Measuring effectiveness of an academic library website: User traffic analytics and trends as basis for website redesign

• Main Authors: Penaflor, Janice D.C., Balbas, Yugosto A.
• Format: text
• Published: Animo Repository 2024
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/faculty_research/11759
• Institution: De La Salle University

Purpose/Objectives. The goal of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness and overall performance of the DLSU Libraries’ website to inform content and design improvements and enhance user experience. Significance. The results of the study help identify issues that may be impacting website performance and are useful to make data-driven decisions about website design, content, and user experience. Design, methodology, approach. This study employs user traffic analysis using Google Analytics, to examine various key performance indicators related to traffic sources, user behavior/activity, and engagement. It compares website performance between 2019 (before Covid-19) and 2020 (during Covid-19) to gain insights into changes in user behavior, the website’s effectiveness, and the impact of the pandemic on website traffic. Findings. Findings revealed that site visits significantly increased during pandemic and that referrals and social visits drive the most traffic to the library website. Most of the users go to the library website to access the resources. Webpages dedicated to resources and collections gained the most number of visits. Limitations and implications. This study is confined only to the performance of the DLSU Libraries website using Google Analytics. GA only provides quantitative data and may not fully capture qualitative aspects of user experience. Originality of the paper. This paper focuses on an understudied topic in academic libraries particularly in the Philippines and provides insights into the unique opportunities that a website analytics can offer in optimizing the effectiveness of a library website. Keywords: library websites; website analytics; Google analytics; user traffic analysis; user behavior