"Times, they are a changin’"… and we’re not just talking about the new calendar hanging on the wall! There are few industries that change as rapidly as online data analytics- SEO, keyword research, and content creation keep businesspeople on their toes and all too often up at night trying to understand the latest developments. Google Analytics can help businesses see where their marketing strengths lie online and what they can to do build that success in 2017.
The benefits of Google Analytics are many- here are just 15 potential benefits for your business in this year.
The Benefits of Google Analytics For 2017
Keyword Research
Google Analytics allows users to research what phrases, words, and searches led people to a business’s website. This can help with keyword research and the creation of SEO-friendly content that can be placed on existing social media sites. Additionally, users can track what keywords are the most popular in different regions, which is helpful for targeting the audience the business wants to reach out to.
Innovate, Innovate, Innovate
Is there anything more important than new ideas to keep a business competitive? The old traditions in marketing work; however, innovative ideas make marketing interesting and relevant to wider audiences. Our world is connected in so many ways, and it’s possible to reach people around the world with just a click of a button. Harness this power utilizing Google Analytics’ location tracking tool, which can tell a business where the majority of their clients are from. This can allow a business to focus their view or broaden their scope.
Consumer Insight
There is no end to the amount of consumer data a company can get regarding annual sales, the economy, and how their industry is faring compared to others. This information doesn’t always give a business any real information as to what their customers want or need. Google Analytics allows users to pinpoint who their customers are and connect this with online shopping habits and relevant click ratios.
Expanding the Target Audience
Maintaining a steady client base is what keeps a company going, but what drives the success of a business is its ability to attract new customers. Whether it’s a physical location or an online link, customers are sometimes difficult to attract and even more difficult to keep. Google Analytics is beneficial to businesses that want to know where they are attracting clients (for instance, through specific social media pages) or losing clients along the way.
Knowledge is Power
They say knowledge is power, and they’re right! The more you know about what works for your specific business and what doesn’t means you can use that knowledge to power change. Change isn’t always a bad thing- implementing new ideas based on real knowledge using the tools provided by Google Analytics is sound business practice. Knowing where your clients are located, what they want and how they are benefitting from your online sites can be valuable information in the long and short term.
Follow the Path Before You
There’s no sense reinventing the wheel for every business that comes along. There are general tips and tricks for successful businesses to follow in their online spheres that generally work well as rules of thumb to follow. Google Analytics utilizes this knowledge to create savvy business and marketing plans while using business-specific data to make your company’s marketing plan and data unique.
Find What’s Important
Interested in how your clients found your social media site or webpage? Add the location feature to your Dashboard in Google Analytics to not only find out where your heaviest traffic comes from, but what search terms they are using. Google Analytics has a ‘query’ feature that allows businesses to find out keywords, new SEO terms, and other relevant search terms people are using to get to their websites.
Personalize Your Analytics
Businesses can personalize their Google Analytics plan by signing up for free marketing tips and seminars, run by experts. Employees that are directly involved with their business’s marketing departments can get the nitty gritty details of what makes their business tick while improving their own knowledge of Google Analytics. A knowledge of analytics and online data gathering is much more important than most people realize! Using this knowledge to benefit your business can bring real positive change in 2016.
Increase Community Engagement
So, where are we at so far? We know that Google Analytics can benefit a business by proving in-depth information about clients, potential clients, and target audiences. Using this data companies can increase the engagement they have with their greater community to boost interactions and online conversations. Community engagement is the backbone of a business; community engagement can also quickly separate businesses that have strong customer service skills and those that do not. Google Analytics can help you find new clients while staying in touch with the old ones.
Strong Companies Look Better
Strong companies are built slowly and surely. Companies can become stronger by utilizing the tools and resources at their fingertips. In this day and age the amount of information regarding best practices can be overwhelming! Strong companies became strong by following a few simple steps (say, 15) that benefitted their businesses in the long run. Companies that have knowledge of their industry and data to back them up are stronger than those that don’t.
Up, Up, Up
Many marketing tactics, especially those related to social media, rely on numbers. The success of a campaign is measured by how many ‘likes’ a post got, how many tweets were re-tweeted or what the scope of your Instagram page is. The numbers can be difficult to track on each individual site and can be time consuming to sort out if you want to break the data down by various time periods throughout the year. With Google Analytics all the numbers work is done for you, accessible right on your dashboard through acquisition and organic search traffic metrics.
Experts to Experts
Individuals who work in marketing are often so focused on their brand and brand message that keeping in touch with the latest big trends can feel exhausting. There are so many new websites and apps being created every day there’s no way to keep up! Google Analytics offers expert help for your business to learn and grow your marketing team in the direction you want to go, with the technologies and practices that can get you there the fastest. Google Analytics offer one-on-one seminars, online group tutorials, and updated marketing fact pages in their Featured Resources section.
Set The Tone
There are many ways to set the tone of your business from the inside and out. Most businesses have their brand or mission they uphold which is seen in their product lines, services, social media and websites. With Google Analytics you can set this tone in emails, in the content you create, and even in communications with other employees around your company. Setting the tone with keywords, SEO and other content markers can get everyone on the same page to start the New Year out right.
Efficiency
What do you consider the most efficient way to do your business? We all have habits that make us more efficient- coffee in the morning while checking emails, streamlining meetings, taking a walk at lunch before diving into work again with gusto. With Google Analytics efficiency is standard; the information you want first is on your Dashboard, and additional data about your business is located in easy to access pages throughout your personalized Google Analytics site. This can help organize all your information in one place before the next big meeting.
Tools of the Trade
Google Analytics is another tool in the belt of businesses in 2016. Staying competitive means taking advantage of technologies like Google Analytics to gain as much information as you can to increase your chances of success. From updated SEO terms to trends in social media, marketing campaign tracking and more, Google Analytics is a tool that helps businesses visualize how they are doing and implement this information wherever they need it.
Where do you see your company in 2017? If you see a company that is driving your industry from marketing practice to content creation, online presence to downright success, then Google Analytics is the tool you need to help your business get there! Make it your New Year’s Resolution to try Google Analytics and see just how many more benefits you can get from this unique marketing tool.