Google Analytics uses a system known as ABC. The acronym stands for \u201cAcquisition\u201d, \u201cBehaviour\u201d, and \u201cConversions\u201d. Basically, this means that Google tracks the way the audience reaches a website, the way they behave on it, and the actions the take whilst on it.This is a lot of data, that may confuse you, but all of it is useful as it is a piece of a bigger puzzle. Let\u2019s see how to look and interpret the data every step of the way.<\/p>\n
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Acquisition:<\/h2>\n
First things first, Google looks at how people reach your website and divides them into categories:<\/p>\n
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- Organic search<\/span>\u00a0– these results represent the people who\u2019ve found your website by typing different keywords. This way they\u2019ve come across your website in a manner that spurs out of their needs or interest. This metric can also indicate you how good is your current SEO strategy.<\/li>\n
- Direct<\/span>\u00a0– this metric represents the number of people who\u2019ve accessed your website by typing directly your address, as well as those who\u2019ve entered your site via a bookmark. These people have a clear knowledge of your website prior to accessing it.<\/li>\n
- Paid Searches<\/span>\u00a0– the number here is the result of an Ad campaign such as those made through Google Adwords.<\/li>\n
- Social<\/span>\u00a0– this represents all the people who accessed your website pages from Social Media.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Another thing to look at is the \u201cReferrals\u201d, as they show which websites have links to your own website. Basically, this metric indicates which websites drive traffic to yours. You can analyze them and see if you can establish partnerships that will benefit your company\u2019s communication strategy.<\/p>\n
All of these metrics will give you a clear picture as to from where the traffic to your website comes, as well as which is the most important channel for your website. With this info, you can improve your SEO strategy as well as your advertising efforts.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\nBehaviour<\/h2>\n
People access different websites with a purpose. This means that every website has a certain goal. By precisely knowing what your goal is (to buy something, read some info, etc) you can monitor how people react on your website, or if they do the things you want them to do on it. At this stage, for every page as well as for the overall website you can see the:<\/p>\n
- \n
- Page views:<\/span>\u00a0the number of times your website has been accessed (including multiple page views by the same visitor) in a chosen period of time<\/li>\n
- Unique page views:<\/span>\u00a0as the names tell, this metric indicates the unique number of page views, counting multiple page views by the same visitor in a session as 1.<\/li>\n
- Average time on the page:<\/span>\u00a0This number shows you the roughly how much a user spends on the website during a specific time frame.<\/li>\n
- Bounce rate:<\/span>\u00a0This one shows the percentage of people who left your website after only accessing one page.<\/li>\n
- Exit:<\/span>\u00a0The exit rate shows you the percentage of which a page was the last one accessed by the visitor before leaving your website.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
These pieces of information are extremely valuable but to be interpreted accurately, they have to be put in context. For example, you can find out that a page has a big bounce rate, and instantly think that it is a negative thing, but that may not be the case. Look at how much time are they spending on that page, what\u2019s the content about. You can discover that the visitors actually got what they were looking for, and left your website satisfied. If you want them to visit your website more, or spend more time there, maybe it\u2019s high time to introduce a call to action (CTA). Another example is the exit metric. By analyzing which one is the most likely to be the last page your visitor access before leaving, you can adjust it to make sure that your desired message is delivered on that page.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\nConversions<\/h2>\n
As previously stated you have to know what the purpose of your site is to monitor things in an effective way. If in the earlier stages, we\u2019ve discussed how Google tracks how people arrive on your website and how they behave on it, now it\u2019s time to talk see if your website reaches its purpose. These goals are also grouped into categories:<\/p>\n
- \n
- Goals revolving around visitors reaching a\u00a0certain page\/section<\/span>\u00a0of your website<\/li>\n
- Goals revolving around how much time the\u00a0visitors spend on the website<\/span>\u00a0in general or on a certain page<\/li>\n
- Goals revolving around visitors accessing a\u00a0specific number of pages<\/span>\u00a0of your website<\/li>\n
- Goals revolving\u00a0around an action<\/span>\u00a0– visitors downloading a brochure\/ watch a video etc.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Clearly knowing your goal you can see if your website or a specific web page meets your goals and how it performs to reach it.<\/p>\n
Knowing how to interpret all of this data and put it together is a great way to finding out what can be improved to your website. A thing that you have to remember though is the fact that the website analytics is just one part of the much larger digital communication field. This means that all the insights you\u2019ve obtained from website analytics have to be paired with social media insights as well as SEO insights, in order to have an integrated communication flow. To make sure you don\u2019t misinterpret or mess one piece of the digital communication puzzle, it\u2019s best to work with people or communication agencies that have the right expertise, experience, and knowledge.<\/p>\n
- Goals revolving around how much time the\u00a0visitors spend on the website<\/span>\u00a0in general or on a certain page<\/li>\n
- Unique page views:<\/span>\u00a0as the names tell, this metric indicates the unique number of page views, counting multiple page views by the same visitor in a session as 1.<\/li>\n
- Direct<\/span>\u00a0– this metric represents the number of people who\u2019ve accessed your website by typing directly your address, as well as those who\u2019ve entered your site via a bookmark. These people have a clear knowledge of your website prior to accessing it.<\/li>\n