Yes that is not just a catchy subject line.
WhyDoWork gets about 1,000 new members a month (a little slower lately because our redesign has had some impacts on pages indexed) but its been fairly consistent to a point where were at around 27,000 members.
During peak times of the year, subscribers are at around 50 new members a day.
Quite a ways back in the infancy of WhyDoWork.com we were using a basic webstats application that told us little else other than the number of users per day visiting the site. Once we upgraded to Google Analytics, we were able to literally double our daily subscribers overnight by looking at one factor:
TOP EXIT POINTS
If you already have Google Analytics, you’ll see it after you click the “Content” menu. Then click “Top Content”. You should see something like this (click to view larger):

In the image above from right to left, we’re taking a look at a months worth of stats, what the top content for the month was, how long users spent on each page, the bounce rate, the exit rate, and the cleverly blurred out $ index of our goals.I’ve highlighted in pink the key areas to look at:
- What is your sites average Exit %?
- Out of your top content, which are the few that stand out as high exit points in the (% Exit column)?
The last step is to take action.
In our case, we strategically placed content inviting users to sign up, or register free prior to viewing in order to take advantage of high traffic but poor site stickiness.
On the days following the implementation of this idea, avg. daily subscribers rose from around 20 to over 40.
Give it a try. I’m fairly new to blogging and usually hesitant to give away secrets of the site, but this is too beneficial to be kept a secret ![]()
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45n5 responded on 24 Sep 2007 at 8:35 pm #
great post, I had to open my analytics account and follow along as I read
although I want my visitors to leave on some of the pages, through affiliate links…
I can see that the posts where I get the most link love generally have the highest exit rate, people just checking it out and leaving, i reckon I should add extra emphasis on those pages to drive people deeper in the site, encourage sign ups, or some other call to action.
thanks for sharing.
WhyDoWork responded on 25 Sep 2007 at 4:46 am #
Thanks!
Give some extra emphasis on those pages a try and let me know if it works out for you.
The Monetizer responded on 25 Sep 2007 at 7:05 am #
This offers some excellent ideas which I had not considered using in my blog strategies. Definitely time to go to Analytics and make this happen!
Ezekiel Haynes responded on 25 Sep 2007 at 1:52 pm #
Great title as well as information! I’ve jumped right on it!
QB Productions responded on 25 Sep 2007 at 7:19 pm #
I recently began using Google Analytics and am also amazed at the information it provides at no charge. Along these lines, I have recently come across a new video business directory that is free. It is http://www.MeetMyBiz.tv
The site has just recently launched. I am among the first to join this directory. It seems to be fairly comprehensive for the everyday business owner. I am hoping it will be a good networking opportunity that will mesh connecting other business people and growing my business.
Kate responded on 18 Oct 2007 at 6:50 pm #
Excellent post, thanks for sharing! Amazing how some of the most beneficial tips/tricks are right under our noses…
Congrats on your fantastic success and here’s to much more!
Joy responded on 19 Oct 2007 at 2:05 pm #
That’s awesome!..thanks for sharing it on us..^^
Matt Ellsworth responded on 23 Oct 2007 at 9:22 am #
nice tip - i’ll check into that on analytics.
Keith responded on 24 Oct 2007 at 12:19 am #
I will definitely check this out, many thanks…
Hubsess responded on 29 Oct 2007 at 10:09 am #
Great Post. I love Analytics. It’s helped my site immensely.
Jude responded on 31 Oct 2007 at 11:39 pm #
Great post
I’d be using Analytics with your guide indefinitely.
ProBlogReviews responded on 02 Nov 2007 at 6:24 pm #
Nice Post, I will be sure to try this out
Travel Blog responded on 02 Nov 2007 at 11:17 pm #
Thank you for the tip.
Pete White responded on 08 Nov 2007 at 9:34 am #
Thanks for a really good tip however in my analytics I have a lot of pages which have a small number of hits but 100% bounce rate - any ideas wot I can do?
WhyDoWork responded on 08 Nov 2007 at 11:35 am #
@ Pete:
Number of hits doesn’t matter: whether it’s 1 or 1000 you still have a chance to capture the viewers interest. You can apply the techniques above to any page
Tyler Ford responded on 30 Dec 2007 at 10:30 pm #
Thanks for another good tip.
Why You Shouldn’t Care About Traffic | WhyDoWork Insider responded on 07 May 2008 at 5:10 am #
[...] about metrics. I am a huge fan of Google Analytics; partly because it is free, and partly because I’ve had some success in the past with using the data to improve subscriber rates. A question that comes up quite [...]
TheMilliondollarplan responded on 08 May 2008 at 7:11 am #
I love Google Analytics. It has sooo many diferent options
BTW, thx for a great tip.
TheMilliondollarplans last blog post..Why getting a job is a bad idea?