Why Google Analytics Is The 51st Shade of Grey

Consumers come in all sizes and shapes. People come from all walks of life. They talk, look, and think differently. As such, they also approach buying decisions differently. Some are driven by emotion; others make objective, fact-based decisions; still others make impulsive ones. One-size marketing solutions don’t fit all. It’s like playing pin the tail on the donkey. In a dizzy, disoriented state, you may hit the target for some but it’s more likely you’re missing the mark.

The good news is as marketers in the Anno Domini era, we no longer have to rely on gut instinct and hypotheticals, everything we do can be measured, analyzed and optimized. That is good not only for us, but also for our customers. There are many different ways to access analytics. The most-used analytics platform currently available is Google Analytics which is what we will be examining.

But just because there are great tools like Google Analytics at your disposal does not mean you are currently utilizing those analytics to the fullest of their capabilities. Want to know how to make the most of the data available to you so you can capitalize on customer actions and behaviors? Follow these simple tips for ways to enhance your Google Analytics experience.

Related: Why Loyalty Programs for Science & Healthcare Just Make Sense

Google Analytics Reports

With the Google Analytics Reporting functionality, you can quickly see users, pageviews, session duration, bounce rate and more over a specific amount of time. From this tab, you can get the greatest overview of how your website has done over a large amount of time. Pushing something big on your website and want to see how your customers respond? From the Reporting tab under Overview, click Hourly and you will be able to track how many clicks your site received by the hour. Want to track in real time? On the left hand side of the page, click Real-Time and then Overview and you can see how many visitors are actively on your site, what country they are from and what your Top Active Pages are.

Google Analytics Dashboards

Dashboards are a great tool that allow you to truly customize what information you want to view quickly, all in one location. Setting up a dashboard allows you to view information like Pageviews, Sessions, Users, Pageviews by Country as well as Sessions by Device, all in one place.

Is your website responsive? Sessions by Device is a great way to see how your customers are viewing your website, whether on mobile, desktop or tablet.

Users Flow

Curious to see how people are clicking through your website and what pages they drop off on? Click the Reporting tab at the top, then click Users Flow on the left column of the page. Here you will be able to see what country your viewers are in and on what page they enter your site. From here you can deep dive as far as you are interested as to people’s behaviors on your site. This page can be incredibly helpful if you are having a large amount of drop-offs on one particular page. This could be your indicator that something on that page with the most amount of drop-offs needs to be altered.

Related: The Benefits of Customer Surveys in Rewards Programs … Is It Really That Simple?

Demographics

With Demographics, you can really get a handle on who your customers are. This can be seen with options to view age, gender, specific buying categories and more. Once you can pinpoint your target audience, you can continue to craft and fine tune your message to reach that specific group of people.

By utilizing tools such as Google Analytics, you are not only helping your business, you are helping your customers have the best experience possible with your website and your product. In-house analytics are always best, but utilizing Google Analytics is a great option that is immediately at your disposal.

We would love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below.

DBG Loyalty is a leading innovator in loyalty and rewards marketing. DBG was founded in 2002 because the industry was looking for a trusted technology leader who could develop and establish consumer loyalty programs. DBG has customer relationships which span from the time of inception.

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Jamie Lake

With over 15 years of experience, Jamie combines client management, technology and marketing skills to great effect for our clients. Jamie is responsible for DBG Loyalty’s continued growth, overseeing client, partner, and new business relationships throughout the U.S. and establishing new service offerings aligned with the company’s vision and clients’ needs. Jamie brings to DBG Loyalty experience in agency, brand strategy, and account management. She has worked with a variety of industries, including consumer goods, automotive, financial services, retail, restaurant, hotel/leisure, gaming, and business to business.