Understanding Your Analytics Dashboard

Analytics help you understand how people interact with your church's link page. This data empowers you to make informed decisions about content, timing, and engagement strategies. Let's explore how to use your analytics dashboard effectively.

Accessing Analytics

1. Sign in to your Linked.Church dashboard
2. Click "Analytics" in the navigation menu
3. Select your date range (default: Last 30 days)
4. View comprehensive metrics and insights

Dashboard Overview

Your analytics dashboard is divided into key sections:

• Overview Metrics: High-level performance indicators
• Traffic Analytics: Visitor patterns and sources
• Link Performance: Individual link statistics
• Visitor Insights: Device, location, and behavior data
• Trends: Performance over time

Key Metrics Explained

Page Views

What It Measures: Total number of times your link page has been viewed

Why It Matters:

• Indicates overall reach
• Shows growth trends
• Helps measure campaign effectiveness
• Benchmarks performance

Healthy Ranges:

• New churches: 100-500 views/month
• Established: 1,000-5,000 views/month
• Large churches: 5,000+ views/month

Unique Visitors

What It Measures: Number of individual people visiting your page

Understanding the Difference:

• Page Views: Total visits (including repeats)
• Unique Visitors: Individual people
• Example: 1 person visiting 5 times = 5 views, 1 unique visitor

What to Look For:

• Growing unique visitors = expanding reach
• High views per visitor = engaged audience
• Low repeat visits = need for fresh content

Click-Through Rate (CTR)

What It Measures: Percentage of visitors who click at least one link

Calculation: CTR = (Visitors who clicked / Total visitors) × 100

Benchmarks:

• Excellent: >80%
• Good: 60-80%
• Average: 40-60%
• Needs improvement: <40%

Total Link Clicks

What It Measures: Combined clicks across all your links

Analysis Tips:

• Compare to page views
• Track weekly patterns
• Identify peak engagement times
• Monitor growth trends

Traffic Sources

Understanding where visitors come from helps you focus marketing efforts.

Direct Traffic

• Visitors typing your URL directly
• QR code scans
• Bookmarked pages
• Email link clicks

Social Media Traffic

• Instagram bio links
• Facebook posts
• Twitter/X shares
• Other social platforms

Referral Traffic

• Your main website
• Partner churches
• Community sites
• Blog mentions

Search Traffic

• Google searches
• Bing searches
• Other search engines
• Often indicates good SEO

Link Performance Analysis

Each link shows detailed metrics:

Individual Link Metrics

Click Count

• Total clicks for the period
• Daily average
• Peak click times
• Trend indicators

Click Rate

• Percentage of page visitors who clicked
• Higher rates indicate relevance
• Lower rates suggest repositioning

Last Clicked

• Most recent interaction
• Helps identify stale content
• Guides update decisions

Performance Indicators

🔥 Hot Links (>20% click rate)

• Your most engaging content
• Consider highlighting further
• Analyze what makes them successful

📈 Trending Links (Growing clicks)

• Increasing in popularity
• May need better positioning
• Watch for sustained growth

💤 Cold Links (<5% click rate)

• Low engagement
• Consider removing or repositioning
• Update title or description

⚠️ Stale Links (No recent clicks)

• Outdated or irrelevant
• Schedule for removal
• Replace with fresh content

Time-Based Analytics

Daily Patterns

Peak Days:

• Sunday: Highest traffic (service days)
• Wednesday: Mid-week spike (programs)
• Saturday: Planning visits
• Monday: Lowest typically

Optimization Tips:

• Schedule updates before peak days
• Post new content Thursday/Friday
• Major changes mid-week
• Analyze your specific patterns

Hourly Patterns

Common Peak Hours:

• 8-9 AM: Morning routine
• 12-1 PM: Lunch break
• 6-8 PM: Evening browsing
• 9-10 PM: Before bed

Using This Data:

• Time sensitive announcements
• Schedule link visibility
• Plan social media posts
• Staff availability

Seasonal Trends

High Seasons:

• Easter (March/April)
• Christmas (December)
• Back-to-school (August/September)
• New Year (January)

Low Seasons:

• Summer vacation (July)
• Holiday weekends
• Weather events
• Local factors

Visitor Demographics

Device Analytics

Device Types:

