Website analytics gives you valuable data about your website visitors. It is the foundation for measuring what works and what doesn’t in generating leads. Website analytics helps you improve your website’s performance and achieve better business results.
But many companies have yet to learn the importance of website analytics and how to use it to improve their business. Are you one of them?
Here are 4 major mistakes many companies make with website analytics.
#1 Not Having Website Analytics Installed
Our own research from 2015 showed that up to 46% of B2B companies didn't have Google Analytics installed on their website. Another research from 2016 of our own, that included 1500+ B2B exhibitors at international trade shows, showed that 12% - 47% didn't have Google Analytics installed.
Without using real website analytics data, you don't have the evidence for making profitable marketing decisions. Without analytics you don’t know:
- what your website visitors are doing on your website, e.g. whether they're reading your brochures or which buttons they're clicking
- which pages they visit the most, e.g. do they visit your product pages and how much time do they spend on it
- how to help them accomplish their tasks, such as getting your contact information, learning about your new service, etc.
Solution?
You can setup Google Analytics yourself. Google's support section describes how to do it.
If you don't have the time or the desire to learn how to set it up, you can always hire Logit specialists to set up your Google Analytics account.
Google Analytics First-Time Setup Service#2 Working with Bad (or Even Default) Configuration
Even if you have website analytics installed, has anyone adapted it to the needs of your particular situation?
Having default configuration means that Google Analytics is not aligned with your particular situation and your needs. You cannot make good business decisions without having properly configured Google Analytics.
Google Analytics’ default or bad configuration provides only a fraction of value that you could gain if you configured Google Analytics correctly. You could be losing valuable insights, such as:
- where your website is losing customers, e.g. whether your website content drives visitors away from your product pages
- how often do your website visitors perform a desired action e.g. send an inquiry or download a brochure
- which sources bring you the most customer inquiries / newsletter signups, for example sources such as paid advertising, search engine, social media
- is your advertising profitable or not. For example, you'll want to know whether the 1000 € you're spending on advertising generates profit or loss.
Solution?
Learn how to configure Google Analytics. Google's support section has instructional materials for that too.
#3 Nobody Is Looking at the Data Because It's Complex
With website analytics properly configured, there will still be hundreds of reports to look at. Even if you’re overwhelmed with data when you log into Google Analytics, don't choose to just ignore the data and never look at it again. Data is what helps you make smart decisions.
Depending on the type of your business, you don’t need all the reports there are in Google Analytics. For example, a B2B company doesn't need eCommerce reports.
Take a look at our Slideshare presentation of 10 essential Google analytics reports important for B2B companies. These 10 reports are something that you’ll want to be informed about.
Solution?
Visit Google's support section to learn how to configure Google Analytics to receive an automated emails with simple reports about the performance of your website.
#4 Making Important Decisions Using Irrelevant Data
Your decisions should be based on relevant Google Analytics data, something called key performance indicators (KPIs). A KPI is an important measurable value that shows you how effective your activities are in achieving your business objectives.
For example, you wouldn’t want to base your future advertising activities on data such as the number of clicks on a certain ad. Instead you need to look at how much profit that particular ad brought. Website analytics shows you which of your marketing activites are profitable and which ones aren't. It is a foundation for smart budgeting.
Solution?
Visit Google's support section to learn how to set up a visual Dashboard where you'll see only the important data in one place, at a glance.
Want specialists to configure Google Analytics to suit your business' needs? Consider our Google Analytics Audit service.
Google Analytics Audit Service