Marketers who use website analytics tools are almost 40% more likely to see improvement in their marketing campaigns. If you’re not reviewing your analytics, you’ll struggle to make informed changes. You might miss opportunities to generate future leads and sales as a result.
Meanwhile, your digital marketing ROI could plummet, impacting your bottom line.
Here are five ways website analytics can benefit your digital marketing efforts. Reviewing your website performance can help you boost your business.
You can get leagues ahead of the competition while setting yourself up for growth and success. Read on to discover the benefits of using web analytics today!
Ways to Use Your Website Analytics
Only 55% of companies currently conduct user experience testing. Meanwhile, nearly 90% of shoppers won’t return to a site after a bad experience. About 70% of online businesses fail due to bad usability, too.
You’ll struggle to make the right changes to your website if you don’t pinpoint where the problem exists. Here are a few ways website analytics can help you make informed decisions.
1. Pinpoint Traffic Sources
You can review your current website performance to learn where you’re generating traffic from.
Pinpointing these traffic sources can help you learn about your target audience. You can determine where they’re spending their time online. Then, you can spend more time engaging your customers on that platform.
For example, you might find the bulk of your customers find your website through Facebook rather than Instagram. If you’ve invested your social media advertising budget on Instagram, you could neglect a larger portion of customers. Using web analytics will ensure you adjust your spending moving forward.
You can also review your traffic sources to determine if you’re generating high-quality backlinks.
Backlinks are links that send readers from another business’ website to your blog content. You need high domain authority backlinks to improve your search engine rankings. Higher search engine rankings will help you appear in front of more customers online.
Ranking ahead of your competitors could help you generate traffic and leads before competitive businesses get the chance.
Pull up your Google Analytics account. Then, click Acquisition > All Traffic > Channels.
You can determine if you’re generating traffic through:
- Direct (meaning people typed your URL in)
- Social media
- Paid advertising
- An organic Google search
If you’re generating traffic through Google, look at the keywords your visitors used. Then, start creating more content based on those keywords.
You could have an easier time generating more traffic in the future through your content marketing strategy.
2. Evaluate Page Performance
As you review your Google Analytics, take the time to consider how each page on your site is performing, too.
You can open Google Analytics and check Behavior > Site Content > All Pages. Then, look at your:
- Page value
- Pageviews
- Unique page views
- Average time on page
- Bounce rate
- Percent exit
- Entrances
These website analytics can tell you more about how people interact with your page content.
For example, a high bounce rate is a huge problem. A high bounce rate means people are leaving without exploring your content.
Consider improving the user experience on your site. A better user experience will ensure your site is easy to navigate and use.
3. Understand Your Visitors
Are you making website content with your target audience in mind? The more you understand your customers, the more likely you’ll appeal to their interests. If you’re not personalizing your content, they might leave.
Your bounce rate might rise as a result.
Instead, look at your web analytics to gather essential audience research.
For example, you can check Location > Geo in Google Analytics to determine where your visitors are located. Then, you can make location-based content to appeal to local customers.
Check the Behavior Flow report in Google Analytics, too. You can learn more about the path people follow when exploring your content.
4. Make Content Improvements
Content marketing can help you attract more people to your website. If your content doesn’t appeal to their search intent, however, they’ll leave.
You can review your web analytics to determine if people enjoy your content. For example, a high bounce rate indicates it doesn’t appeal to their interests.
Check your organic traffic, sessions, and leads generated, too.
5. Find Weak Spots
Reviewing your website analytics can also help you find weak points throughout your site.
For example, you might find a high percent exit due to a broken link. Maybe you don’t use a call to action on certain pages. Consumers could leave without converting into leads as a result.
Finding weak points on your site can help you make more informed improvements to your design and development.
Analytics to Track
Now that you know how to use your web analytics, let’s discuss a few areas you need to track. You can find these metrics on your Google Analytics console.
1. Pageviews
Pageviews will tell you how many times a user looks at a specific page. You can use pageviews to determine which pages on your site are the most popular.
Then, you can start making content on similar topics to attract more traffic.
2. Unique Visitors
Visitors will sometimes visit the same page multiple times. Consider reviewing your unique visitors, too. You can determine how many unique consumers look at your content.
If you’re struggling to attract unique visitors, consider using email marketing, search engine optimization, or pay-per-click.
3. Traffic Sources
Remember, you’ll want to determine how people find your website.
Review your traffic sources to determine if other people are talking about you online. For example, an influencer might review your product. Maybe you’re generating backlinks.
If you’re not gaining traffic from multiple sources, develop an omnichannel strategy.
4. Bounce Rate
A high bounce rate indicates a problem with your website. It could mean your website is difficult to use. Maybe your content isn’t appealing to your audience.
You can use a heatmap or session replay tools to determine why people are bouncing off your site.
Make sure to study your clickthrough rate and dwell times, too.
5. Pages Per Session
Pages per session can tell you how many pages a visitor views before they leave.
If your pages per session is low, use internal links to send visitors to other pages.
Deciphering Website Analytics: How to Leverage Data for Business Growth
Understanding your website analytics can help you make informed changes to your digital marketing strategy. Keep these analytics in mind. Then, boost your website performance to engage visitors on your site.
Need help improving your website performance? We can help.
Contact us today for a free business audit!
