Using web analytics to improve sales

So your goal this year is to increase sales.

To achieve your goal, you need more customers interested in how you can solve their problem. You also need to convert more of these inquiries into leads that your sales team can close.

Before you initiate new marketing campaigns, take stock of what’s happening on your website today. Using web analytics to measure traffic to your website and engagement of your visitors with it’s content will improve your ability to generate leads, and convert those leads into sales.

What is web analytics?

Web analytics is the measurement, collection, analysis and reporting of Internet data for purposes of understanding and optimizing web usage. Simply put, it helps you assess what activities are driving traffic, which pages are generating leads, and where are your best sources for more sales.

There are a number companies that offer web analytics solutions, including Omniture, Coremetrics, Webtrends, and others. However the dominant player is Google Analytics.

Who should use it?

Whether you are a small business owner, or responsible for the sales and marketing of mid-sized company, Google Analytics could be right for your company. Why? In short, simplicity and costs.

Providers like Coremetrics and Omniture offer robust packages that furnish detailed analytical services. The challenge is their costs are high, and installation is time consuming. Google Analytics, because of the easy of installation and attractiveness of free, has become the dominant player with 55% of all websites now using them for web analytics.

Where does Google Analytics fit with your website?

The analytics provide information of what has happened. Where are your visitors coming from, what are they doing on your site? What is generating engagement, or is causing them to leave your website?

Think about how this tool helps you accomplish your sales goals. You will discover there are campaigns or activities should you increase, and some you should stop doing all together. You can also assess which pages on your website could use improvement. After reviewing the analytics, you be able to adjustments and track the improvements of your website’s performance.

Why should you undertake an analytics project?

If you don’t measure it, it’s just a hobby. 33% of all websites do not use any form of analytical tracking! Yes, keep an eye on the competition, but take the lead by staying focused on what’s working and continue to improve it on your website.

How do you go about implementing Google Analytics on your site?

Go to www.google.com/analytics and follow the steps towards free access. You will need to some information to complete the sign up. Does your site use multiple domains, query-strings, or any redirects? Take note of these items, however the guide will walk you through the steps you’ll need to take to set up the analytics.

Once you’ve completed the registration, you’ll be given a line of code to paste into the header of every page you want to track. As soon as that’s up on your site, the reporting will start appearing shortly.

Now you have the tools you need to begin answering questions about your website and improving it’s ability to build traffic, generate leads and convert sales.