10 Reasons Why Your Business NEEDS to be using Google Analytics

The benefits of Google Analytics in 2020 are profound; here’s why.

Did you know that there are 3,803 pieces to the LEGO Death Star? Seriously; 3,803 tiny blocks, which, when brought together, build an incredible model.

You’re wondering what a LEGO Death Star has to do with Google Analytics, right? 

We’re getting there, we promise. 

Before we dive in, however, I want you to imagine combining those 3,803 individual components without an instruction manual. 

Do you think you could do it?

Online marketing without Google Analytics is like building a LEGO Death Star without the instruction manual. 

There are so many components to understanding and optimizing a digital marketing campaign such as: 

• bounce rate
• conversion rate
• traffic channels
• user experience

…and so on.

All of these components carry with them their own deeper parts. In the end, you’re left not with 3,803 blocks, but with millions of pieces to the puzzle that is your digital marketing strategy. 

Luckily, Google Analytics is here to act as your digital marketing instruction manual!

WHAT IS GOOGLE ANALYTICS?

Google Analytics is a free web analytics tool offered by Google. According to Google, 

“Google Analytics works by including a block of JavaScript code on pages on your website. When users of your website view a page, this JavaScript code references a JavaScript file, which executes the tracking operation for Analytics. The tracking operation retrieves data about the page request through various means. It sends this information to the Analytics server via a list of parameters attached to a single-pixel image request.” 

Think of Google Analytics as a security system; it sets up cameras on your website to track activity. Those cameras send the footage to a central location where it can all be analyzed. 

That central location is a comprehensive site, Google Analytics, where you can dig into your data.

Google Analytics is loaded with information, and you should take the time to play with it and discover all it has to offer. The basics are what Google calls the “ABCs.” 

Those are Acquisitions, Behaviors, and Conversions. 

ACQUISITIONS shows you where your visitors were directly before they visited your website

 Social media, Pay Per Click ads, search engines; there are so many different ways visitors gain access to your site. 

Understanding where customers are coming from is key to building an effective digital marketing campaign.

BEHAVIORS shows you what visitors are doing once they reach your site. 

You have 1,000 visitors a day, but only five sales. Why? Are people immediately clicking out of your site? Are they trying to buy but unable to figure it out? Or are they visiting your website to read your awesome blog posts? 

Understanding the behavior of your customers allows you to know how to structure your site to maximize sales.

CONVERSIONS show you how people convert on your website. What pathways are they taking before buying a product, where did they start from, what pages did they convert on the most? 

Conversions are what you want from your site; you have to understand how they’re happening.

With these basic abilities and endless tools, Google Analytics is arguably the best way to understand your website’s user journey and conversion funnel. 

As Google continues to add more features to the product, Google Analytics is only getting better. Today’s version of Google Analytics is the best yet, which is part of the reason now, more than ever, you should be using the tool. 

But there’s more to it than just modernity! With that in mind, here are ten reasons you should start using Google Analytics TODAY!

10 Reasons Your Business Needs to Be Using Google Analytics

1. YOU NEED DATA (and Google Analytics provides it!)

Data drives business. Numbers influence almost every good business decision, and there’s a reason for that. 

Like we said earlier, data is like your online marketing instruction manual. The data directs you; it shows you the lighted path to sales success. 

You can have all the necessary pieces for success: a great product, engaging content, a smooth site, positive reviews, etc – but if you don’t put those pieces together correctly, you aren’t going to be successful. 

You put those pieces together with data, and with Google Analytics, you get data.

2. UNDERSTAND HOW VISITORS INTERACT WITH YOUR SITE (and turn them into customers!)

Do you know how much thought goes into the design of a grocery store? 

The proper layout corresponds to higher sales. That’s why there’s always gum and candy and soda at the checkout. That’s why you enter into the produce section, and why more desirable items are shelved at eye level.

It all comes together to create the best situation for sales success.

A website, in the end, is just an online store. Grocery stores are designed the way they are because the designers understand, and the data proves that this layout leads to higher sales. The design of a grocery store, however, changes, and the design of your website should be the same.

Google Analytics shows how users interact with your website, allowing you to structure things around that interaction and build the perfect environment to foster sales.

Your visitors scroll over images frequently? Move those images to the front to grab attention and hold visitors to your site, just like the colorful fruits and vegetables that greet you when you enter a grocery store. 

Are customers clicking on the “BUY NOW” button in the middle of the screen or the “CONTACT US” button in the main nav?

Great, make it bigger!

 Just like the eye-level products, this area of the screen is drawing attention, take advantage of that! By using interaction data provided by Google Analytics, you can maximize the effectiveness of your digital space.

3. DETERMINE YOUR MOST EFFECTIVE MARKETING CHANNEL (and use it!)

Social media, email marketing, pay per click; which of your channels is leading people to your website? Google Analytics tells you where people are coming to you from, allowing you to take that channel and expand upon it.

Why pay for PPC ads when all of your visitors are coming to you through your social media accounts? 

Understanding the path visitors take to visit your website helps you streamline said way and bring in more visitors, but it also has the potential to just straight up save you money. 

Who says no to that?

4. ANALYZE COSTS (and cut the fat!)

Did you say you don’t want to save money? If you did, don’t read this part, because Google Analytics WILL save your business money. 

