Having a brand new website up and running is not the end game. That’s not how we do web design for our clients in the Gold Coast and everywhere else. You have to know that it works. Are you getting a deluge of inquiries? Is your phone ringing off the hook? Does the website deliver the goal you desire? How do you know that people are actually using it?
Thanks to Google for bring us Google Analytics. It’s a free tool that will tell you how readers found your website and what they do in it. Together with Adwords and Webmaster, it is important that you have these tools installed so they can access your data.
These tools track the movement in your website via a small code installed in your site. This code then provides you important information on the following:
- How visitors found your site and what they do once in it. You can even see detailed information such as their geographical location, age, gender and engagement. It will even tell you the device they used in accessing your site and which tabs they clicked.
- You will know where your website traffic came from. Are those from Google (SEO) or through paid search? Are they referred by other links or did they look for your site directly? You will see what is actually entered into Google that leads people to your site.
- You will have access to the number of pages these visitors went to in your site and what they looked at. You will see how they navigated and engaged in your content. You will even see how fast your site loads and the clicks overlaid in your site in real time.
- You can measure goals such as enquiries made through a contact form, sales made through a shop and the number of email signups generated.
There are a lot more to be derived from Google Analytics but the most important data are where your visitors came from, how they found you, what they looked at and the navigation ease throughout your site.
Make sure after your website goes live, you install the tracking code and log in to Google Analytics. Check the date that you are receiving. Keep an eye on the traffic. A significant drop in the traffic is a sign that something is wrong. Use the data you generate as a guide in tweaking and improving your website.