Why you should be using Google Analytics

Have you ever had the following questions?

• How much traffic am I getting on my website(s)?
• Where is the traffic coming from?
• Which of my pages are the most popular?
• What percentage of visits result in a new lead or a sale?
• What are the reasons that people leave my site?
• How can I create more captivating and effective content?

These are only a few of the questions that a successful marketer will pose themselves. However, have no fear, Google Analytics is here to provide you with the answers!

Google Analytics is one of the main tools used to spot new trends in behaviour, measure campaign results, and track your website’s traffic. These are provided in real-time while generating a history allowing you to look at past periods and do comparisons. These offer valuable insight and create awareness which leads to the betterment of your business by simply being able to gain information about who visits your site, what they are looking for and how they are getting there.

How do you get Google Analytics?

It’s free to use and fairly simple to set up. If you don’t already have a Google account, start by creating one. Then follow the instructions to set up a Google Analytics account, and obtain your tracking code. The tracking code is a piece of javascript you have to insert in your website’s code, which is what makes all the magic happen.

Setting up Goals

Perhaps the most overlooked and important part of using Google Analytics is goals.

What do you expect your website to be doing? If a client visits your website, what should they do, or what should they know in order to convert?

Google Analytics Goals can help you measure:

• Engagement (time spent on a page or on the entire site);
• Form Submissions;
• Actions are taken (Video Plays, Live Chat Requests etc)

If the above made you feel anxious or confused, our communications design tool can help you identify those goals and create a marketing cheat sheet for you to start with (psst. It’s free and you don’t need to be a client or become one to use it).

Once you have an idea, you can create a goal, which can either be a thank you page, or if you feel adventurous, an action such as a form submission, or time spent reading a page. You can also define a funnel, which are the steps a typical client would take to convert.

Identifying your conversion funnel for your leads

So you have no clue what a funnel is or what the steps to convert on your website are? Chances are you are amongst the 90% of website owners who are just getting started.

The good news is, Google Analytics has your back.

Just define the goal as a simple conversion.

Make sure you have at least one contact form, which upon submission redirects to a hidden thank-you page.

1. In your Analytics Dashboard click on Admin, then click on 
2. Create a new Goal within Step 1: Goal Setup screen and select Contact Us (located within the “Inquiry” section).
   If you are more advanced and comfortable with handling events, you can use Step 2 to change the type from Destination to Event.
3. In Step 3: Goal Details, you will enter the destination of your thank you page.

Now, as you run your website and will start getting traffic, you can navigate to Goals > Reverse Goal Path in your Analytics Dashboard, which will show you which pages your converted users come from.

Prescribed for any Online Marketing Campaign

Google Analytics allows you to track metrics that count towards your online success. You can monitor the effectiveness of your website’s content, test out UI and UX changes, marketing campaigns and even identify problems on your website. By setting up a Google Analytics account, you are taking the first step towards creating an effective online presence.

Should I set up Google Analytics if I’m about to change my website

Absolutely.

Let’s say you have a really outdated website with a really old hit counter. You might think that it’s ok to just scrap it and start fresh and not worry about the data,  because it’s not even there, right? Well not really. Quite often before taking over websites on Webtemple, we ask clients to install or grant us access to their Analytics account before we even get started. More often than not, we find hidden funnels, which provide information that even our clients weren’t aware of.

Conclusion

If all of this is just gave you a headache, or if you have any questions, hit us up on social media or post your questions in the comments section and one of our experts will get back to you.