What is web analytics, and why is it essential for businesses?

What tasks does web analytics address, and how can it assist businesses in solving them?
What is web analytics, and why is it essential for businesses?
What tasks does web analytics address, and how can it assist businesses in solving them?
Web analytics is the process of collecting and analyzing data to generate reports and make decisions related to internet traffic. This tool allows for optimizing advertising campaigns in the digital space, making website adjustments to improve conversion rates, and studying the target audience.

Website analytics provides insights into the number of users visiting the site, the pages they view, and the devices they use. The primary goal is to track conversions and identify their sources. The ability to create clear reports in Google Analytics 4 and Yandex Metrica is essential for a specialist in targeted and contextual advertising.
WHAT WAS THE BEGINNING OF WEB ANALYTICS?
Web analytics tool is already 30 years old. With the advent of the internet, the need arose to track incoming traffic to websites, which was crucial, especially for marketing. The first project was WebTrends, created in 1993. Then came the tool Analog in 1995. Initially, analysis focused on the technical optimization of websites, but later companies needed clear data about visitors: traffic sources and on-site behavior, for example. Later, services like WebSideStory and Coremetrics were added to Analog.

In 1995, the very Urchin appeared on the market, which Google acquired in 2004 and later became Google Analytics. Google's analytics now dominates the market.

Over the years, web analytics has become more sophisticated thanks to technological advancements. With the advent of machine learning, we can not only analyze historical data but also forecast the results of marketing decisions.
HOW DOES WEB ANALYTICS WORK?
Through two main types of analysis - online and offline.

In online analytics, we study the activity of website visitors and track the website's performance. In offline analytics, on the other hand, we examine how customers interact with us after converting on the e-commerce website or lead generation site.

To measure results, it is important to approach the implementation of web analytics tools correctly. This process includes the following steps:
  1. Define the goal: Understand what goals you want to achieve with the help of analytics tools.
  2. Choose key metrics: These can be website sales, engagement with content (if your project is media-related), the number of inquiries, or increased conversion rates.
  3. Configure web analytics: Install a tracking code on your website, set up conversions (tracking events on the website, such as adding items to the cart), create audience segments (e.g., users who added items to the cart but did not make a purchase) for retargeting.
  4. Data collection and analysis: Study user behavior, track metric achievements, analyze marketing expenses.
  5. Visualization and reporting: Present data in a visually understandable form. Reports should provide a comprehensive overview of how effectively the work is being done.
  6. Interpretation and optimization: Once you have seen the numbers and made conclusions, you should take action to improve the metrics.
ADVANTAGES OF WEB ANALYTICS
Studying Traffic Sources Allows for Analyzing the Effectiveness of Each Individual Advertising Channel.

Engagement Analysis

Tracking engagement with content on the website enables adjustments to be made to landing page elements, topic selection for articles, text editing, and technical changes.

Optimizing Advertising Campaigns

By studying each traffic channel separately, budgets can be reallocated in favor of the most conversion-friendly ones. Unlike offline marketing methods, adjustments to advertising campaigns can be made in minutes thanks to website analytics.

Data-Driven Solutions

Web analytics is a precise mathematical approach to achieving marketing goals. Bounce rate above 40%? Examine traffic sources or technical aspects of website loading. Conversion rate below 4% in search advertising? Modify website content or offers.

Audience Research Made Easier

By gathering segments of users who frequently make purchases on your website above a certain amount, you can learn about their device usage, demographic data, and interests. Ultimately, a customer profile will be ready.
KEY METRICS TO TRACK FIRST IN GOOGLE ANALYTICS
WEBSITE VISITORS AND PAGE VIEWS

How many people visited your website? What was their average page views per session? Website visitors and their engagement form the foundation of all analytics. We have a resource where we generate both organic (SEO) and paid traffic. It is in this dynamic that we can track the top-of-funnel performance in each communication channel.

UNIQUE AND RETURNING WEBSITE VISITORS
How frequently do people return to your website? What's the frequency of their repeat conversions? This metric also reflects the effectiveness of your work in digital marketing.

TRAFFIC SOURCES
Similar to visitor volume, it's essential to know where these visitors are coming from. Which advertising channel produces the most engaged users, and which one yields the highest conversion rates? Web analytics can help evaluate the effectiveness of each advertising campaign.

CONVERSION RATE
This metric measures the percentage of visitors who take a primary action on your website, such as submitting a form, subscribing to an email newsletter, or making a purchase. A low conversion rate indicates a need to optimize your landing page.

REVENUE
If you run an e-commerce website, you can assess the profitability of each communication channel. Identify which traffic sources bring high-value customers, which products they frequently view, add to their carts, and purchase."
CONCLUSION
Web analytics allows us to measure the effectiveness of our website and the implementation of our digital marketing strategy. To achieve this, we have several tools at our disposal, including Google Analytics, Yandex.Metrica, and Amplitude. A strategic and technical approach will yield tangible benefits.

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