Discover VanCity: Website Analytics
Project Timeline:
12 weeks (February - April 2024)
Liam Bondi, Simone Zhong, Sarah Buckingham, Pooja Patel
Team:
Toolkit:
Wordpress, Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, Figma, VWO (A/B experiment tool)
Role:
Website UI/UX, Data Analyst, Budget Treasurer
Buyer Personas, Website design, A/B testing plans and a written report dis traffic acquisition plan, structure, KPIs, etc.
Deliverables:
Overview
Goal - Our goal was to drive traffic to our website for data analysis and interpretation. To achieve this, we developed the idea of creating a website that serves as a local guide for “Hidden Gems”, providing valuable insights and recommendations.
Our Audience - Firstly, the website serves Vancouver residents, offering them a comprehensive resource for local information and events. Secondly, the website serves potential visitors planning a trip to Vancouver.
KPIs: Measure user engagement (shares, recommendations), traffic & interaction (time on site, click-through rates), and quality (bounce rate, page speed, user satisfaction).
Traffic Acquisition Plan: Organic traffic (social media and backlinks) aswell as paid traffic (allocation of $150 to Google & Meta ads.
Website Creation
Designed a website prototype using Figma, focusing on a structured and visually appealing user interface. The layout includes multiple pages such as the b each tailored to provide a seamless navigation experience. The design incorporates a cohesive color palette, typography selections, and illustrations to enhance user engagement. The design was replicated in Wordpress, and was ready to launch.
Paid Advertisement
Alongside our organic traffic strategy, we aimed to accelerate user traffic to our website through paid advertising channels such as Google and Meta ads. Both platforms provided valuable insights into our website’s audience, user impressions, and engagement. Additionally, they generated a substantial amount of data for further analysis and optimization.
CTR Dem: 1.18%
Demographic: 65%
CPC: $0.63
Total Impressions: 13.1K
Impressions/day: 3.275K (4 days)
CTR Dem: 2.64%
Demographic: 24 - 35
CPC: $0.27
Total Impressions: 2.59K
Impressions/day: 2.59K
A/B Testing & HeatMaps
Furthermore, we implemented A/B testing to determine which UI/UX changes would resonate best with our users. These tests were guided by the LIFT model and aimed to enhance overall user engagement based on the results.
The heat maps reveal a strong focus on the "Share this Page" button and category sections suggests opportunities to optimize CTAs and navigation for more conversions.
Data Analysis
Insights:
Canada leads in user engagement (338 users, avg. engagement time of 94 sec.), with the U.S. trailing at 18 users.
Paid Social brings in the most traffic (186 sessions, 166 users) but struggles with conversions (1.81%).
Organic Search performs best for conversions (33.33%), making it the most effective channel.
Recommendations:
Double down on SEO—since Organic Search converts the best, improving search rankings could drive more valuable traffic.
Rethink Paid Social strategy—better audience targeting, ad optimization, and stronger landing pages might improve conversions.
Capitalize on Canada’s engagement—since Canadian users are spending the most time, could increase conversions.
Reflections
With a limited timeframe, we couldn’t fully optimize our ads or gather long-term insights. A longer execution period would have provided a bigger sample size for stronger analysis. Challenges with SEO and ad targeting also highlighted areas for improvement in future campaigns.
Key takeaways:
Extending the campaign would have provided stronger, more reliable data.
More engaging ad creatives could have boosted conversions.
SEO improvements required better keyword selection and technical adjustments.
Power of user-generated content via surveys to create authentic and resonating content for our target audience
Conclusion
Our analysis revealed Organic Search as the strongest conversion driver, while Paid traffic struggled to perform; thus, signalling a need for ad optimization. Canada had the highest engagement, presenting an opportunity for localized marketing strategies. These insights will help create more effective, data-driven campaigns in the future.
Key takeaways:
SEO improvements can increase high-intent traffic.
Ad refinement and targeting are key to better conversion rates.
Better tracking methods will provide deeper insights into user behavior.
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