website-metrics-to-monitor-using-google-analytics","title":{"rendered":"Top B2B Website Metrics to Monitor Using Google Analytics"},"content":{"rendered":"

When it comes to evaluating the performance of a professional services firm\u2019s website, most people tend to focus the majority of their attention towards one metric: overall traffic, or the number of visits to a website. But when you only focus on the number of visits you don\u2019t learn how someone finds your site. More importantly, you don\u2019t learn what they are doing once they get there.<\/p>\n

I recommend keeping track of six metrics that, together, begin to paint a better picture for those evaluating the overall performance of their B2B website<\/a>.
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1) Pages per Session<\/strong><\/p>\n

Pages per session, or average page depth, is the average number of pages viewed during a session.<\/p>\n

Why is this metric important?<\/em> Most visitors will come to your site through your homepage. Unfortunately, some of the most important information you want to showcase is on your services or industries-served pages. This requires the visitor to take an additional step.<\/p>\n

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Download The Lead Generating Website Guide for Professional Services<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

If they do in fact take that next step, they register at least two pages viewed during that session. Therefore, B2B firms should aim for at least a 2.00<\/strong> in this particular metric. Anything over 2.00 means that on average, visitors are viewing at least two pages when they visit your site. In Google Analytics, the graphic for pages\/session looks something like this:<\/p>\n\"Pages\n

How can you improve your pages per session ratio?<\/em> Make sure your website has easy-to-understand navigation elements. And less is almost always more when it comes to options presented to visitors on your site. The moment they land on your homepage, they should be able to easily identify where they want to go.<\/p>\n

For example, an executive search firm\u2019s website draws both job candidates and employers looking for talent. Both audiences are vital to the success of the firm, but each should be able to quickly identify where to go once they land on the homepage<\/a>.<\/p>\n

2) Average Session Duration<\/strong><\/p>\n

Average session duration is the average length of a session.<\/p>\n

Why is this metric important?<\/em> Think about the last time you were surfing through websites and how quickly you switched from one site to another. The longer a visitor spends in a session, the more engaged they are as a potential lead.<\/p>\n

B2B firms should aim for an average session duration of at least two minutes (2:00)<\/strong>. In most cases, someone that is spending more than two minutes on your site is engaged and has found something relevant to what they were searching. In Google Analytics, the graphic for average session duration looks something like this:<\/p>\n\"Average\n

How can you improve your average session duration?<\/em> Be sure you have rich, informative content. On your services and industries pages, address specific issues that potential clients might have and explain how your firm can address them.<\/p>\n

Having a resources section on your site with various forms of content (including blog posts, guides, and videos) will also keep visitors on your site for an extended period as well. Hinge\u2019s library is a good example<\/a>. Another example would be a technology firm that creates custom business applications and publishes blog posts in their resources section about how to improve business processes and overall efficiency.<\/p>\n

3) Bounce Rate<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bounce rate is the percentage of single-page visits (i.e., visitors left your site from the entrance page without interacting with the page).<\/p>\n

Why is this metric important?<\/em> Bounce rate is closely related to both pages\/session and average session duration. But it is a clearer indicator of just how qualified the traffic to your site is. A general rule for B2B firms is to try to keep bounce rates lower than 60%. You will see a graphic like this in Google Analytics to indicate your bounce rate:<\/p>\n\"Bounce\n

A high bounce rate is a sign that visitors to your site are not finding what they were looking for. A low bounce rate indicates visitors are finding your site for the right reasons. In many cases, organic search (which we\u2019ll discuss later) has a significant effect on bounce rate. If your site is attracting visitors for particular keywords or search terms but visitors aren\u2019t finding the relevant content, you can expect them visitors to leave without interacting with your site.<\/p>\n

How can you improve your bounce rate?<\/em> Be sure to optimize your website pages<\/a> with keywords that are relevant to the content. For instance, if the title of one of your pages is \u201cstructural engineering consulting\u201d and the page\u2019s content relates to electrical engineering, it is likely that visitor will leave your site immediately.<\/p>\n

Note: If you increase your blog activity, you will likely see an increase in your bounce rate. Don\u2019t panic. This is normal. As you would expect, the increase in traffic is from readers who are only interested in a particular post.<\/p>\n

4) Channels<\/strong><\/p>\n

Channels are the paths or processes that led a visitor to your site. You should monitor four main channels: organic search, direct, referral, and social. You can also monitor paid search if your firm is engaged in a pay-per-click (PPC) or Google Ads campaign.<\/p>\n\"Google\n

Why is this metric important?<\/em> To answer that question, let\u2019s explore how each channel is defined and how to identify possible opportunities.<\/p>\n