Websites have essentially the same measurement. We commonly call it Time on Site, while Google Analytics today breaks engagement down into measurements such as average session duration and average engagement time. The terminology is different, but the question should sound very familiar to anyone in radio: We got them here. How long can we keep them?

Your website is part of the station's product. It should immediately communicate the same brand, attitude, entertainment and local connection listeners hear on the air.  As you prepare for Fall, give your website a programming review. Start with these ten principles.

Think about how much useful local information is already sitting inside that football guide. Schedules, team information, coaches, stadium locations, photos and previews are exactly the kinds of things people search for once Friday night rolls around.

Think beyond whether you like the design of the homepage. What role do you actually want the website to play for the station? Do you want listeners coming back every morning for local news? Checking high school football scores on Friday night? Finding community events? Entering contests? Listening to the station?

Every station wants bigger ratings.  The smartest stations also want bigger databases.  Why? Because algorithms change. Social media comes and goes. Streaming services compete for attention. But an email address, mobile number, or app user who has chosen to hear from your station is one of the most valuable marketing assets you own. 

The first big Friday night of high school football is here, and this is one of those times when a radio station website can be incredibly useful without creating a bunch of new content. Think about everything someone may want to know before heading to a game. Who is playing? What time is kickoff? Where is the stadium? Where should I park? Is there construction around the school? 

For years, when we talked about getting more people to a radio station website, a lot of the conversation naturally centered around Google. Create good local content, make it search-friendly and give someone looking for that information a chance to find your station. Now AI search is becoming another part of that equation.

Google Analytics can tell us whether people are actually using the things we put on our websites. The problem is that opening Google Analytics for the first time feels a little like getting the ratings book without anyone explaining how to read it. There are reports, charts, percentages and terminology everywhere.