Susanne Starck's Page

Last fall Google Analytics added a new feature called Real-Time. These new reports let you see what’s happening on your site, as it happens.

In my department there are several people who tweet, post on Facebook and send out e-newsletters and other marketing materials. The Real-Time reports give them immediate feedback on the effectiveness of their efforts.

It also shows us what’s trending. One morning, referrals and active pages focused on the nursing program. An hour later, as…

1. Quit being overwhelmed by Google Analytics data. Learn how from Avinash Kaushik
2. Take time to ensure proper and accurate measurement is set up to capture traffic as it moves across multiple sites—student portal, Library, athletics, payment… Move Visibility will do a site audit.
3. Gather customer feedback on a regular basis with tools like…

My previous post was about how students were confused regarding what information was on portal vs. what was on the external web site, and changes we had made to help them figure it out.

Today I came across a great example. Santa Barbara City College,identifies pathways with START HERE! and emphasizes content that is unique to their student portal, under the heading "What's Inside."

And, notice the way they present…

Students at Harper College must use the student portal for all business-related transactions, such as registering, paying tuition and accepting financial aid awards. But most other information—academic programs, college catalog, calendar of events, advising—is on the external site.

Through user testing, we saw that students were confused about which site to go to, to accomplish particular tasks. They would search the external site for information that was only available on…