Using analytics effectively will hep you improve your website

Google Analytics is a powerful tool.

And although a robust version is available for companies to install and use for free, free does not constitute turnkey.  It takes time, effort and a willingness to experiment to get results.

A business to business company serving the Fortune 1000 redesigned their website and wanted to better leverage Google Analytics to assess performance.  Although GA had been installed for some time, data was only used informationally, not to drive site improvements.  They wanted to move from passive use of the Google Analytics tool to actively leveraging the data to improve their site.

Like most projects, when determining next steps, it is important to understand the key goals in order to provide the best outcome.  Although the company did not utilize their website for ecommerce, they were looking to generate additional revenue through improved web traffic and conversions.  They sold a wide range of products and needed visibility to how each specific category was performing.  The site contained interactive elements like videos and downloads to help inform and educate their audience.  They planned to expand these tools in the future.

Goal #1 - Track the conversions by product category and determine the impact of each interactive element on user behavior.  Also, identify how visitors navigate from the interactive tools to other pages to determine where they were going if they didn’t convert to a lead.

In addition, the company had multiple business owners and content contributors.  Many had very strong ideas about page layout and design that didn’t correspond with best practices.  The web team wanted to use analytics to better define optimal page layout and provide advice on the content and design that worked best.

Goal #2 - Determine the various page design and content elements that work best.

Once the goals were defined, we went to work with the web team.  Although the Google Analytics code was set up properly for standard reporting, determining how users interact with content like videos, buttons, downloads, outbound links and other interactive elements requires event tracking.  So the code was customized to include that feature.  This same customization is required for goal tracking.  By taking this step they now they had the ability to track video usage, white paper downloads, contact form submissions and many other key elements that helped them to better evaluate user activity and interest.   In addition, two additional reports help define the flow of users through the site and towards the goals.  The Visitor Flow shows the path a user took from page to page through your site while the Goal Flow show the user path as they progress through your funnel to that end goal.  Each report is helpful in determining if users are navigating the content as you expect them to.

They were now able to track conversions by product category and determine the effectiveness of their interactive tools.  But they still needed insight on which page elements performed the best.  So we implemented experiments.  The Google Analytics Content Experiments tool allows you to test different page elements against each other to determine which one performs most effectively.  For example, you can test the size and color of a contact us button or the page placement or name of a video.  This allowed them to test various elements and determine what users responded to the best.  After running numerous experiments they were able to develop a “control” page that served as the standard template for all business owners and content contributors.  Experiments helped them achieve goal # 2.

Although it didn’t happen overnight, implementing and executing Google Analytics helped the company improve their site, driving more conversions that translated into additional revenue.

InterEdge Marketing can help you set up and implement Google Analytics and make website improvements that translate into additional revenue.