Bold Eye Media is a marketing agency for small business owners. We know you’re busy, so we’ve created this blog post to help you better understand the 8 Google Analytics metrics that will help your company grow!
1. Your Search Traffic
Any company that hopes to run a profitable website needs the visibility to drive consistent traffic, and search traffic is the key factor in doing so organically. They say if you want to hide something, the best place to put it on the second page of the Google Search results, so you need to ensure that you’re raking in the top 10 search results if you want your content to reach your audience.
Google Analytics allows you to view search traffic data under Acquisitions and Overview on your dashboard. But exactly what number constitutes a “good” search traffic score? Generally, you should aim to be ranking above 50%, and if you aren’t hitting those numbers, you should seriously consider reworking your site’s SEO.
2. The Source Of Your Traffic
Part of your challenge as a business with an online presence is figuring out where your customers are hanging out on the web. One of the best ways to gain insight from Google Analytics is to look at your Traffic Source. This data tells you exactly where the majority of your traffic is coming from so that you can better hone in on your target audience for your future marketing campaigns.
You may find that certain aspects of your current strategy aren’t giving you the type of return you had hoped for, or that you’re gaining traffic from an unexpected source that you may wish to explore for future campaigns. Knowing where your audience is finding your business also better allows you to cater to your content to that specific platform.
3. Your Social Reach
Not all social media platforms are created equal for your business goals, so you need to know exactly which ones are performing the best in terms of sending traffic to your website. You can use Google Analytics to access this information by navigating to Acquisitions > Social > Landing Pages.
Having this information lets you clearly see where your social media efforts are gaining the most engagement and which platforms are underperforming. With this knowledge, you can scale your efforts in the areas that are bringing the most visitors to your site, and reconsider your strategy on platforms that aren’t doing as well.
Remember, you don’t have to be active on every single social media platform to be successful. In fact, many small businesses are better off concentrating only on the platform and content that resonates with their target audience. Spreading your presence too thin will lead to lower quality of content and less engagement as a result.
5. Conversions by Channel
When it’s all said and done, all of your business efforts should ultimately lead to sales; so it’s no wonder that most businesses are eager to know where most of their conversions are coming from. Because Google Analytics lets you track your campaigns through a unique URL, you’re now able to view which channels are gaining you the most sales.
This feature is perfect for anyone running multiple, concurrent marketing campaigns because it allows you to isolate your data by each specific promotion. Knowing which channels are performing the best for your business also allows you to develop your future approach accordingly.
” This is a pretty cool report – what we can get is a snapshot of what channels are involved in what conversion processes. ”
6. Bounce Rate
Your bounce rate refers to the percentage of people who exit your website after only looking at a single page. A certain level of this behavior is normal and should be expected, but if at if you’re seeing a bounce rate above 80% on any page, you would greatly benefit from re-working that area of your site.
There are a number of reasons why your visitors might decide to leave your site. For instance, some of them may simply land on your page accidentally and have no interest in your business, or they may be turned off by the design, functionality, or content on your website.
Analyzing this metric will let you know when it’s time for a content refresher, an SEO tune-up, or a complete redesign.
7. Location
Most small businesses cast a big net when it comes to their digital marketing strategy, but to truly be successful, it’s important to hone in on the exact locations where you’re generating the most sales or conversions. The great news is, the “Locations” feature in Google Analytics allows you to view areas with the most interest in your product.
This information will help you narrow down the targeting for future campaigns, which increases your return while simultaneously lowering your marketing costs. You’ll also be able to research your audience according to locale and gain valuable insight into your customer persona.
8. Site Speed
Your site speed can help make or break the success of your online operation, which is why you should be paying close attention to this metric. There are many ways in which your site’s loading speed could be negatively affecting your business, all of which boil down to reduced visibility and sales.
For starters, most of your visitors will actually leave your site if a page fails to load within three seconds. So if you want your audience to read your content, let alone make a conversion, you must first ensure your site is fast enough to pass this test.
Another important reason for monitoring your site speed is because the search engine will actually penalize your site if it doesn’t load fast enough. This means you’ll be losing out on important search traffic and passing it right on to your competitors.
Start Simple And Measure The Basics
Google Analytics can be a treasure trove of information for any small business looking to gain insight into its operations. But the sheer amount of information can make it difficult to cut through the clutter and get to the numbers that mean the most for the success of your business. To return to this list of metrics before you spend any more hours glued to the Google Analytics screen.
We hope it helps you better understand the strengths and shortcomings of your content and marketing strategy so that you can continue to play to those strengths and improve the areas that need the most work. Remember, successful websites, just like successful businesses, aren’t built overnight but crafted through repeated trial, error, and analysis. Keep optimizing your content and evolving your strategy according to your findings and you’re bound to achieve scalable campaigns that consistently generate profit for your business.
Schedule A Call Today & Increase Your Metrics