Google Analytics is a goldmine of information; mine it

Google Analytics

How people access your website and navigate your website can provide you with a lot of information not only about your website’s visitors, but also about your company and the products and services you provide.  Unfortunately, many companies don’t know that this information exists and therefore they leave a wealth of strategic data unexamined.  The data does exist – and it is free and easily accessible.

This goldmine of strategic data is available via a tool called Google Analytics.  Google Analytics provides users with powerful data about website traffic.  The amount of data available through Google Analytics is massive.  Likewise the knowledge one can learn from the data is massive.  Here are just four things Google Analytics can tell you:

How many customers actually look at your website

Having a website is essential.  However, a website does your company no good if customers are not finding your website and are not accessing the site.  Google Analytics provides you with data on the total number of visitors to your site as well as the number of unique visitors and the number of new visitors.

How visitors use your website

Google Analytics provides data on the path each visitor takes when they visit your site.  You can follow the path of each visitor – from the first page they looked at, to the last page they looked at.  This information give you information on what drew the visitor to your site, what they were looking for, what they were interested in once they arrived, and provide you with information on why they left the site.  For example, did they leave once they made a purchase?  Or did they not find what they were looking for and leave your site immediately?

What visitors like and what they don’t like

Google Analytics provides data on the number of visitors per page.  By looking at this information you can tell what products or services are most popular and what are the least popular.  From this you can make strategic decisions about your company’s products and services.  For example, is it time to revamp your product line?  Or do you just need to revamp your website content?

How do visitors view your website

What technology do visitors use when viewing your site?  Do they use a mobile device, a tablet, or a computer?  Knowing this information will help you to optimize your site so as to cater to your visitors.  For example, if you find that the majority of visitors are accessing your website via a tablet or mobile device you want to make sure that your website is friendly to this technology.

What are your website’s traffic sources

Google Analytics breaks down traffic sources into four categories: direct, referral, organic search, and social.  Once you know how traffic is coming to your website you can make necessary adjustments to your marketing and advertising strategies.  Furthermore, you can identify which strategies currently in place are working and which are not.

Setting up Google Analytics is free and is relatively easy.  Google provides a step by step guide, and there are also a number of YouTube videos available.  Once you have set up Google Analytics use it – and use it to your advantage.  The data provided is real time and will therefore enable you to understand what you need to do now in order to attract customers and engage customers.