What Analytics Can Do for Your Business!

Thomas Jefferson once said, “Information is the currency of democracy.” That quote could not be truer of the world we live in today. Information is the most vital tool businesses have to make sure their website is successful in converting users to revenue. In recent years, our society has seen some of the most important technological advances and all of them have the same common denominator, information. When the phrase data analytics is brought up, the nature of the information most people think of features complex images and extensive equations. When dealing with small and medium-sized businesses, this really isn’t the reality. Analytics are a statistical analysis produced by users as they interact with your brand like engagements on social media or interactions done on your website. Here are three ways analytics can help drive your business!

• Tracking the How and Where – It can be a news website linking your press releases or gaining a significant following of your product on social media, analytics can tell you exactly where the traffic is coming from and how to take advantage of it. There are many ways customers get to your site including direct entry, search, social media and referrals. When you can track where users go on your website is crucial to learning which pages generate the most activity and which pages have the least activity. Having knowledge of the path users take you get to your website is a beneficial piece of information. By analyzing this information businesses can make sure that necessary information is on the pages that are being visited, as well as determine what changes need to be made for the pages with less traffic. When you are able to determine which websites bring you the most traffic, you can then target your ad campaigns towards these sources.
• Size Up Your Competition –  Whether you are a startup or looking to reevaluate the marketing strategy for your current business, competitive analytics can give a big boost to your operating channels. Utilizing analytics to scope out your competition allows you to effectively map out your target demographics overall. Asking questions like, “Who are the power players?” and ‘What is the number of total competitors in my area?” lets your business properly prepare for changes to accommodate the local market. To know your local market and have tabs on what other businesses are doing in your area can help keep you on track with your marketing plan and adjust accordingly to stay on top!
• Bounce Rates – Knowing where visitors go on your site and where they come from are both extremely important pieces of information, but there is another piece of analytics that is a key element to monitor – bounce rates .  Bounce rates can tell your company what percentage of people leave your site within a given amount of time.  The reason this is so important is that if your site doesn’t have the necessary information or efficient design to grab a user’s attention, they won’t stick around long, negatively affecting your bounce rate. Some common culprits of high bounce rates are an inconsistent usage of your Calls to Action, poor user experience (see our updated Three Design Elements Proven to Increase User Experience blog for that!), not attracting the right traffic to your website or difficult usability.  Making adjustments because of this information can directly lead to more customers as well as revenue for your business. The goal is to get users to the page, interacting with it and getting to come back at a later date!

There are a number of other ways that analytics can improve your business.  Make sure your business is taking advantage of the benefits that analytics offers.  For more information on Stellar Blue Analytics, click here  and help grow your business today!