Google Analytics is one of the most powerful tools that any business owner can use to improve their online presence. It allows you to track your website visitors and measure all kinds of metrics related to them, such as traffic sources and bounce rates.
The only problem?
Not enough business owners understand how to leverage this tool to extract actionable data and create an effective strategy.
With that in mind, here are four ways that you can use Google Analytics to improve and grow your business.
#1 – Audience Insights
At this point, Google probably knows us better than we know ourselves – and business owners can most definitely capitalise upon this.
Google Analytics can tell you exactly who is visiting your website, including age, location, gender and how they found you.
You will also be able to see which pages and pieces of content resonate the most with certain types of visitors, which will give you a good idea of what your target audience wants.
By analysing this data, you should be able to determine which marketing channels bring in the most targeted visitors and how often they engage with certain content types – all of which will help towards creating a solid strategy for lead generation.
#2 – Understanding Engagement Rates
Your engagement rate doesn’t just refer to the number of people who sign up for your newsletter or purchase a product – it also means how many times users engage with certain pages and content on your website.
This metric can tell you what kinds of visitors come to your site, which will in turn give you an idea about their purchasing power and/or the likelihood of them engaging with your content.
By understanding how often users engage with certain pages, you’ll be able to determine whether or not you are providing the kind of information they need, as well as what is stopping some people from converting into customers.
For example, if a large percentage of visitors bounce off an important page on your website – such as your pricing page – you can assume that it is either too expensive for them or they do not believe the value of what you are offering. In both cases, this would be a clear indication to change something so that more people engage with and purchase from your business, which in turn will boost your conversion rate.
#3 – Understanding Referral Traffic
Google Analytics can also help you to understand which partnerships are serving you best. By tracking referral traffic, you can determine which sources send the most loyal and engaged visitors to your website. It might be that one particular partner is driving a large amount of traffic but another actually leads to more conversions.
By assessing how much engagement each source brings, you can determine which partnerships are worth investing more time and money into.
#4 – Refining Your Marketing Strategy
Google Analytics can help to improve your overall marketing strategy by providing actionable data. By analysing which channels bring in the most targeted visitors, you will be able to better allocate resources and increase efficiency across all of your campaigns.
For example, if organic traffic is bringing in more conversions than paid search then it might be a good idea to invest more into SEO. On the other hand, if you’re getting a lot of traffic from Facebook but those visitors just aren’t converting, it’s time to re-evaluate your social media strategy. It could be that you’re targeting the wrong audience or putting the wrong message out there.
Final Thoughts
All in all, Google Analytics is an incredibly powerful tool that can help your business to grow exponentially if used correctly. By tracking user behaviour and understanding the visitors who come to your website, you will be able to improve upon certain aspects of your business – such as marketing channels – to increase conversions and boost your business.
