Understanding and optimizing user experience (UX) is pivotal for success. Traditional metrics like bounce rates and page views often fail to capture the nuances of user interactions. Instead, focusing on specific UX metrics such as Task Completion Rate (TCR), Customer Effort Score (CES), and Frustration Signals can provide deeper insights into user satisfaction and platform efficiency.
Why traditional UX metrics are becoming less reliable
Bounce rate and session duration were once key UX and SEO metrics, but they’re now considered too vague or unreliable.
Bounce Rate Doesn’t Tell the Full Story
A high bounce rate isn’t always a negative indicator. Depending on the page’s purpose, users may find what they need and then leave, which can signify success and suggest that the page is user-friendly. For example, a blog post that answers a question right away or a FAQ page can naturally have a high bounce rate because users get their answers and leave. Bounce rates vary depending on page types and user intent.
Additionally, the bounce rate often ignores user interactions. A visitor might watch a video, scroll through content, or engage with the page in various ways, but if they don’t click to another page, it is still counted as a “bounce.”
On the other hand, we should still pay attention to bounce rates on conversion-driven pages. These are the pages designed to generate sign-ups, purchases, or downloads. A high bounce rate on these types of pages indicates that they may not be compelling enough and require improvement.
Session Duration Can Be Misleading
A longer session doesn’t always indicate a better experience. For instance, if a user spends too much time on a checkout page, it might suggest confusion rather than engagement. On the other hand, a short session could indicate efficient task completion, which is a good thing.
Many analytics tools including Google Analytics or Matomo don’t track the final page a user visits directly unless a user takes another tracked action. Also, a session duration may be reported as shorter than the time on a specific page, demonstrating the challenges in accurately measuring engagement and resulting in a misunderstanding of metrics.
Low session duration can be a stronger indicator of a problem, particularly for pages intended to engage users longer (like course or product pages). If users leave too quickly without interacting with the content (e.g., reading, watching, or clicking), it could point to issues with content quality or user experience.
While bounce rate and session duration are important metrics, they should be interpreted within the context of the page’s goal. Understanding the type of page and its intended user interaction helps track and report these metrics accurately.
What should we add to our measurement metrics set?
Instead of relying heavily on bounce rate and session duration, use more actionable UX metrics like:
- Task Completion Rate (TCR) – Did users finish what they came to do?
- Customer Effort Score (CES) – Was the experience smooth or frustrating?
- Frustration Signals – Rage clicks, erratic scrolling, or backtracking suggest issues.
- Engagement Time – Time spent actively interacting with content (scrolling, clicking, video playback).
1. Task Completion Rate (TCR)
TCR measures the percentage of users who complete a specific task on the platform, such as posting a job or submitting an application. A high TCR indicates that users can efficiently achieve their objectives, reflecting a user-friendly interface and intuitive design. This aligns with Google’s HEART framework, which emphasizes measuring task success as a key UX metric.
Measurement Strategies:
- User Testing: Conduct usability tests where participants are asked to complete tasks while observers note success rates and potential obstacles.
- Analytics Tracking: Implement event tracking to monitor the completion of key actions, allowing for the identification of drop-off points.
- A/B Testing: Experiment with different design elements to determine their impact on task completion.
Formula:
Task Completion Rate=(Total Number of TasksNumber of Completed Tasks)×100
Example: If 200 users started the job application process and 180 completed it, the TCR is 90%.
2. Customer Effort Score (CES)
CES assesses the ease with which users interact with the platform, typically measured through post-interaction surveys. A lower effort score correlates with higher user satisfaction and loyalty, as users prefer platforms that are easy to navigate and require minimal effort to achieve their goals. It is important to understand the logic behind CES, how to measure it, and the type of questions to use for surveys.
Measurement Strategies:
- Post-interaction surveys: After completing a task, prompt users with a survey question such as, “On a scale from 1 to 7, how easy was it to complete your task today?”
- Embedded feedback tools: Utilize feedback widgets that allow users to rate their experience in real-time.
- Support ticket analysis: Monitor the frequency and nature of support requests to identify areas where users may be experiencing difficulties.
