What Can You Do With Data? 8 Tips.

What You Hear Me Say.

"Show me THE numbers."

"The numbers don't lie."

"Let the data make the decision."

For those of us who are in the Google Analytics world, we know what I'm talking about. I want to see THE numbers, not YOUR numbers. When the data is clean, it will not lie to us.

So, as a small business owner, what can I do with all of that data? Especially with the way GA4 feels after being in Universal Google Analytics for so long, it can be scary.

TL;DR = Google Analytics is a powerful tool for tracking website traffic and user behavior. It can help you optimize your website for speed, streamline efficiency, track traffic trends, set and track goals, and monitor user behavior on different devices. By using features such as annotations, goal tracking, and segmented reporting, you can gain valuable insights into your website's performance and make data-driven decisions to improve it.

First things first, let's clean up the data.

As a small business owner, it's important to remove IP addresses from the analytics data recorded on your website. By excluding internal traffic, the data will be free from any visits made by you or your company on the website.

Next, let's get to the segments. Google Analytics provides preset segments within your account, which can quickly and efficiently divide your analytics data by the group you choose.

Clean data feels good. Decisions can be made confidently.

Speed Matters.

Having a fast-loading website is critical for building user trust and engagement. Google has long emphasized the importance of website speed, and Google Analytics can provide valuable insights into your website's loading times.

However, it's important to note that the accuracy of the site speed report in Google Analytics may be unreliable at times. If you find that your website is loading slowly, it may be time for upgrades to improve the user experience.

No lie here. Google will penalize by the second, even millisecond. Learn CSS and how to read backend source code

Reports Are Handy.

Efficiency is crucial when it comes to managing Google Analytics. You can save time by setting preferences to receive top reports via email periodically, which is especially helpful for regularly monitoring specific aspects such as traffic and demographics.

With reports delivered straight to your inbox, you can access up-to-date data with ease. Google Analytics can send a wide range of data, enabling you to stay on top of your website's performance.

One of the most important reports I setup was one to alert me when 404 pageviews increase by 10% in a week. This tells me that I NEED to pay attention to something and FIX IT.

Leave breadcrumbs in the data.

The annotation feature in Google Analytics is important for providing context behind traffic changes, allowing you to leave notes on noteworthy events or marketing campaigns. It's available in both private and shared options.

Make a major change to your website? Annotations are a great way to remember when you see a dip or climb in traffic and need to verify the source quickly.

Goals are GOLD.

Google Analytics' goals feature enables you to track visitors' completion of specific tasks, such as watching a demo video or registering for an email list. This tool can also track specific behaviors, like scrolling to a particular point or staying on the page for more than two minutes.

Tracking goal completions can give your team insights into the effectiveness of your promotions.

Get used to doing it. Even if the goal is "Scrolled 75% of the page". The data are useful.

Mobile device err nah?

Mobile browsing is essential in today's digital world, affecting search engine ranking and website optimization. It is crucial to track the number of visitors coming to your website from mobile devices and what they're doing on your page.

This data can also help you understand your traffic better and make informed decisions about your website's mobile optimization.

I hear, "75% of our users are on a mobile device." Then get asked to optimize something with samples given on from a desktop PC.

History repeats itself.

Google Analytics provides historical traffic trend comparison that can be a powerful tool for eCommerce and online sales companies. It allows you to compare the success of current campaigns with previous years to see natural traffic growth or to prove campaign success.

The reporting feature enables easy recognition of traffic changes from new ad campaigns or website optimizations.

In conclusion.

Google Analytics is an essential tool for understanding and improving website performance. By regularly checking site speed, setting up goal tracking, using annotations, and analyzing traffic trends, businesses can gain valuable insights to optimize their online presence.

The platform also provides convenient features like automated reports and mobile device tracking. With the help of Google Analytics, businesses can make informed decisions that drive success and growth.

[Universal Google Analytics is going away very soon and we all have a lot of work to do with GA4. YouTube and LinkedIn Courses are great resources. Lets Get To Work.]

Or contact me and I'll help where I can.