Everything small business owners need to know about analytics
How to use data and analytics? Surveyeah’s guide walks you through the most important things to know.
As an online business owner you need data and analytics – but how to use them and what figures to follow? Surveyeah’s guide walks you through the most important things to know.
Much like search engine optimization, analytics are an important part of growing a business but it can feel like a confusing or even an overwhelming topic in the beginning. There seems to be so much to know about that it is hard to decide where to start.
That is why Surveyeah’s digital marketing team put together this analytics guide that walks you through the most important metrics and how to track them.
Analytics 101 – Where to start?
Which online metrics to follow depends a little bit on your industry, as well as the stage your business is in and what your goals look like.
A good starting point is to look at your business goals: what is it that you are trying to achieve? For sites monetized through Google ads, for example, the number of site visits is important. On the other hand, for businesses who rely heavily on email marketing, newsletter conversion is a key metric.
When you have determined your most important goals and relevant ways to measure success, start gathering data consistently. The most common sources are applications tracking website traffic, such as Google Analytics, and social media platforms’ own analytical tools.
Read More: Earn Money Without Lifting a Finger – Set Up Google AdSense
What to look at in Google Analytics?
Some figures, like website visits, are important for almost all online businesses. Google Analytics is one of the most popular tools to track your website’s performance.
Here are some ideas on what to follow and what they mean:
- Site visitstell how many people have visited your site over the last day, week or month.
- It’s important to separatethe total number of visitors and the number of individual visitors. The former figure is higher because it also counts the same person who pops by on a daily basis. The latter identifies how many differentvisitors you have had.
Use analytics to grow your business
In addition to visitor numbers, have a look at how people find you. This makes it easier for you to target the right people the right way in the future and grow traffic even more.
- Keywords that guide people to your site are a good source of information when building a search engine optimization strategy.
- Traffic sources (outside search engines) reveal where people find you, be it through social media, blogs or something else. When you know this, you can share your content on the relevant platforms.
How to track social media performance?
While Google Analytics is a great tool to track your website’s success, most social media platforms offer channel specific insights.
- Number of followers is a general metric that allows you to track your growth.
- Engagement rate tells how many of these followers actually engage with your content by commenting, liking or sharing. It is more important than follower figures, especially if you are monetizing your social media presence. Typically the engagement rate decreases when your follower numbers grow.
- Conversion keeps track of the number of followers who subscribe to your newsletter or buy your product.
Read More: Online Marketing Buzzwords You Need to Add to Your Everyday Vocabulary
Start analyzing the easy way
These ideas should get you started with following and tracking key metrics that are the most relevant to your business. Choose 2-3 figures to follow for each of your business goals and track information monthly.
Gathering information on a regular basis makes it easier to see your growth and figure out whether you are doing the right things to build your business.
Photo by Lukas Blazek on Unsplash