Once you have setup Google Analytics on your blog or website and checked overall page views and the bounce rate, I think it’s time that you also glance at mobile traffic. But this is the end of the road for most web masters because the information can be overwhelming so most people don’t even know exactly what to look for. Even though it can take some time to learn to use Google Analytics it is worth the time you put in because it’s a rich information resource that can help you effectively market your business online.
Below we look at a few tips that should help you use Google Analytics for effective online marketing.
Find out how your current website reflects what is important to your business
Many people log into to Google Analytics with no specific question in mind which is a mistake because then they don’t know what to look for in the seeming deluge of information. So, start by making a list of your business’s top goals and then search analytics to see how your site is reflecting them. For instance, an online publisher will want to increase page views because that is the only way visitors will be exposed to their ads and generate revenue. So, their question would be “where are the most page views on the site?”, “which landing page is doing the best” and “which landing pages are the worst” etc. Knowing this information can improve online marketing campaign considerably.
Look at actionable data
The unique visits and Page views in Analytics can tell you exactly what you’re doing right and wrong. This information is not usually actionable for many businesses. But looking at non-actionable data means that you’re just wasting time. Instead you will want to focus on three specific analytics reports which will help you gear your online marketing:
- Organic Search (Traffic sources/overview/search)
- Referrals as well as all traffic (this can be looked at in Traffic Sources/overview/sources)
- Referring page and the destination URL
All of the above metrics will tell you exactly which traffic sources and referrers are responsible for driving up your conversions along with detailing specific efforts and assets which result in the highest ROI. For instance, if you see one set of infographics which is resulting in the most conversions from all the traffic then you know exactly what type of content is working to help you achieve your goals. This in turn will help you further optimize and fine tune your online marketing strategy.
Better insights by using advanced segments
‘Advanced Segments’ is yet another frequently overlooked feature of Google Analytics. People can get some really important insights and benefits from simply segmenting their data. The feature allows marketers to isolate specific traffic types. This allows for webmasters to get a deeper insight into mobile traffic which is very important if you want to build an effective mobile presence.
A university that was applying advanced segments to their mobile data found that pages which were offering directions to and from the campus, library hours and bus schedule were the most popular with their mobile users. This led the university to revise their mobile website in order to make that content easily accessible as well as easily viewable on smaller screen devices.
The beauty of advanced segments for marketers is that they can create advanced segments for almost any of the GA reports. For instance, online marketers can create an Advanced Segment out of their Audience Overview report by just clicking on the “Audience” tab. This can then be applied to All Pages from “Content/overview/site content/all pages”, the option can be either turned on or off when required.
Online advertising
Online advertising is often a big part of many business’s online marketing campaign. Segmented data and traffic sources can easily suggest which ads are doing best in terms of instigating conversions. For instance, if you’re running Adwords, and getting seven hundred visitors from one advertising but two hundred from the other you know that one is obviously more effective than the other. But as far as conversions go Advanced Segments will be able to highlight which of the two adverts are driving conversions. If the advertisement driving two hundred visitors to your website is in fact offering the highest conversion rate than the other advertisement is clearly a waste of advertising dollar.
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