Every business owner wants to know how well they’re doing. They want to know if their advertising is working, if customers like what they have to offer and if they are new or repeat customers. These statistics help illustrate how successful the business is, what they need to do more or – along with what they need to alter or do less of.
It’s no different for online businesses. Knowing where your website visitors are coming from, how they find you and what they like about your business is crucial, if you want to continue growing your business – and that is where Google Analytics comes in.
Google Analytics
Launched in 2005, Google Analytics is the most widely used web analytics service on the Internet – and it’s free! It gives you key insights into the behaviour of your website visitors, it tracks your website traffic and creates reports to illustrate its findings. You can also use it to track multiple websites – all from the one main dashboard within Google.
This enables you to make better use of your website, as you can learn what is and isn’t working, who’s visiting your site and what they do when they get there. Here’s a brief overview of what else it can do:
Website statistic reports
These reports give you valuable insights into the visitors to your site including:
- Who referred them
- Where they come from
- What they’re looking at
- The keywords they used to find you
- At what point they leave your site
This is a great way to ensure you’re using the right keywords for your target audience. You can also establish what websites are your best referrers, so you can thank them and/or possibly run a joint venture with them at a later date.
Website performance
These reports are crucial to your business success, as they help you clarify what you’re doing right and wrong:
- What are your highest performing blog posts and pages
- What are the pages and posts with little or no interaction
- Page specific targets, such as if your sales pages are converting visitors to buyers or if visitors are opting into your mailing list (will only work if you have ‘goals’ set up)
Your website performance reports will enable you to tweak the content that isn’t working, whilst also promoting those posts and pages that are.
Visitor information
The best thing about Google Analytics is its ability to give you detailed information about your visitors. This enables you to see:
- Whether they’re new to your site or a returning visitor
- How long they are staying on your site
- Demographics, such as age, gender, interests and language
- What pages they visited – and where they went next
- The average time spent on your site
This information can help you tailor your content to match your audience, so your site appeals more to them, such as ensuring your website images show the predominant gender and the right age group.
If you haven’t yet installed Google Analytics, you can easily get started by simply visiting their website at http://www.google.com/intl/en_uk/analytics/. You’ll also find a wealth of information there, to help you get up and running.
Do you have Google Analytics on your website? What feature do you find the most useful? If you haven’t yet installed it on your site, what has been your main reason? What did you find was your biggest takeaway from today’s post? Why not share your experiences and opinions in the comments box below!
Feature image courtesy of Marek/Dollar Photo Club
