In today’s digital world, no business can survive and grow without a website and social media presence.
Everything from increasing brand awareness and generating leads to gaining more customers and closing sales happens through various digital channels. With a major chunk of marketing activities happening online, businesses must measure the success and outcome of each activity and make sense of all the data collected with the help of analytics tools. Because planning any marketing activity without first understanding which strategy gives the best results for the business, is as good as shooting arrows in the dark. That is where Google Analytics works its magic!
What Is Google Analytics?
Google Analytics is a free tool by Google that collects and evaluates data from a website or application and analyses their performance. It can be easily integrated with other Google tools like Google Ads, Search Console, Tag Manager, and Trends, to generate real-time data that provides valuable insights on website performance. Some important information that Google Analytics provides is as follows:
- Number of website visitors
- The device most frequently used to access the website – mobile or desktop
- Website visitors' demographic information
- Website visitors’ locations
- Most popular webpages
- Number of visitors that convert into customers
- Website speed and which web pages take the most time to load
- Time spent on each webpage, etc.
Why is Google Analytics important for businesses?
Simply put, Google Analytics provides vital information about potential customers, their behaviour, and preferences, which can help businesses generate and convert more leads and make more profit. It also helps them improve the quality of the content that goes on the website and its overall performance. Here’s why businesses should train employees to use Google Analytics:
- It’s free
- Helps closely monitor customer behaviour online
- Helps track and better understand the latest trends in the industry
- Allows highly targeted marketing for better ROI and conversion
- Provides detailed information about the product, its popularity, usage, and related trends so businesses can modify it to meet customer demands
- Provides in-depth data on all marketing efforts to help businesses make necessary tweaks to get desired results
How can businesses make the best use of Google Analytics
Although a good proportion of businesses worldwide now use Google Analytics on their website, many are still unsure about its efficiency. While it may take a few tutorials to set up Google Analytics, once in place, it will surely help your business achieve all its marketing goals. Here are the basic steps involved in setting up Google Analytics on a business website:
- Universal Analytics (UA) Or Google Analytics 4 (GA4)
Google previously gave the option to choose either Universal GA or the new and more advanced GA4, based on your technical know-how and experience in using Google Analytics in the past. However, from 1st July 2023, businesses will compulsorily need to make the switch to GA4 as it will automatically replace Universal GA, which will be gradually shut down over the coming months. However, you should still be able to access your previously processed data in your Universal Analytics property for at least six months after July 1st. Just make sure you export all your historical reports during this time.
- Create Your Google Analytics Account
Log in to your free Gmail account and then go to the Create Account option from the Google Analytics webpage. Choose an account name, which is generally the name of your company. For location-specific domains, create an individual account for each domain so they can all have unique IDs. Next, enter your Property details which are your website, application, or blog links. Finally, enter your business information, and your GA account is ready once you click “Create.”
- Set Up Your Data Streams For Data Collection
Select the correct account and the correct property in the Admin dropdown menu before you set up a data stream to collect data from your site. Enter your website URL and name your data stream to enable data collection from the right source. If you want to measure additional metrics beyond the standard ones that are pre-selected, this is the step where you can do so by clicking on the Settings icon. Once you have created a stream, you will get a unique measurement ID and a unique stream ID.
- Add Analytics Tag To The Website
Next, you must retrieve the “G-” ID in the top right corner of the data stream page you created. This is your global site tag. Depending on the CMS your website is built on, you must now enter the “G-” ID in the relevant field in the backend. Your CMS will have a detailed guide on where to copy and paste this text. Alternatively, you can also use Google Tag Manager to set up and manage tags.
- Configure Your Data Setup
Use the “Configure” option on your GA dashboard to configure custom events, conversions, and audiences to suit your specific requirements. You can create custom events and conversions if your preferred options are not already set up.
- Review Your Setup
Once all the tags are in place and you have customised and configured your setup, wait for an hour to check the “real-time” report from the “Reports” section on the dashboard. It may take a day or two for the data related to customer behaviour and acquisition to be available, but you should be able to see “Active Users” within a few minutes of completing the setup.
Once you have GA4 set up and running, you will have all the valuable insights on your website performance and quality at your fingertips within no time!
Google Analytics is the only tool that businesses need to improve their online presence and achieve their marketing goals more swiftly and efficiently.
Do you need help in setting up Google Analytics and understanding how to make its best use for your business?
Visit Biztech, the official business and technology forum of Milton Keynes, and speak to our tech experts.
