Google Analytics for Small Business 101

If you ask a typical already-overwhelmed small business owner if they’d like to get started using Google Analytics, the typical response is wide-eyed fear, dreading tackling the mountains of data that Analytics can provide. Who’s got the time to learn new things when there’s work to be done? The reality is, Google Analytics will help make that work go much more efficiently and profitably, if you are willing to dive in and start using it in a focused, specific manner. Begin by asking the right questions: what are my goals, and what do I need to know to achieve them, and which of these website metrics can help me get there.

Understanding which metrics you need

While each business will present somewhat different needs, the more useful common needs follow.

• Total visits - Discovering how many visitors you get is a basic measurement of success, assuming they are targeted visitors. Take a look at both “unique” (first time) visitors, and total visits, which include returnees.
• Keyword phrases - Understanding which keyword phrases are driving traffic to your page is paramount. This data will help you know how to target your primary and secondary keywords.
• Popular pages - Which of your pages are receiving the most notice, and which aren’t!
• Visitors geo-location - Which countries are producing the most traffic for you?
• Referring pages - Which pages are sending you the most traffic? This could be from any number of sources, including affiliates, video, images, social media and more.
• Search engine traffic - Which search engines are delivering the most visitors.

Google Analytics advanced features that will help decipher the data

Three advanced features are incredibly useful with regards to deciphering and sorting the data.

Custom reports enables you to craft a version of Analytics that suits your business specifically. You pick out the information that’s important to you, and organize it any way you need to.

Advanced segmenting offers you a chance to view various segments of your traffic, like mobile or tablet traffic.

Intelligence events, much like Google Alerts, sends a notification your phone or email when anything significant occurs on your website, such as an up or down spike in traffic.

Don’t make the mistake of not using Google Analytics. Take the time to make it work for you!