This is an article “How Google Analytics Can Help You Boost Online Traffic in 2021” by Marc Primo Warren
No one can blame you if you can’t keep up with what’s happening on Google Analytics. That will always be part of the challenge for every digital marketer out there as it’s like a constant thing that changes frequently. On average, Google’s algorithms make 500-600 changes per year!
When the technology first came around, all we had to worry about was learning the many elements that go with it. Little did we know that this particular technology requires constant monitoring or else, all our efforts would be futile in the long run.
If you think mastering Google Analytics is easy, you might have another thing coming. With several settings you have to get used to and learn to configure, you’ll need some professional help to get the exact algorithms in order if you are new to the platform.
Once you have an account, the first thing you’ll have to do is ensure that you’ll be getting the most accurate data for your website, as much as possible. You can leave some settings in default but to get the most out of Google Analytics, here’s a simple guide you can start working with.
Audience reports
Checking on your audience reports is the first thing most marketers do when they sign up for the platform. It will tell you the number of sessions, visits, users and unique visitors, page views, bounce rate, and session duration, among others, which can all give you great insights on how your website performs or how you can improve it.
Further down the audience menu, you can also review user demographics in terms of where your visitors are coming from and on which devices they are viewing your site so you can switch your content management towards faster page speeds and design. Picking whatever you can from the available data within the audience page will help you create your buyer personas and align your brand and content towards who they are.
Acquisition
Contrary to what many believe, not all your traffic is coming from your social media accounts. You might be surprised to find out that you are doing better on other channels like your blog or website, thanks to Google.
In the Channels report, you can find out which users discovered your website from which search engine, social media platform, via referrals, or which ones type your URL directly into their browsers and come up with reports on how you can better target more audiences.
As an example, high search results from Bing, Yahoo, or DuckDuckGo contribute to only 5% of the total online user population, while Google remains the search champion with 95%. If you see your website ranking in the other organic search engines but register low figures in Google, then you might want to step up your paid ads on the platform to reach a wider audience.
Aside from this, you can also review figures on user sessions, the number of page views, and the number of new users so you can figure out which channels are worth investing in and which ones are not.
Behavior
Another notable piece of data you’d want to focus on when on Google Analytics is how your target audience behaves when they are on your site and landing pages. Reviewing reports on which of your pages are the most interesting or engaging or which resort to bounce off other sites will also give you a good idea of which set of audiences you should focus on. You can also see your returning visitors by the rate of new sessions spent on your site and landing pages.
The key metrics that show visitor behavior will help you reduce bounce rates and improve your content management strategies. Look at your landing pages with the least session durations and compare them with those that work well with users. Identifying the factors that retain your audience’s interest can make it easier for you to do more efficient SEO practices and generate higher online traffic to your sites.
Setting up Goals
Every business seeks useful data from the platform so they can come up with better marketing strategies that can ease both spending and effort. By focusing on the three analytics mentioned above, you can get the upper hand when it comes to overtaking the competition both in search rankings, brand reputation, and conversion.
The Goals feature in Google Analytics can help you increase your conversion rates via your website by tracking each landing page’s performance. Each time someone visits one of your pages, the platform will record how many times he will convert then compare to your other sites for a little A/B testing. Goals also allow you to reinforce your landing pages’ call to action (CTA) buttons, encourage more sign-ups to your mailing lists, and increase your subscription numbers. Setting up how you want your visitors to act while on your website properly contributes a lot to how you can improve both the content in your landing pages and how you position your CTAs.
While on the platform, you can set up your goals whether they are URL Destination, Time on Site, or Pages per Visit types. Tracking your URL Destination goals can usually provide you with the basic data you need, such as the number of times a customer clicks on either your product or order pages and if that leads to conversion. This feature also enables you to set up your goals into different types of conversions such as your sign-ups, sales, or users who avail of a promotional campaign.
Once you have accumulated enough analytics, you can better review your conversion rates and pinpoint which customers you are losing or which ones are worth pursuing within your marketing funnel.
Keeping your eye on these essential details about your audience as well as your campaign goals will make it easier for you to adjust the other settings in Google Analytics to drive business growth. It’s a sophisticated tool that allows you to improve your data tracking and improve your digital marketing strategies in a way that no other tool can, so try to master all of its features for more advantages against the competition.
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