How to use Google Analytics to Optimize your Website

For those who aren’t familiar with the term, Google Analytics is a web analytics tool that enables users to measure, collect, and analyze website data for business and market research purposes.

Although there are other web analytics services available to customers, Google Analytics is by far the most popular choice to optimize your website. In the following article, we’ll outline some tips on how to use Google Analytics to optimize your company’s website.

How does Google Analytics work?

Google Analytics tracks user behaviour on your website by collecting and analyzing data. The service gives you a detailed look at how users interact with your website.

First, set up Google Analytics on your website by creating an account. Use this WordPress guide to easily install Google Analytics.

Once you have set up an account, you then have to add the tracking code to your website so you can begin utilizing the data.

Now that you have Google Analytics installed, there are a few tips you can use to best optimize your website such as defining your goals, Google Ads, and reviewing reports.

Defining Your Goals

To properly optimize your website, you must effectively define your goals – What are your objectives? Having clearly defined goals within Google Analytics allows you to review reports to gain a better understanding of user behaviour on your website.

Here is the simplest way to create a new goal within Google Analytics:

Google Ads

Google Ads (formerly known as Google AdWords) is an important online advertising platform. Businesses bid on a pay-per-click advertising model. This is a crucial component for the success of any business, and its marketing strategy. Pay-Per-Click (PPC) management and PPC marketing give you numerous advantages over the competition. Implementing a PPC campaign will put a business in the top paid ads, which typically generates more sales from PPC visitors. Therefore the best possible ROI for your business.

You can link Google Ads to Google Analytics on the Admin page.

Reviewing Reports

Now that you have the basic steps to setting up Google Analytics, you can now review reports. The reports convey different information be it pertaining to the audience, real-time, acquisition, behaviour, or conversions. To date, there are over 80 different reports available through Google Analytics.

One option to keep in mind is customized Google Analytics reports. This is a great way to further optimize your website using the platform. By having custom reports, you can keep abreast of the most important metrics for your business. There is even the option to share reports easily with coworkers.

Analytics Tools: Bounce Rate

One of the analytics tools used as an important metric is “bounce rate”. In essence, the bounce rate is the percentage of single-page sessions on a website. Depending upon the nature of your website, having a lower bounce rate typically denotes a more engaging website that resonates with your audience.

A well-designed website should be fast, have clear prompts, relevant content, and should effortlessly adjust with every gesture across all screens, and all devices.

Analytics Tools: Behaviour Flow

By examining the behaviour flow report, you can analyze how users interact with your website. This is especially useful because it allows you to track what content engaged a target audience, and, moreover, drove profitable customer action. Likewise, examining behaviour flow lets you tweak content that may not be effective.

Analytics Tools: eCommerce Tracking

With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, it has never been more essential for businesses to have a well-designed, responsive, eCommerce website. Another way to optimize your website is with Google Analytics eCommerce tracking. This add-on allows you to study several eCommerce metrics such as revenue and other Key Performance Indicators (KPI) essential for eCommerce stores.

SEO is Crucial

Google Analytics data is an important way to optimize your website. Yet, effective SEO services are essential for the success of your company’s website. Research has shown that the vast majority of all websites are found via a search engine. Likewise, customers are increasingly relying upon reviews to make informed decisions about selecting a specific business or service.

In addition, having a high rank in an organic search will drive relevant traffic to your website. Moreover, this can generate new customers who are searching for your keyphrases. Research into the nature of web users has found that customers regard high-ranking websites as more trustworthy and reputable than those lower-ranking sites. Click here to learn more about SEO Services available to you.

Google Analytics Certification

For those wanting to further their knowledge, you can actually get Google Analytics certification by taking the Google Analytics Individual Qualification (IQ) exam. This exam tests your knowledge of the platform and must be taken every 12 months to maintain certification.

The aforementioned exam, including other educational resources, can be found at the Analytics Academy.

It is important to note that only those individuals who are part of the Google Partners program are able to take the Google Analytics Individual Qualification (IQ) exam.

Tailor Your Content

Content Marketing is a dynamic strategy to help drive as many users as possible to your website. By having informative content, you attract leads which potentially will convert into sales. Keyword research, onsite optimization, and editorial link-building on top publications are all-important SEO components to factor in when thinking about content on your website.

Conclusion

Google Analytics is a powerful tool for any business owner who wants to optimize their website for the utmost success. Because this platform generates so much data, it is paramount to know which metrics are key indicators for the success of your company’s website.