Web analytics, conversion rates, impressions, engagements – while we should all have at least heard of these terms, it can be an overwhelming and daunting task to initially set up and gain meaningful insights from your company’s analytics. That’s why we’ve put together a two-part series for beginners on how to use analytics to benefit your business. This week, we’re focusing specifically on Google Analytics, what metrics your business should be tracking, and how you can use this information to make a splash online!
Getting started with Google Analytics:
No website owner or business should neglect using Google Analytics. While there are other website analytical tools out there, Google Analytics provides the most comprehensive, easy-to-use experience with invaluable insights on what’s driving sales, leads and visitors to your business’ website. Google itself offers great explanation guides and videos on setting up and various different features.
There are three steps to getting started. First, simply set up your analytics profile using a valid Google account and by following the installation process. Once you have your account set up, you will see that your property has a unique tracking ID – linking this ID to your website is the second and slightly more complex step. Add the tracking code snippet generated across each page of your website and confirm this is working, using the real-time analytics page.
The final recommended step for setting up you Google Analytics account is to define your goals. What does success on your website look like? Is it the number of downloads of a certain file, page visits to your contact page, etc. Use the Goals tab under Admin settings to easily create up to 20 goals which represent online business success to you.
Metrics worth tracking:
Now that you’re all ready to go on Google Analytics, it’s time to start tracking and analysing data. The Home Page offers an overview of some of the key data areas related to your site. You can drill down further into this information using the Audience; Acquisition; and Behaviour report tabs. All this data can be fascinating at first, but it can be easy to get lost in. Take your time to explore what information can guide your online strategy and help evaluate which web marketing tactics are most successful. To help find your way, we’ve put together a list of some of the metrics most worth tracking on Google Analytics.
- Unique Visitors (Find: Audience / Overview)
This stat represents the number of individual visitors to your website, providing important information on just how big your audience is. This can be a helpful metric to track the effectiveness of a campaign and answer questions like ‘are your radio adverts driving a steady flow of unique visitors to your site?’, or ‘is there a spike in visitors following a concerted push on social media?’
- Acquisition (Find: Acquisition / Overview)
This page allows you to identify where exactly your website visitors are coming from. Acquisition is broken down into four categories: Organic Search (e.g. through a Google search); Direct (by typing a URL from your site directly into the browser); Social (through a link posted on social media); and Referral (via links from other websites). Each of these sources can be explored further for more in-depth analysis. For example, by clicking on Social, you can examine what social media platforms are performing best, and readjust the time you invest into these accordingly.
- All pages (Find: Behaviour / Site Content)
This page lists all of your site pages in order of the most visited. This is a great way to track the performance of your blogs in particular, telling you which blogs have been most popular, allowing you to analyse what content resonates with your audience.
- Average time on page (Find: Behaviour / Site Content / All Pages)
A measurement of how long a user spends on a page on average. Again, this is a good indicator of how engaging your blog content is and whether it is relevant to the person visiting the page.
- Bounce Rate (Find: Behaviour / Site Content / All Pages)
This stat represents the percentage of visitors who navigate away from the site after viewing only one page. The more pages users visit, the more of your key messages they are likely to take in and the more likely you are to fulfil your analytic goals. Be sure to include relevant links to other content on your webpage in any of your blogs.
- Demographics Overview (Find: Audience / Demographics)
On this page, you’ll find information on the gender and age of your audience. Further information can be obtained on like and interests. This page is especially helpful for reference when designing a new campaign by identifying who currently is most engaged by your brand.
Google metrics summary
Keeping an eye on these metrics will help to get you started on your analytics journey, but of course there is much more you can delve into to gleam relevant insights for your company. Google Analytics is a hugely informative tool for monitoring your websites performance, and in part two of our Beginners Guide to Analytics, we will explore the most important social media analytics to help maximise the impact of your investment on social media platforms.
Comit has extensive experience in digital marketing. If you think we can help your business grow online, or require any other tech PR services, be sure to contact us today!