What is Google Analytics and Why is it Important

Google Analytics   is a free analytic tool offered by Google, and in basic terms, it is used to show the visitors of your website. For example, you have an online clothing store and you want to know how many people visit your website in a particular month. Google Analytics will help you by providing this data, and other important types of data, like their geographical location, their devices, their age and much more.

What Does Google Analytics Do?

Google Analytics offers website data about the visitors and their behaviour which can be used to bring about the changes in the marketing strategy. There are many reasons why Google Analytics should be the first choice of preference.

• Measure your website’s performance
• See if your marketing efforts are working
• Which type of content to create or products to list on your website
• Divide users into different segments (like age, gender, country, device, etc.)
• Optimise website pages to boost conversions

Why should Google Analytics be the first on your list

1. It is FREE!

You might have heard the saying ”there is nothing free in life”, but this saying does not apply to Google Analytics. Google does not charge a single penny for using this product. This is completely and 100% free and there are no hidden charges. It is also free for lifetime. Google Analytics provides you with the maximum amount of information and data, which help you maximise your website’s performance.

2. Automatically Collects Data

Google Analytics does all the work and reduces the time required to put all the data into segmented documents or spreadsheets. Majority of the users of Google Analytics set up a monthly report cycle which they receive via email, there is also the option to access the information at any time, allowing you to implement the changes and strategies for better performance of the website.

3. Custom Reports

Google Analytics offers you the choice of choosing from many report templates, or if that does not suit your preference, you can build your own customised report. You can choose the metrics which you want to be displayed in the report. Recommended Read : Zero Advertising Social Media Marketing – Facts, Myths & The Honest Truth

4. Integration with Other Tools

Google Analytics has a clean and easy-to-use dashboard, like all the other Google services. It is not limited to just desktop or laptop, it can be accessed on mobile devices and tablets, through the app which can be downloaded from the Google Play Store. It can be integrated with Google AdWords, which basically gives you two powerful tools working together to provide the best actionable insights. You can use Google Analytics with all your devices to easily implement data to other well known Google products as well.

5. Measure Internal Site Search

Site search reveals what potential customers are looking for, after arriving on your website by providing insights to what people are searching for on your website. This shows the areas having a growth opportunity. Having a clear knowledge of this information, you can make all the necessary changes to your website’s navigation and product pages. This helps in increasing the usability of your website by making the website more user-friendly and also increasing the performance of your website.

6. Understanding Why Visitors Are Bouncing Off Your Website

Bounce Rate is the number of visitors who leave your website only after visiting one page. This is one of the most important metrics because it tells about the visitors who come to the website but could not find what they were looking for. A high bounce rate requires immediate attention to identify the reason and make changes so that the bounce rate is kept at the minimum value possible. One of the most common reasons for a high bounce rate could be that your website is very complex to navigate or it is very slow. Another reason could be that the site is not attractive enough for the visitor to keep on exploring the site. The detailed report on bounce rate gives ways and means to reduce the bounce rate of the website.

7. To Gain Knowledge of the Age, Gender, Interest, Device and Location of Your Audience

With the help of Google Analytics, you can reveal much valuable data regarding the audience which determines the channels which drive the most traffic to the website. Audience section in analytics provides all the information about the people who visit your website like their age, gender, devices, location and interests. It also provides the information about how the visitors were driven to your website.

8. To understand which Social Media platforms to target

Social media platforms are one of the best methods which is proven to drive a lot of traffic and engage potential customers. Google Analytics gives you the access to view which platforms drive visitors to your site and how much percentage each platform takes up. This helps in choosing the best platform to drive in traffic to the website by advertising to the customers.

9. To understand what kind of content you should write

In today’s world and life, content is king. If and when content is created correctly, it has the potential to get you more traffic and potential users and increase the ranking of your website on search engines. Many businesses write blogs, create interesting infographics and post questions and answers on FAQ pages. Content that is easy to understand and relevant to the customer is important for the user experience. Google Analytics helps you to keep a track of all the content that receives views and shares. With this data, you can enhance the top viewed blogs so that they appeal to the customers in a more productive manner. Google Analytics generates a breakdown of the page views each of your blog posts receive. You can rework on the top performing blog in order to generate more traffic.

10. To check if you are achieving ‘Goals’

Google Analytics helps you track the goals achieved, which is helpful in tracking the growth and progress of the business. A number of goals can be assigned, which help in keeping a track of the customer’s journey based on their actions. The goals can be of different types, like making a purchase, subscribing to newsletters, or requesting a quote, booking a demo, etc. If a new visitor arrives at the landing page of your website, and subscribes to the newsletter with their email address, they just completed a goal set by you. Google Analytics can prove to be your best ally in the world of online marketing and website ownership. The best factor is that it is FREE. Get an analytics account and get on sailing the high seas of the online world. We Think North will help you with the journey of betting your brand on the high charts. Just drop us a mail regarding your query and we will get back to you with the answers.