It’s called the cost analysis report, and it automatically compares ad cost and revenue between your paid advertising channels. This works for paid advertising outside of your Google Ads, which use their tool called Google Ads Reports.

When you understand where your money is going, and how that money is helping your business, you’re able to re-route what isn’t working and assure that your dollars work for you!

5. DISCOVER VALUABLE ASSETS ON YOUR WEBSITE (some pages are better than others!)

Some pages are just better than others.

Your home page is likely going to have the most traffic, but where are people going from there? Which pages are leading to sales, and which pages are leading to visitors leaving your site? G

Google Analytics shows you which pages are working for you, which pages need a redesign, and which pages might need to be ditched altogether.

6. TRACK GOALS AND CONVERSIONS (are you hitting the mark?)

Every time a visitor reaches your site, you want them to perform a specific action. 

That desired action is a conversion, and getting your visitors to perform that action is your goal.

There may be more than one desired action on your website. In the end, your goal is always conversion in the monetary sense (a sale), but returning customers reading a blog post, for example, could be a goal fulfilled. 

Google Analytics allows you to assign different objectives, or goals, to your site and provides data showing how and if these goals are being achieved. 

As Google will tell you, 

“Without this information [goals], it’s almost impossible to evaluate the effectiveness of your online business and marketing campaigns.”

7. INTEGRATE YOUR SYSTEMS (all in one vs. one in all)

Are you already using a data analysis tool? If you are, the chances are high that you’re using more than one. A business owner could find themself buried in software. With Google Analytics, everything is in one place!

Data collection from several platforms congregates at your home page with Google Analytics. It’s like having a toolbox, rather than an individual bag for your screwdriver, hammer, drill, and nails scattered around your garage.

8. UNDERSTAND YOUR AUDIENCE (this is all for them, in the end!)

You can’t market effectively if you don’t know who you’re marketing to. 

What are these people doing to find you, what do they want from you, and why are they buying from you? It’s the ABC’s we talked about earlier! 

Have you ever wondered what the demographics of your site are? Age and gender are two key data points you get with Google Analytics. Wondering if your visitors are into sports, or maybe they’re more interested in technology?

Google Analytics covers those data points. Are your visitors using mobile devices to visit your online store, or are they sitting at a desk, on a computer? Google Analytics covers all of these awesome things, these critical components of your audience. 

Think of the difference between these two potential customers. You think your site is attractive to middle-aged mothers who enjoy yoga and access your website from their work computers during their lunch break. 

However, Google Analytics data shows that your audience is composed of men aged 18-25 who are into sports cars and are accessing your site on their phones during class. 

The point is, you could be marketing to the wrong audience and not know it. 

Google Analytics shows you exactly who your audience is, and gives you the power to adjust your brand to fit that audience.

9. UNDERSTAND THE MARKET AND IMPROVE SEO PERFORMANCE (and your performance within that market.)

A critical component of a successful digital presence is understanding your competition’s business; it’s just as important as understanding your own business! 

Knowing where you fit in your market allows you to understand where you can improve and what to keep focusing on to maintain your position.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) pushes your business to the front of search results. Good SEO means more potential customers visiting your landing pages regularly. 

There are lots of reasons to track competition, but SEO might be the most important. 

Which competitors appear above your site on search engines, and what keywords are they using?

Better placement on an online search leads to better results for your business. To jump ahead, you have to use SEO, and to use SEO; you must understand your market.

10. IT’S FREE (seriously, FREE!!!)

Have you ever gotten such a good deal on something that you were worried that somebody was going to arrest you as you walked out of the store? It felt too good to be true. It felt like you stole something. 

That’s what it feels like using Google Analytics.

Where’s the paywall, when does the free trial end? The user interface is so smooth and intuitive, the tools and features are so accurate, useful, and (literally) automatic. 

Everything is customized to your business, your website, your campaigns, and your audience.

Google Analytics feels like a thousand dollar piece of software. But you got it for free.

All of these capabilities, all of these possibilities for your business, are free for you, us, and anybody else who wants to improve their business with the power of data!

Why Google Analytics Matters To Your Business in The New Digital World

The digital space is more competitive than ever.

The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the transition to digital, forcing businesses to operate online for significant periods. A great way to stay ahead of the curve and beat out the competition is by understanding your business to its core. 

There is always room for improvement; you can always sell more. If you haven’t checked out your website’s data, DO IT! 

There is money in those numbers; in many cases, there’s a LOT of money in those numbers, and Google Analytics is FREE – meaning all of that money is immediate profit.

You don’t give up anything by switching to Google Analytics, not even your old data analysis software. 

Everything can be integrated and everything can be used. 

When times get tough, Google Analytics can be a lifesaver. Providing real-time, live data on your ROI (return on investment) means you can instantly save money. 

Beyond money, though, a data-driven business in a data-driven world is a successful business. 

That’s the goal, and that’s what Google Analytics can bring to you.

IN CONCLUSION…

There are so many reasons your business should be using Google Analytics, so why aren’t you?

If you’re ready for effective marketing, better conversions, and more substantial profits, click here and discover all that Google Analytics has to offer. 

And hey, if you need help, we at Great Big Digital did build that LEGO Death Star… let us help you develop your digital marketing campaign.