SPH and the Web

John Finnegan, Jr.

If you ever doubted the influence of the Internet, these 2012 predictions from WebProNews/Technology may sway you:

• 76 percent of all Americans, some 239 million, will use the Internet this year. That’s up 121percent from five years ago;
• 1 in 20 Internet users will check e-mail 20 or more times a day;
• Some 114 million people will use mobile devices to access the Internet, and 40 percent will access social media sites from their devices;
• Tablet users will grow from 33.7 million in 2011 to 54.8 million this year;
• Two-thirds of all internet users will use social networks, and more than 90 percent will use Facebook, which has 143 million users in the U.S. alone;
• More than 30 billion content items will be shared on Facebook every month

Trends like these underscore how important is the SPH’s web savvy to the school’s success in connecting with our many stakeholders. Just last week, we launched an improved SPH website with an updated design that makes navigating and scanning content better than ever. With new content management software, SPH staff can manage content and share information much more efficiently. Changes such as these are the reason our site continues to be a standard-bearer among schools of public health across the country.

Other digital strategies are also happening. The Advances site now has a mobile component, so it’s accessible—and readable—on the go. An SPH mobile site will launch this fall. Our Facebook and Twitter feeds are becoming increasingly popular among today’s digital users. Shared media like these are helping promote programs and events with remarkable, measurable results.

Talking about measurement, SPH website statistics for 2011 provide some interesting information as you’ll see below. These figures confirm the burgeoning importance of our digital communications.

Finally, many thanks to those who were instrumental in launching the new SPH site: Mark Engebretson, Tim Beaufoy, Fiona Wholey, Li Jiang and all staff across the Divisions. Their creativity and technical adeptness help us remain connected efficiently and effectively to our many stakeholders.

2011 SPH Web Statistics

Number of Visitors

• 736,510 visits (594,000 in 2010)
• 324,026 unique visitors (243,000 in 2010)
• 5.3 million pageviews (4.6 million in 2010)
• 21,000 visits by mobile

Time on Site

• 3:31 avg. time on site
• 00:34 avg. time per page
• 7.27 pages per visit

Top 5 Pages Visited

• Home page
• Degrees
• Job Listings
• EpiCH home page
• Online Trainings

Top 5 Sections Visited

• Degrees & Programs
• Job Listings
• Continuing Ed trainings
• Faculty profiles
• Prospective students

—John R. Finnegan, Jr., Ph.D.
Dean and Professor