3 More Things Google Analytics Will Tell You About Your Website

My last post went over a few of the ways that Google Analytics can help you improve your web copy. Today, I want to follow up with three of my favorite Google Analytics features. The following items are less about web copy and more about marketing, which I dig.

1.    Decide if you should continue advertising on other sites

Whenever you place an online advertisement or pay to have your URL listed on another site, make sure the opportunity pays off. Find out by going to Traffic Sources, and then selecting All Traffic Sources. Do you see those paid-for links listed? Are your advertising dollars going to good use?

2.    Know when it’s time to say thank you

While you are reviewing your traffic sources, did you notice a site or two that’s bringing you referral traffic? Be courteous and say thank you to those site owners when appropriate. For example, send an email, leave a comment on a blog post that mentions your business, or return the favor by adding the referring site’s URL to your blogroll.

3.    Find out how many times your on-site links are clicked

My absolute favorite feature, the Google Analytics Site Overlay feature (Under Content, select Site Overlay), shows you the percentage share for each link. In other words, if you have five links on your home page, you can find how many clicks each respective link received.  Pay attention to patterns and test link positioning, link frequency, and anchor text to increase the number of clicks. Remember, the goal is to keep people on your site, and good navigation will help.

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