Using Google Analytics to Evaluate the Usability of E-Commerce Sites

Authors:
Layla Hasan;Anne Morris;Steve Probets
Affiliations:
Department of Information Science, Loughborough University, Loughborough, UK LE11 3TU;Department of Information Science, Loughborough University, Loughborough, UK LE11 3TU;Department of Information Science, Loughborough University, Loughborough, UK LE11 3TU
Venue:
HCD 09 Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Human Centered Design: Held as Part of HCI International 2009
Year:
2009

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Abstract

The success of an e-commerce site is, in part, related to how easy it is to use. This research investigated whether advanced web metrics, calculated using Google Analytics software, could be used to evaluate the overall usability of e-commerce sites, and also to identify potential usability problem areas. Web metric data are easy to collect but analysis and interpretation are time-consuming. E-commerce site managers therefore need to be sure that employing web analytics can effectively improve the usability of their websites. The research suggested specific web metrics that are useful for quickly indicating general usability problem areas and specific pages in an e-commerce site that have usability problems. However, what they cannot do is provide in-depth detail about specific problems that might be present on a page.