Web analytics give you the ability to quantify vital information about your visitors and site performance that can then drive your future web design and marketing decisions.

But in order to use them effectively, you need a solid grasp of how to use all that data to your advantage.

●      Know What to Track

Not all web analytics are created equal. Knowing the number of visitors to a page may not be as valuable as knowing the number unique visitors that spent more than 1 minute on your site and view at least 3 pages.

Track information that shows you which pages are the most popular, which ones lead to additional clicks, and which ones ultimately result in conversions.

Also, observe where your visitors are coming from in order to determine which of your marketing efforts are most effective and which ones need to be tweaked.

●      Learn From Your Data

Pages with high bounce rates may indicate a problem either on the page itself or with the process that brings visitors to the page. It could be a keyword problem, a follow-through problem, or a clarity problem.

Let the data guide you to problem areas in order to determine where your conversion roadblocks are.

●     Commit to Testing

A continuous testing program goes hand in glove with web analytics. Testing allows you to take the information you’ve gathered from your analytics program and determine how to change your design in order to change those numbers.

Without testing, you best efforts will be merely guesswork.

Strategic tests, however, can show you which elements are keeping your conversion rates low and how to change them in order to elicit better customer responses. Only through testing can you accurately identify what your customers really want.

●      Track Again

Even the best web analytics analysis can only affect your online marketing program as it is right now. That means that as the market, your company, and your customers change over time, your conversion rate will change as well.

By regularly tracking your data, you can make small tweaks that minimally affect the overall user experience rather than implementing huge redesigns that may leave customers feeling disoriented.

There are as many web analytics and tools out there as there are people to use them. Learn which ones work best for you and which ones show you the data that will best help you serve your customers, and your conversion rates will respond accordingly.

Web analytics is a field that needs to concern you as a small business owner.

This is information that helps you to determine not only the relative health of your website, but also points out which portions of your site are highly productive and which ones are dead or dying, and either are in need of rehabilitation or excision.

Even though web analytics does give you the opportunity to make tremendous improvements to your website, keep in mind that it is only a tool which can provide you with information and not a machine that can give you the correct course of action.

The best way for you to get the most mileage out of your web analytics is to take all of the raw data and then analyze it carefully with a series of questions. They do not have to be asked in any definite order, but be sure that you can reach clear answers, or else you might be in danger of reaching ill-informed conclusions and altering your site to no avail.

• Is there another plausible explanation for poor performance of different portions of the website?
• Are any of the positive results due to market or seasonal fluctuations?
• Are the results consistent with web analytics data from previous months and years?
• What discernible trends can clearly be shown from the web analytics data?
• Is insufficient or misdirected web design potentially causing poor results?

Several things need to become apparent. First, web analytics cannot answer all of these questions; but it can give you good clues and start you in the right direction. Second, seasonal and yearly fluctuations need to be kept in mind as explanations for either really good or really poor performance. Third, the trend is your friend. Look to see what the trends in your data are telling you about the behavior of your visitors.

More than likely, web analytics data will serve as a springboard for further investigation on your part. Even when the trend is good, you still need to be proactive. Can your great site be tweaked to become even better? I can’t speak for your website, but I know that for our website the answer is always yes.

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Website Analytics: Measuring Your Success

Website Analytics + Conversion Optimization  … The Link

I wish I could tell you that I won that contest, but I can’t.  What I did gain, though, is a great gauge of my progress.

Website analytics will do the same for your online business.  Though they won’t necessarily help you win against your competition, they’ll give you the tools you need to see and accelerate your growth.  Today, we’re going to look at where to find analytics programs and how to use their results.

Get Started with a Free Analytics Toolkit

There are quite a number of free website analytics toolkits available for you.  You can install open source packages on your server (like Piwik) or use search engine packages (Google Analytics, Yahoo! Analytics).

There are literally dozens of analytics packages available.  Spend some time reading reviews and find one that’s both detailed and easy for you to use.

Some Statistics to Monitor

Once you have installed a website analytics program, start monitoring the information it gives you.  There are several statistics that are particularly useful for increasing your conversion rate.

• The bounce rate shows you pages that people leave quickly.  This is useful for identifying obstacles on the conversion path.
• The keywords stats show you what search engine phrases and words are leading people to your site.  As much as you can, make sure that your product descriptions match these keywords closely.
• Your visitor statistics lets you know what computers and browsers visit your site, allowing you to make sure your design and programming display correctly on the browsers that matter.
• The content stats tell you what pages are most popular on your site.  If you’re selling products, this can help you decide what items to feature on your home page.

