As websites and mobile apps take over the marketing space, understanding your digital data is crucial to a successful marketing strategy. Analyzing data can feel overwhelming, but taking advantage of website analytics and reporting can help you put this valuable information to good use.
What is Digital Analytics?
Digital analytics refers to the process of collecting and analyzing quantitative measurements regarding website or mobile application data. This data includes the number of people visiting your website, the amount of time a user spends in your mobile app, where your users are located, and more. A digital analytics service will summarize your data into a format that comprehensively explains trends, successes, and failures in your digital marketing strategy.
Why is Digital Analytics Beneficial?
1. Provides insight into your platform’s overall traffic and any potential trends in traffic.
Not only do digital analytics tools calculate the number of users viewing your platforms, but it tracks when those users view your platforms. You can determine whether there’s a certain time of the year, month, or even day that your platforms receive more traffic. These trends in your data can predict when creating online campaigns, updating your site, or introducing new content could be the most successful.
2. Helps determine what is and is not working.
Digital analytics allow you to view a real-time analysis of what your users do and don’t like. For example, if your analytics data shows that users spend minimal time on your website’s “About” page, it can be a sign that you may need to update the user experience or design of that page. Similarly, if your analytics show that most of your website’s visitors click on a YouTube video embedded on the homepage, it may be beneficial to add more video content to your site and your marketing plan.
3. Provides a guideline for measurable and attainable goals.
The creation of well-defined goals is a crucial part of a successful marketing strategy. With the quantitative data provided by digital analytics, you can create specific and measurable goals for your platforms. If you want to increase traffic to your website, you can set a goal to gain 50 more website visitors in the next month. Your team can track that goal through analytics. Working toward a quantifiable goal rather than a vague objective makes it easier to measure and achieve success.
4. Allows you to further define your audience.
Website and mobile app analytics collect demographic information regarding your digital audience, which can help you hone your keywords, designs, or campaigns to best satisfy and interest your target market.
5. Provides quick and easy feedback for the efficient use of online platforms.
One of the other benefits of using digital analytics is access to immediate and extensive feedback on your platforms. When you introduce a new page to your website, the analytics can explain almost immediately how the content was received by your audience. Adapting to your audience’s feedback can help increase the success and efficiency of your business’s platforms.
How Can I Access Analytics?
There are several digital or website analytic tools you can use to access your data. The most popular is Google Analytics. The application was recently updated to Google Analytics 4 (GA4), and this version includes even more tools for understanding your data.
What are Google Analytics 4’s Key Features?
1. Provides data from the entirety of your user’s journey.
Many analytics tools, including previous versions of Google Analytics, solely analyze the steps users take to reach your platforms. GA4, however, also records the actions a user takes once they have reached the platform. GA4’s analytics include engagement, conversion rates, applicable e-commerce information, and other data from later in the user journey.
2. Comprehensively provides data from both websites and mobile applications.
Not only does GA4 collect all analytics from your website and app in one location, but it can also track an individual user’s journey between the different platforms. If a user started on your website and clicked the link to open your associated application, GA4 will track this action and continue to collect data regarding the same user’s interactions on the mobile app.
3. Integrates with other Google tools.
Google has several marketing tools available for its users, such as Google Advertisements and BigQuery, a data warehouse. Google Analytics can easily link with these tools to directly source analytics from an advertisement made with Google Ads or to store your information in BigQuery. The natural coordination between these different Google tools can help uncomplicate your digital marketing analysis.
4. Focuses on privacy-first analytics.
Unlike some analytics tools, GA4 collects data without using third-party cookies or IP addresses. These new, privacy-related updates allow GA4 to remain compliant with most major privacy laws, such as the California Consumer Privacy Act, that may otherwise disrupt your collection of analytic information.
5. Utilizes AI to predict your users’ potential next steps.
Using machine learning, GA4 calculates the purchase probability, churn probability, and predicted revenue a given website user might generate. Respectively, these predictions provide the likelihood a user will make a purchase in the next week, the likelihood a user will not return to your site in the next week, and the amount of revenue a user would generate in the next month. While the predictions may only be estimates, they can provide you with helpful information to consider as you examine the ROI of your marketing efforts.
Understanding your website and application analytics is key to succeeding in the world of digital marketing. Figuring out how to start can be intimidating, but WKH Solutions is here to help guide you through the process. Contact us today to figure out how we can provide you with the analytics you need to make the most of your digital platforms!
