How data can provide valuable customer insights
Have you ever wondered what your customers actually think of your website? Perhaps you’ve asked them before, and perhaps they’ve given you only positive feedback. That’s awesome! But are they really telling you what they think? Many people feel uneasy critiquing others, so asking your customers for feedback might not be the best way to gain insights into how well your website serves its purpose. That’s where Google Analytics and Google Webmaster Tools come into play.
Analyze Your Data
Google Analytics and Webmaster Tools are free tools designed to improve and optimize websites. They offer a plethora of data that can help you infer what your customers actually think of your website. In particular, analyzing data from these sources can help you answer the following questions:
How did people get to my website?
Google Webmaster Tools shows you the exact keywords people type into search engines to find your website. It also provides information on impressions, so you can learn how many people saw your website. You will also get information about click through rates (the number of people who actually clicked on the website).
Which pages of my website did people visit?
Google Analytics shows you which pages people visited on your website, and any subsequent actions they took. If one of your web pages gets a lot of visits, it’s likely that the content or information on that page is highly relevant to visitors. While it’s perfectly normal for the home page of a website to receive the most traffic, other sections should also receive traffic. If that’s not the case, it may indicate an issue with the content on those pages.
How long did they stay on those pages?
This question can be answered by ‘bounce rates’ and ‘time on site’ data. Bounce rates indicate the percentage of visitors who click on your website and then leave your website without navigating to another page. While bounce rates tend to vary by industry, a general rule of thumb is to keep bounce rates below 40%. High bounce rates result from a number of factors, but usually indicate there is an issue with the user experience, or the information on your website is not relevant to visitors. ‘Time on site’ information shows you how long your visitors stayed on a particular page and how engaged they were while they were on the page.
Where are my visitors located?
The location tab in Google Analytics will show you data about your visitors’ geographic location. This information can help you assess where the majority of your visitors are located.
What can I learn about my visitors?
The data from Google Analytics offers demographic information about your visitors, including their age, gender, and even their personal interests.
Draw Smart Conclusions
Now that you’ve gathered insights into your website visitors (who are also your potential customers), it’s time to turn these insights into actions.
Let’s say your website has a high bounce rate. In this case, you may consider getting a new website design to make your site more appealing to your visitors. If you notice that a large portion of your visitors access your website from their mobile devices and you also have a high bounce rate, your website might not be mobile-friendly (‘responsive’). A website that is not responsive is difficult to navigate through, as the text is usually too small to read on a mobile device. Consider contacting responsive web development experts who can redesign your website and ensure it’s optimized for mobile viewing. A modern, engaging website redesign that truly speaks to your customers will decrease bounce rates, increase engagement, and ultimately increase your sales.
Key Take-Aways
Your customers might not tell you what they really think about your website. They might not even really know how they feel about it. It’s their actions you have to watch out for. Google Analytics and Webmaster Tools will take assumptions out of the process, so you can assess your website’s performance better. Check the data from these sources to gain insights into your customers so you can make sure your website is as useful to them as possible.