Google Analytics Run-Down
If you’re managing a website, Google Analytics is a must-have. It provides a snapshot of how users interact with your site.
It’s like having a security camera in a convenient store. You’re able to see how customers enter, what they are most interested in and what products they buy. But instead of camera footage, you have data.
You can use the data from Google Analytics to make informed decisions. Here’s a run down of how to use Google Analytics to improve your site.
How Users Enter
There are plenty of ways traffic can land on your site. Google Analytics pinpoints exactly how they did.
Users enter your site through channels. Channels are groupings of traffic sources. Here’s an example:
It’s important to understand how traffic enters your site. It will help you decide where to focus your time and effort for generating visitors. You may be surprised to see where most of your visitors come from.
Consider this:
You have been spending a lot of resources on paid search. After looking at your acquisition data, you see that your best traffic comes from social. You may want to shift your focus to generating visitors through social networks. Or re-think your paid search strategy.
What Interests Users
You want to provide visitors with something they care about. Useful content keeps visitors returning and helps bring new visitors in. There are a few ways to hone in on content visitors find useful.
The behavior report gives a bird’s eye view of visitor activity. From there, you can drill down your data to specific content. Here are a few metrics to look into:
- Pageviews: The total views a page has received. This counts repeated views. This metric indicates popular content.
- Avg. Time On Page: The amount of time a user spends viewing a page. This metric shows how engaged visitors are.
- Bounce Rate: The percentage of single-page visits. A user that enters your site and leaves without interacting is a bounce. This metric is useful for content retention.
Use these metrics to decide which content needs tweaking. Your goal should be to increase pageviews and time on page while lowering bounce rate. Hone in on content that excel in these metrics. Design future content with that analysis in mind.
Conversion Optimization
Every site has a goal. It could be a sale, or a report download. It might be getting visitors to read more than one blog. Achieving a goal is called a conversion.
The conversions report will show you exactly how a visitor convert. You can see the path visitors took to the conversion. You can also see which acquisition channels have the best conversion rate. Once you have conversion data, you can begin to optimize.
This data will help you decide how to generate more conversions. This is conversions optimization. It means to pinpoint what made a visitor convert and use that knowledge moving forward. Tapping into this data will increase conversions and your site’s success.
Google Analytics 101
It’s essential to understand how visitors interact with your site. Having this data will help you make more informed decisions in the future. Let your site reach it’s full potential by tapping into the power for Google Analytics.
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