Google Analytics is an essential tool for most WordPress bloggers.
They can use it to identify the number of visitors they receive on a regular basis, the pages they visit, the web components with which they interact, and so much more.
Bloggers use these metrics to determine the strengths and weaknesses of their online platforms.
One metric that Google Analytics offers but which so many bloggers and webmasters ignore is scroll depth.
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Why Scroll Depth Matters?
Scroll depth is exactly what it sounds like. The term is concerned with the scrolling activities of your website’s visitors. Every time a user scrolls up and down your page, Google Analytics can track that activity.
This provides in-depth insight into the manner in which users interact with your content. You can determine how much of your long posts they read, which sections they linger on, how quickly they lose interest, and so on.
By quantifying the level of user engagement that your website enjoys, you can take steps to give your visitors what they want. On the other hand, you can take away those things to which your audience doesn’t respond positively.
Using Google Analytics to Track Scroll Depth
With Google Analytics, it doesn’t take much effort to use features like event tracking, eCommerce tracking, file downloads and the like. However, when it comes to scrolling depth, things get complicated.
You can manually configure the tool to track scroll depth on your WordPress site but the process requires so much technical knowledge that beginners could never figure it out.
In fact, there are experienced web developers who struggle to maneuver this particular aspect of Google Analytics.
This is where MonsterInsights enters the picture.
MonsterInsights and Scroll Depth Tracking
MonsterInsights is a plugin that allows you to view your Google Analytics reports from within the confines of your WordPress website.
When utilized properly, MonsterInsights will enable you to track everything from affiliate links and form submissions to metrics such as the countries from which your visitors originate.
MonsterInsights is the perfect tool for tracking scroll depth because the feature is already enabled by default when you get the plugin. You don’t have to do any actual coding nor fumble with any technical settings.
Your only role here is to set up the MonsterInsights Plugin, a process that involves the following:
1). You need to get MonsterInsights Plus or a higher version. Install and activate MonsterInsights Premium. Once that is done, you can transition through ‘insights’ and ‘settings’ to get to the ‘engagement’ tab.
You will immediately observe that the rack scrolling depth’ option is already enabled.
When users scroll through your website, the plugin will trigger events in Google Analytics. This, in turn, will allow you to view the activities of your visitors when they are at the 25 percent, 50 percent, 75 percent, and 100 percent mark on any given page.
2). To view your scrolling reports, go to ‘insights,’ and then ‘reports’, and finally ‘publishers’. The stats that matter is at the bottom of the report.
3). To view, your scroll depth reports in Google Analytics, open your Google Analytics account, find ‘Real-Time’, and then select ‘Vents’. You will see your scrolling data in real-time. You can also view the data generated over a specific period.
4). If you want a more comprehensive data offering, you can always check ‘behavior’, and then ‘vents’, and finally ‘overview’. You will find these menu options in your Analytics Dashboard.
Just go to ‘Scroll Depth’. Clicking the link will provide you with a more detailed report.
You can always investigate the behavior of your visitors on specific pages by using the Secondary Dimensions feature in Google Analytics.