Ever wonder how marketing decisions are made? Using a data-driven approach, this “Science of Marketing” blog series will break down the methodology behind the marketing madness. We’ll examine the strategy that accompanies the UX, design, copywriting, development, and analytics processes, all in order to maximize a company’s impact on its market.
With charts, graphs, percentages, and more, website analytics tools definitely seem scientific – but with so much information, how do you make sense of it all? And how does it fit into the bigger formula of a successful digital marketing strategy? Below are some of the best ways to use analytics to inform your business strategy.
Understand Your Users
You can’t make a marketing campaign or website that appeals to your customers if you don’t know what they want or how they act. Tools like Google Analytics give you critical insights into user behavior. At Brandography, whether we’re putting together a new design, creating a content marketing strategy, or planning for website development, understanding user behavior is the first step. Use Google Analytics to discover what your customers want and value by looking at metrics such as:
- Behavior flow
- Entrance and exit pages
- Most viewed pages
- Pages with the longest view time
- Pages with the highest bounce rate
- And much more
Identify Your Opportunities
Beyond just knowing how customers currently act and what they respond best to, you can start to see areas that need to be improved or successful aspects of your campaign that can be expanded.
Example 1: Seeing a High Bounce Rate
This metric is the percentage of people who leave your site after only visiting one page. If your site has high bounce rates, it may mean there’s an opportunity to put more interesting, eye-catching links on your pages to encourage users to look around. Or, if the bounce rates are high on mobile, it probably means there’s an opportunity to build a mobile site that’s easier to use, as this likely indicates a mobile UX design flaw.
Example 2: Striking Content Marketing Gold
Maybe your latest blog post really took off. You’re getting great engagement numbers and your traffic to that page is through the roof! You have the opportunity to leverage that content (and SEO) and build more credibility and authority on the subject. Consider follow up posts, or even a white paper that can be downloaded in exchange for providing an email address – now you’re providing helpful content and building your email marketing list at the same time.
Monitor Change Over Time
When you find and seize an opportunity, you must ensure that the results of your online marketing services meet your goals. Compare your metrics year-to-year, month-to-month, and week-to-week, but be aware of external factors like seasonal changes and events that can influence traffic and user behavior. Our analytics team can provide an easy-to-read weekly dashboard report to keep you up to date (don’t worry – we check it too!).
Review Overall Performance
As you better understand your customers, find new opportunities to reach them, and monitor the changes you make in response, you must review the overall performance of your campaign or website. Google Analytics provides some helpful ways to really dig in, such as:
- Event and goal tracking
- Automated reporting of your most important numbers
- Audience segmentation
- A/B and multivariate tests
- And more
If you feel overwhelmed with data, or are unsure how to interpret your metrics, Brandography is here to help! Our digital marketing experts can answer your questions and create the reports and recommendations you need. And, any time you work with our website design and development, SEO marketing, or advertising teams, you can rest assured that our data-driven approach is based in science so that you get great results. Connect with our web marketing agency today to learn more.
