How Small Businesses Can Use Analytics Tools To Improve Website Performance

How small businesses can use analytics tools to track website traffic, keyword rankings, and conversion rates.

Analytics tools are essential for any business, but they can be especially valuable for small businesses.  By tracking website traffic, keyword rankings, and conversion rates, small businesses can identify areas where they can improve their online presence and reach more customers.  A great analytics tool to start with is Google Analytics.

What is Google Analytics?

Google Analytics is a free web analytics tool that tracks and reports website traffic.  It is one of the most popular analytics tools available, and it is used by businesses of all sizes.

How to track website traffic with Google Analytics

To track website traffic with Google Analytics, you need to create a Google Analytics account and add a tracking code to your website.  Once you have added the tracking code, Google Analytics will start collecting data about your website visitors, such as where they came from, what pages they visited, and how long they stayed on your website.

To view your website traffic data in Google Analytics, click on the reports icon on the left hand side of your screen.  This report will give you a good view of what is happening on your website.

How to track keyword rankings with Google Analytics

To track keyword rankings with Google Analytics, you need to connect your Google Analytics account to Google Search Console.  Google Search Console is a free tool that provides insights into your website's performance in Google Search.

Once you have connected your Google Analytics account to Google Search Console, you can view your keyword rankings in the Acquisition > Traffic acquisition report.  This report will show you how many people are coming from organic search listings and how long they are staying on your website.  Within Google Search Console you can view the keywords Google Search Results are listing you for and which people are clicking on to enter your website.

How to track conversion rates with Google Analytics

To track conversion rates with Google Analytics, you need to set up conversion goals.  A conversion goal is an action that you want visitors to take on your website, such as making a purchase, subscribing to your newsletter, or signing up for a free trial.

Once you have set up conversion goals, you can track your conversion rates in each report.  As an example the report mentioned above, you'll see the conversion figures to the right of the report under Conversions All Events.  This report will show you the number of conversions for each goal, as well as the conversion rate, which is the percentage of visitors who completed a goal.

There are many analytic tools available that offer more insights into your websites performance, Google is a good one to start with as it's free.

How small businesses can use analytics tools to improve their online presence

Small businesses can use analytics tools to improve their online presence in a number of ways, including:

• Identifying high-traffic pages and keywords: Analytics tools can help small businesses identify the pages on their website that are getting the most traffic and the keywords that people are using to find their website.  This information can be used to create more targeted content and improve SEO performance
• Identifying high-traffic pages and keywords: Analytics tools can help small businesses identify the pages on their website that are getting the most traffic and the keywords that people are using to find their website.  This information can be used to create a more targeted content and improve SEO performance.
• Tracking the performance of marketing campaigns: Analytics tools can be used to track the performance of marketing campaigns, such as social media ads and email marketing campaigns.  This information can be used to identify which campaigns are most effective and to optimise them for better results.
• Improving the user experience: Analytics tools can be used to track how visitors are interacting with their website.  This information can be used to improve the user experience, such as by making it easier for visitors to find the information they are looking for and by fixing any broken links.

As an example, here are some useful reports within Google Analytics:

Time on Site:
Life cycle > Acquisition > User acquisition > Average engagement time

This needs to be at least 4 minutes

To Improve engagement time you need to work on:

• Content quality
• Site architecture
• Internal linking
• UX design
• Quality of traffic

Page views:
Life cycle > Engagement > pages & screens > views per user

This needs to be at least 2 pages per user

To improve page views you need to work on:

• Content quality
• Site architecture
• Internal linking
• UX design
• Quality of traffic

Exits
Life cycle > Engagement > pages & screens > (scroll to the right) Event Per Session

Event per session will need to be added to the report:

• Click on pen at the top right of screen (custom report)
• Click metrics
• Click add metric
• Click on the items you want to report on
• Save before leaving page

Below 10 exits is good, above 35 exits is bad.

To improve exits from your website you'll need to improve:

• Website copy
• Images
• Videos
• Site load time
• Page design

Bounce Rate
Life cycle > Engagement > pages & screens > (scroll to the right) Bounce Rate

For an ecommerce website a bounce rate between 40% to 60% is appropriate.

To improve bounce rate you will need to improve:

• Speed
• Mobile user experience
• Internal links to other pages
• Make content easy to read
• Satisfy search intent
• Use table of content

Conclusion

Analytics tools are an essential tool for small businesses.  By tracking website traffic, keyword rankings, and conversion rates, small businesses can identify areas where they can improve their online presence and reach more customers.

Here are some additional tips for using analytics tools to track website traffic, keyword rankings, and conversion rates:

• Set up customer reports: Analytic tools allows you to create custom reports that track the metrics that are most important to your business.  This can help you to quickly and easily get the information you need to make decisions about your website.
• Use segments: Segments allow you to group your website visitors together based on certain characteristics, such as their location, referral source, or device type.  This can help you to better understand the behaviour of different groups of visitors and to tailor your content and marketing messages accordingly.
• Compare your performance to your competitors: Analytic tools allow you to compare your website's performance to that of your competitors.  This can be helpful for identifying areas where you need to improve.

By following these tips, small businesses can use analytics tools to get the most out of their online presence.