Module 5 | Understand audience behaviour through analytics

Session

30 minutes

Theme

Using Plausible for website analytics

Methodology

Ground rules to set for all sessions:
- Bring only the devices you need to the session. Note to facilitator: Explain here what is needed for this particular session
- Mute mobile phones before you put them away
- Encourage the participants to take space and make space. To take up space is to speak up and participate actively in discussions and putting their ideas and perspectives across. It is equally important to make space for others to do the same. Note to facilitators: Ensure you check in about this throughout the sessions, especially by making space for those who are not used to taking up space or struggling to do so.
- This is a safe space, and we encourage everyone to check their privilege and ensure that we do not discriminate in speech or action.
- Do remember there are no right or wrong answers. Note to facilitator: Repeating this during the sessions and activities helps participants speak up more freely.

1. Introduction (5 minutes)
   • Activity: Pose an open-ended question: "Now that your website is live, what do you think should happen next?"
     Encourage responses like "reaching people," "making an impact," or "getting feedback."
     
   • Lead the discussion to "How do we measure if our website is achieving its goals?" and introduce the concept of analytics as the answer.
     
     
2. Setting Context (5 minutes)
   • Discuss the basic analytics available within Ghost (or the CMS they've used).
     Example: Number of posts published, views on each post, etc.
   • Explain why external analytics tools like Plausible offer deeper insights.
     "Ghost gives you some data, but what if you want to know where visitors come from or how long they stay?"
     
     
3. Hands-On Exploration of Metrics (15 minutes)
   • Share common website metrics, and explain their relevance using relatable examples:
     
     • Visitors & Entry Pages: "What’s the first page most people see?"
     • Exit Pages: "Where do people stop engaging?"
     • Bounce Rate (BR):
       • Definition: Percentage of visitors who leave after viewing only one page.
       • Example: "If 100 people visit your website and 50 leave without exploring other pages, your BR is 50%."
       • Activity: Create a fictional scenario (e.g., a website with a blog) and ask participants to guess why the bounce rate might be high.
     • Traffic Sources: Explain the significance of knowing where visitors are coming from (e.g., social media, search engines).
     • User Demographics: Highlight how knowing the countries, devices, and browsers helps optimize websites.
     • Goals & Properties: Use examples like tracking newsletter sign-ups or resource downloads.
       
       
4. Exploring the Plausible Dashboard (5 minutes)
   • Give a quick walkthrough of the Plausible interface:
     • Highlight its simplicity, privacy focus, and key features like real-time data, goals, and reports.
     • Discuss team management and how multiple people can collaborate on analytics.
       
       
5. Closing (5 minutes)
   • Emphasize how analytics can guide decision-making: "Now you know how many visitors come and what they do on your site. What’s next? Optimize the user journey!"
   • Encourage participants to ask questions about metrics they find confusing or intriguing.

Learning Outcomes

• Understand the importance of website analytics in tracking and improving audience engagement.
• Learn how Plausible provides privacy-focused, actionable insights compared to other analytics tools.
• Gain the ability to navigate and interpret the Plausible dashboard to track key website metrics, such as visitors, traffic sources, and user behavior.
• Understand how to create, customize, and utilize reports in Plausible for better decision-making.
• Recognize the value of features like goal tracking, team management, and notifications in managing website performance effectively.