By Alison Flangel

In our previous blog, Google Analytics for Your Business Website , we explored the basics of Google Analytics. In this article, we are going to dive into how using Google Analytics data can help you to complete your business goals.

Step 1 = Outline Goals
It is important to outline goals in order to clearly target what you are trying to achieve. Without an outline, the process of completing goals can get confusing and muddy. One great method of outlining goals is using the SMART goal method. Check out our recent blog post for more information on how to create your own SMART goals .

Step 2 = Ask Questions
Google Analytics provides an abundance of data about your business. It is important when planning out a goal to think about what types of data you need to support your intention. There are four main questions that are important to ask …

  1. Reach: Who is your audience – What are people searching for? How do they find you online?
  2. Convert: Do leads become customers – Which channels drive conversions? What calls-to-action drive conversions?
  3. Engage: Can visitors find answers – What do people do once they find out about your business? How do people interact with you online?
  4. Sustain: Are customers loyal – Do people continue to engage with your business online? Do you respond quickly to customer inquiries?
    Step 3 = View Reports
    This step involves looking at all of your Google Analytics data, and determining how you can find the answers to your questions from step 2. Without a plan of how to find the data you need, you will likely get overwhelmed. There are a few different types of reports that you can drawinformation from:
  • Realtime = This type of report allows you in real time to monitor site traffic from new content that you post. This allows you to watch goal completions as you try out different changes to your site.
  • Acquisition = Acquisition reports allows you to understand how visitors arrive or your site. For example) mobile app, website, tablet, etc…
  • Engagement = This report gives you information on what consumers are doing on your site. Engagement reports show you data on how long sessions are, the pages and screens customers have open, and the conversions that individuals use.
  • Monetization = Measures the amount of revenue that your business generates. This includes seeing how users interact with various items, and measuring purchase and advertising funnels.
  • Demographics = Demographics tell you the types of people who are visiting your side. Information is organized by age, location, gender, and language.
  • Retention = the retention report measures the loyalty of your customer base. In other words, how frequently and for how long do people engage in with your site after their initial visit.