Formula:
Customer Effort Score = Sum of all survey responses/Total number of responses
Example: If the total score from 100 survey responses is 550, the CES is 5.5, indicating a relatively easy user experience.
However, surveys should not be the only measurement tool. While they provide valuable qualitative insights, they can sometimes be biased or inaccurate if users don’t remember details or rush responses. The best approach is to combine surveys with behavioral analytics. Heatmaps, rage clicks, session recordings, and support ticket analysis can help cross-check survey responses with actual user behavior, providing a more complete and accurate picture of UX effectiveness.
3. Frustration Signals
Indicators such as rapid, repeated clicks (rage clicks), erratic scrolling, or abrupt navigation suggest user frustration. Identifying frustration signals helps in pinpointing problematic areas within the platform that may hinder user satisfaction and lead to increased abandonment rates.
Measurement Strategies:
- Behavioral analytics tools: Utilise tools like heatmaps and session recordings to observe user interactions and identify patterns indicative of frustration.
- Rage click detection: Monitor for instances where users rapidly click on a non-responsive element, signaling potential issues.
- Form analytics: Analyze form interactions to detect fields where users commonly hesitate or abandon the process.
Example: A high incidence of rage clicks on a ‘Submit’ button may indicate that the button is unresponsive or that the submission process is unclear, necessitating a design review.
4. Engagement time
Engagement Time refers to the time a user spends actively interacting with content—scrolling, clicking, watching videos, and engaging with on-page elements. Unlike session duration, which may include idle time or be misreported due to the lack of follow-up action, Engagement Time offers a more accurate picture of how much users are involved with your content.
This metric is especially valuable for content-heavy pages like blog articles, course modules, or product descriptions, where passive time isn’t enough to evaluate effectiveness. High engagement time signals interest and interaction, which can correlate with content relevance and overall platform usability.
Measurement Strategies:
- Event tracking: Set up tracking for meaningful interactions such as scroll depth, button clicks, video starts/completes, and interactive elements like tabs or carousels.
- GA4 engagement metrics: Google Analytics 4’s “engaged sessions,” where a session is considered engaged if it lasts 10 seconds or longer, has a conversion event, or includes 2+ pageviews or screen views.
- Time-on-page with interaction filters: Calculate time-on-page while filtering out idle users using tools like Matomo or custom JavaScript triggers.
Formula:
Engagement Time = Time spent with active interaction on the page (excluding idle time)
Example: A user reads a blog post, scrolls 75% of the way through, clicks on a call-to-action, and watches an embedded video for 90 seconds. The total engagement time for that session may be calculated at 3 minutes, even if their full session lasted longer or ended after that page.
Implementing these metrics
As part of our commitment to delivering enhanced reporting and transparency to our clients, we are beginning to implement advanced UX metric tracking. By leveraging data-driven insights, we aim to refine platform usability, optimize workflows, and ensure a seamless experience for clients and end users. These new tracking initiatives will provide actionable intelligence on user behavior, helping us make informed improvements and demonstrate measurable value to our clients.
To achieve this tracking, we need to refine our reporting system and adopt additional tracking platforms, including:
- Integrate Analytics Platforms: Utilize comprehensive analytics tools to track user behavior:
- Google Analytics 4 (GA4): Tracks event-based interactions and user journeys.
- Hotjar & Crazy Egg: Provides heatmaps, session recordings, and user feedback tools.
- Microsoft Clarity: Offers free session recordings and heatmap insights.
- Regularly Conduct User Research: Engage in continuous user testing and feedback collection:
- UserTesting: Facilitates real-time usability testing with targeted participants.
- Maze & Lookback: Supports remote usability testing and in-depth user research.
- Survicate & Qualtrics: Helps collect user sentiment and feedback through surveys.
- Iterate Based on Insights: Use the collected data to enhance design and usability:
- A/B Testing Tools (Google Optimize, VWO, Optimizely): Allows testing of different UI elements to improve conversions.
- FullStory: Provides behavioral analytics, frustration tracking, and journey mapping.
- SessionCam: Offers automated insights into user pain points for iterative improvement.
By prioritizing these UX metrics and utilizing the appropriate tools, we can create more intuitive platforms, leading to increased user satisfaction, higher retention rates, and a competitive advantage in the market.