There are many other statistics that you can use to monitor your website and to improve it.  You can get started with a website analytics package for free.  Within weeks you’ll be able to see useful trends in the data and begin making adjustments to give your visitors what they’re looking for.  Start marking the wall today; see your site’s growth in detail.

Related Articles:

PIWIK – Open Source Web Analytics

Five Best Free Web Analytics Tools

Choosing an Effective Web Analytics Package

Determine Key Performance Indicators

Every website analytics package should include some standard reports including page views, unique visitors, domains, and entry/exit pages. Beyond that, determine which service is the most capable of giving you actionable insights into improving your website. Visits to action, conversion rates, and task completion rates all give a more complete picture of user behavior than simple page hits or visitors per day.

Determine the Information You Need

Once you know your key performance indicators, you can evaluate various types of website analytics packages to determine which ones can perform the functions you need. Take a look at packages from several different categories to make sure you’re choosing one that can best meet your performance goals.

Free packages

While these can seem enticing at first glance, remember that free services often come with fewer perks and may not meet all your analytics expectations, especially as your business grows. Consider whether the option offers support, can be scaled to the size of your business, and offers flexible solutions.

Paid packages

You may be on a tight budget, but determine whether the package under consideration meets your analytics goals and can provide the key performance indicators you place highest value on. Even if a package costs a little more, it may be worth it in terms of the value it provides to your business.

Hosted packages

These solutions often come with a low price tag initially, but remember that you’ll be paying monthly fees. A hosted solution may be worth it, especially for the small business on a tight budget, especially if they can offer you expertise and excellent support.

Non-hosted packages

The biggest drawback for this option is that your business must maintain an employee who can operate and manage the tool. For small businesses, this can be cost-prohibitive. If you already have someone on staff with the know-how, however, this may be an option you want to consider.

Getting Help

As you’re installing your analytics package and getting used to the way it operates, you may need  a support person or team that can answer questions and help troubleshoot problems. If you’ve purchased an analytics solution, you can usually add installation and operating support for an additional fee.

Remember that cost should not be your most important consideration when choosing a website analytics package. It is important to set a budget, but at the same time, you need a solution that give you the insights you need to improve your conversion rate and keep people coming back to your site.

Additional Resources:

Are You Using your Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) to Fine Tune Your Website

Do You Know Your Web Analytics Jargon?

The Five Best Free Analytics Tools

How do I Determine the KPIs for my website?

Start by asking questions about your business.  What is the purpose of your website?  What do you want visitors to do while they are there?  What determines a successful visit to your site?  The answers to these questions (e-commerce, make a purchase, a completed sale) will show you what you should be measuring.  Web analytics tools can provide hundreds of details about your site, including visitors per day, pages viewed, time on page, etc., but not all of these pieces of information will help you improve your website.  Instead, focus on the indicators that show you whether your website accomplishes key business goals.

What KPIs Can Help Me Best Evaluate My Business?

Before choosing your top KPIs, remember that web analytics cannot always measure success in a single visit.  A visitor might view your site three or four times over the course of several days before taking the desired action.  This does not mean the first two or three times, the visitor came to your site, were unsuccessful.  Instead, it means that your website did its job by sticking in the viewer’s mind and enticing him to return, which ultimately resulted in a sale.  The more you can measure value over time rather than just single visit analysis, the greater understanding you will have of whether your website successfully supports your business objectives.  Below are examples of key performance indicators that speak volumes about your operational success:

• Conversion Rates—by placing the focus on whether your objectives are being met or not, you have a solid indication of how the average viewer interacts with your site.
• Task Completion Rate—this determines whether each viewer found what he was looking for on your site, even if he did not make a purchase (checking prices, finding contact information, seeking employment opportunities).
• Visitor Loyalty—Great for non-commercial sites, loyalty measurements show how often a person returns to your site.
• Visits to Action—how many visits do people make on average before they take the desired action on your site?  This can be a great indicator of how well your marketing campaign is working.

While there are many more key performance indicators available on most web analytics programs, these few will help you focus your study on true outcome based performance markers.

Additional Resources:

Five Best Free  Analytics Tools

Web Analytics