Design | Marketing | 06.23.2015

Getting the Most Out of Google Analytics

An essential part of running an online business is monitoring website visitor statistics.  Google Analytics is one of the most popular website analytics tools for today’s business owners.  A powerful application that integrates seamlessly with most websites, including those built on the WordPress platform, Google Analytics generates the data you need to make more informed decisions about design, content and usability.

Google Analytics can be challenging for those who are new to tracking site activity, but once you’ve mastered these basic tips, you can really get the most out of your site stats.

Think Long-Term

When it comes to web stats, more is always best!  Tracking user traffic and behavior for a few weeks or even a month can be really helpful for short term strategy adjustments,  but you need at least 3-6 months of data to really identify key trends in user behavior.  Google Analytics can report on long time frames, allowing site owners to get a clear picture of how visitors are using their pages and navigating their site.

Go Deep with Visitor Details

When it comes to really taking a deep dive into your analytics, you need to look at more than just how people are finding you.  Look at where visitors come from by checking their location details and take a look at which search engines are giving you the best results.  Identifying trends in user behavior, including how long users stay on your site and which pages they visit the most, can be very helpful to business owners.  Once you have identified trends in user behavior, you can start making tweaks to content, design and functionality in order to improve the overall user experience.

Track Those Keywords

Implementing SEO through the use of long and short tail keywords and tracking their progress in Google Analytics is still an effective way to increase site traffic.  To get the most out of Google Analytics keyword functionality, look at which keywords visitors are searching for by checking your site’s search engine referrals.  Optimizing titles and other content with specific keywords that are location and industry specific helps increase visibility with the right types of visitors, and it’s important to keep up with how your content performs.  Using Google Analytics to track how successful your keywords are in terms of attracting new visitors and increasing conversions makes it easier to make simple strategy adjustments along the way.

Jordan Crown is a website design agency specializing in WordPress and responsive design. Click here to view their services.