Use Google Analytics to grow your digital marketing ROI

I’ll be blunt. If you or one of your key managers is not watching Google Analytics you are not running your business effectively. You are missing digital marketing opportunities and may be losing market share without knowing it. Your website and sales will suffer from this lack of information and your content marketing strategy will be for naught.

The metrics in Google Analytics are leading indicators for your company and a driving force in your sales growth.  Someone on your team must have access and watch these key business metrics. In this blog post, I will simplify Google Analytics reporting into four key areas that must be watched on a weekly or monthly basis at a minimum.

Navigating Google Analytics

When you first login to Google Analytics you will see a basic dashboard on your home page with a navigation system on the left. There are four key navigation areas on the left. Each section will open up when you click on them. The critical data points and metrics providing insights into your business and growth are found in each section.

Let’s get into more detail on each one.

1. Audience

Click on Audience on the left hand menu, then click on Overview.

The audience overview is the best global view of your website’s data. Use the date selector to track the year-to-date data or compare the data previous periods. You’ll see your overall visits and the key metrics measuring user engagement with your website.

2. Acquisition

Click on Acquisition on the left hand menu, then click on All Traffic, then click on Channels.

This is the best place to get a summary of the traffic channels sending visitors to your website. Click through in each channel to get more data on where your traffic is coming from. Use the Google Search Console to dig deeper into your results in Google.

3. Behavior

Click on Behavior on the left hand menu, then click on Site Content, then click on All Pages.

You will see the most popular content on your website in this section. Your website visitors are voting with their clicks on what matters most to them. It makes up a fascinating profile of your company.

4. Conversions – goals overview (leads) or e-commerce (online sales)

Click on Conversions on the left hand menu, then click on Goals Overview or Ecommerce.

There are two major parts of the conversions section. The first is tracking leads and the second tracks ecommerce data in great detail. This tracking must be set-up in the admin section of Google Analytics. The data you see here is used to measure direct ROI.

Schedule a Google Analytics meeting and send reports

One of the best ways to drive action from Google Analytics metrics is by scheduling regular digital marketing meetings including a review of this data. Ask questions about the data and press your team for answers. Whether or not you hold a meeting, Google Analytics reports should be sent on a regular basis to the management team.

As you look for ways to improve results from your website and increase sales, make the time to understand Google Analytics. It is a must have resource to monitor and measure the growth of your company and drive success.

Related resources

• Your 4-step website evaluation
• Does your online competition match your real-world competition

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