Google Analytics is now the most widely used web analytics service on the Internet and is a very important digital marketing tool. 
I was with a client today and the sole purpose of the meeting was to check the performance of their website and to discuss any issues or any changes that could be made to the website to increase sales. This led me to write this blog post on why Google Analytics is so important for small and medium sized businesses.
Google Analytics is now the most widely used web analytics service on the Internet and is a very important digital marketing tool, but one that is seriously underused by most businesses. It basically allows you to measure the results of individual campaigns in real-time, compare the data to previous periods, and so much more….
If a website is not converting (by converting I mean not generating quality leads or sales) the question I often get asked is why? There are a number of key areas on Google Analytics that can help answer this question and help get to the bottom of why the website is not converting or what changes can be made to improve the performance of a website.
Why is Google Analytics so important for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)? @SheltonAssocia says Analytics “is a must for business owners and managers and if you are not using it you should be!” https://t.co/CPBRnATOda #measure pic.twitter.com/K4R9RS7WZq
— Google Analytics (@googleanalytics) September 24, 2018
Firstly, at a basic level, you need to know how many visitors you are getting to your website. Google Analytics can give you this key information. Not only that though, you can use the ‘dates’ section in the top right to change the time period and this will also allow you to compare the number of visitors in a different time period. You may want to check the number of visitors you have had this month compared to last month. It will also tell you the demographics (age, gender, location) of the people visiting your site. If you are not getting many visitors this is most probably the reason why your website is underperforming. If you are getting a low number of visitors but a lot of people are buying or enquiring, you should be looking to increase the ‘relevant’ traffic to your site because the website is obviously good at converting. There are number of different ways of increasing traffic to your website which include SEO (Search Engine Optimisation), Google Ads, Social Media Ads and Direct Referrals. Google Analytics will tell you exactly where all of your traffic has come from and the areas you might want to invest time and money in.
Does your website have a high Bounce Rate? (A bounce rate is the percentage of visitors to your website who navigate away from the site after viewing only one page). Google Analytics will tell you this. If you do have a high bounce rate you need to find out why. It could be down to your website not being mobile friendly/responsive; it could be that certain pages on your site are ‘not working’ or promoting the appropriate message to customers. Google Analytics can help you identify these issues and by monitoring your ‘exit pages’ (an exit page is the last page accessed during a visit). For example, if you have an ecommerce website and people are exiting at the checkout, it is highly likely there is something wrong with the checkout system on your website.
One of the best features of Google Analytics, in my opinion, is the ability to measure Events and Goals. These check ‘How many people have purchased from your website’ in the last week say and how many sales have been generated? How many people have phoned your business directly from your website this month? How many people have completed the Contact Form? You can set up custom goals and events within Google Analytics to monitor exactly how well your website is performing.
Why is Google Analytics so important for SMEs?
Google Analytics is now the most widely used web analytics service on the Internet and is a very important digital marketing tool…… https://t.co/3C6H7MgmUN
— Shelton Associates (@SheltonAssocia) September 24, 2018
If you have any questions about Google Analytics please comment below or get in touch if you would like to book a Google Analytics Training course.
