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COPYRIGHT 2004 Information Today, Inc.
As our understanding of Web site users evolves, so too do our strategies for increasing Web site usage and influencing user behavior. It wasn't so long ago that Web site "hits" and "page views" were our focus for measuring performance. Then we learned that these metrics said little about the site's actual usage and, in some cases, were misleading. Our focus then turned to "visitors" and "unique visits" and, while these metrics provided value to understand user volume, they still were a far cry from truly understanding a site's performance and specifically evaluating how the site was being used.
Today, "stickiness" is a critical component in understanding site performance. Stickiness is the average time a user spends on a site and the frequency of his or her visits to the site. Although quantifying stickiness is not an exact science allowing us to measure Web site success, it does provide a valuable metric for a site's performance when used in parallel with other data analytics.
WHY STICKINESS MATTERS
Every Web site visit is an opportunity to engage the user and influence his or her behavior. Whether your site's purpose is to sell Moon Pies, auction McDonald's Happy Meals memorabilia, help students find information for a class paper, or organize a group fighting against the exploitation of Labrador retriever puppies in catalogs like Pottery Barn, L.L. Bean, and Eddie Bauer, all sites are after the same thing: loyal users who visit often, interact heavily, and visit long.
In some instances, the organization's Web site is the first and/or only contact a potential consumer may have with the company. Imagine the potential for an organization whose Web site receives several million visits per year. While the total number of visits is certainly important, measuring visits alone is not enough to truly understand usage--that's where stickiness comes in. The idea of stickiness is based on the premise that the longer a user remains on the Web site, the more potential exists...
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