• Mobile: 70-80% typically
• Desktop: 15-25%
• Tablet: 5-10%

Optimization Priorities:

• Mobile-first design essential
• Test all changes on phones
• Ensure touch-friendly buttons
• Quick loading times

Geographic Data

Location Insights:

• Primary service area
• Visitor reach
• Growth opportunities
• Multi-campus insights

Using Location Data:

• Local SEO optimization
• Targeted social media
• Event planning
• Campus decisions

Browser & OS Data

Why It Matters:

• Compatibility testing
• Feature support
• Performance optimization
• Troubleshooting issues

Creating Reports

Weekly Reports

Include:

• Total page views
• Unique visitors
• Top 5 clicked links
• Traffic sources
• Week-over-week change

Action Items:

• Update underperforming links
• Highlight trending content
• Plan next week's updates
• Share wins with team

Monthly Reports

Comprehensive Metrics:

• Growth trends
• Link performance ranking
• Traffic source analysis
• Visitor demographics
• Goal progress

Strategic Planning:

• Content calendar updates
• Campaign effectiveness
• Resource allocation
• Team training needs

Special Event Reports

Track:

• Pre-event link clicks
• Registration numbers
• Day-of engagement
• Post-event follow-up
• ROI analysis

Using Analytics for Decision Making

Content Optimization

High-Performing Content:

• Keep prominent position
• Create similar content
• Share success patterns
• Document what works

Low-Performing Content:

• Test new titles
• Try different positions
• Add descriptions
• Consider removal

Layout Decisions

Data-Driven Changes:

• Move popular links up
• Group related high-performers
• Test different orders
• Monitor impact

Marketing Focus

Channel Prioritization:

• Invest in high-traffic sources
• Test new channels
• Optimize successful campaigns
• Reduce ineffective efforts

Advanced Analytics Techniques

A/B Testing

Test Elements:

• Link titles
• Button colors
• Page layouts
• Descriptions
• Icons

Process:

1. Change one element
2. Monitor for 1-2 weeks
3. Compare metrics
4. Keep winning version
5. Test next element

Conversion Tracking

Set Up Goals:

• Online giving clicks
• Event registrations
• Newsletter signups
• New visitor forms
• Volunteer applications

Measure Success:

• Goal completion rate
• Conversion paths
• Drop-off points
• Optimization opportunities

Cohort Analysis

Track Groups:

• First-time visitors
• Returning visitors
• Social media visitors
• QR code users
• Event attendees

Compare Behaviors:

• Engagement levels
• Link preferences
• Visit frequency
• Conversion rates

Common Analytics Mistakes

Avoid These Pitfalls

Focusing Only on Vanity Metrics

• Page views without context
• Ignoring engagement quality
• Missing conversion data
• Celebrating wrong wins

Making Too Many Changes

• Can't identify what worked
• Confuses regular visitors
• Difficult to measure impact
• Reduces learning opportunity

Ignoring Seasonal Patterns

• Misinterpreting drops
• Poor timing decisions
• Missed opportunities
• Incorrect comparisons

Not Acting on Data

• Analysis paralysis
• Collecting without using
• Missing optimization chances
• Wasted potential

Analytics Best Practices

Regular Review Schedule

Daily (5 minutes):

• Check unusual spikes/drops
• Monitor live campaigns
• Verify link functionality

Weekly (30 minutes):

• Review performance trends
• Update content strategy
• Plan improvements
• Share insights

Monthly (1 hour):

• Deep dive analysis
• Strategic planning
• Team reporting
• Goal setting

Data-Driven Culture

Foster Analytics Thinking:

• Share insights with team
• Celebrate data wins
• Learn from failures
• Encourage experimentation

Make It Accessible:

• Simple report formats
• Visual dashboards
• Regular updates
• Clear action items

Privacy and Ethics

Respecting Visitor Privacy

We Track:

• Aggregate behaviors
• General patterns
• Performance metrics
• Anonymous data

We Don't Track:

• Personal information
• Individual journeys
• Private data
• Identifying details

Transparency

Communicate:

• What you track
• Why it matters
• How it helps
• Privacy protection

Next Steps

Maximize your analytics impact:

• Track link performance
• Export analytics data
• Set up conversion goals
• Create regular reports

Remember: Analytics are only valuable when they drive action. Use these insights to better serve your congregation!