How to Use Google Analytics to Improve Your Business

Your company’s website is often the first – and most frequent – way people engage with your company. From communicating your vision to educating your customers to selling your products, your company’s website is one of your most valuable marketing assets. But your website can also provide you a wealth of information about your visitors that can help you get the most out of your website – all thanks to Google Analytics.

Google Analytics provides detailed data about who’s visiting your website, how they’re finding you, and what they’re doing once they’re there. Those insights offer a clearer picture of your target market – and their behavior – that can help you hone your business strategies. But the volume of information available on Google Analytics can overwhelm even the most savvy user. That’s why we’ve put together this list of eight basic questions Google Analytics can answer that can help you improve your website, and ultimately, your business.

1. How Many People Visit My Website?

At its most basic, Google Analytics can help you gauge the volume of your website traffic: the number of visitors, how many pages they view per visit, how long they spend on your site, and how many visit just one page before deciding to leave (the bounce rate). Tracking this data over time can give you a broad picture of whether your audience is growing and whether they are engaging with your website, but you’ll need to dig a little deeper to really make Google Analytics work for you.

2. Who Are They?

Google Analytics can help you create a picture of your website users by providing detailed demographic information, including their age, gender, location, and even their interests. Taking the time to digest this information can help you tailor everything from your marketing messaging to your advertising strategies to the products you offer. This is arguably the most valuable information Google Analytics tracks because of its broad application.

3. How Are They Finding My Website?

Organic search, paid search, referrals from other websites, your newsletter, social media. Google Analytics will track what drives people to your website, so you can determine what digital strategies are working the best for you. Once you understand what’s working, you can focus your attention there – or work to improve what isn’t.

4. What Are They Searching For?

If your website includes a search function, the on-site search terms report in Google Analytics will show you exactly what words and phrases your visitors are using to search your website. You can then create highly customized content using those terms – blog posts, landing pages, emails – that drives traffic to your site and gives your visitors exactly what they’re looking for.

5. What Content Do My Visitors Like?

By identifying your most popular pages, Google Analytics helps you understand what your website visitors like – and don’t like – so you can focus on creating more of what they do, including content, products and services.

6. Why Do People Leave My Website?

Understanding where you’re losing your visitors is just as important understanding what they like. Google Analytics can help you identify where people are navigating away from your site, so you to take a close look at how you can improve those pages. Does the messaging need re-tooling? Is there a better/clearer call to action? Can the page be scrapped all together?

7. How Many Visitors Converted Into Leads Or Customers?

This is what it’s all about, right? To track conversions, you’ll first have to set up goals ranging from engagement to newsletter sign ups to contact form submissions in Google Analytics. Once set, tracking your goals can help you measure the success of the hard work you put into your website.

Get Started Using Google Analytics Today

Using Google Analytics to provide actionable data can help you make smarter decisions about your business. But because there’s so much information available, you risk wasting time and energy if you don’t have a focused strategy. Before diving in, always understand what questions you want your data to answer. To learn more about how to use google analytics effectively to improve your marketing strategies, contact EmoryDay today. Our marketing experts will help you put your data to work so you can be sure you’re getting the most from your website.