Discovering a Deeper Story with Google Analytics Goals

Google Analytics: two words that can simultaneously elicit responses of adulation and agitation. The volume of data available is so immense that knowing where to begin is a challenge in and of itself.

All of the data available can tell a compelling tale about your business’ website, but in order to understand the whole story it is important to take a closer look at the plot. Clearly defined business goals configured with Google Analytics give context and direction, making sure your website conversions remain at the heart of your story. Setting goals relevant to your bottom line and business objectives allows Google Analytics metrics to reveal the information most relevant to your business.

Your Story-Telling Strategy

Goal setting for Google Analytics starts with setting a measurable, conversion generating business goal assigned a value and a destination. This goal is then translated into an actionable strategy for tracking website users’ completed activities. Up to twenty goals can be set and measured simultaneously with goal types including destination, duration, pages/screens per session, and events. Practical goal examples include newsletter signups, calls to actions clicked, and purchases made. The success of leads from various campaigns is tracked and this data is used to make behavioural inferences to optimise marketing campaigns.

Deeper Meaning through Insights

Insights obtained from well-planned Google Analytics goals can be used to discover deeper meaning in your story. Consumer profiles can be built and audiences can be analysed based on advanced segmentation regarding site usage. For example, high value customers can be identified based on revenue generated and their behaviour can be studied to reveal patterns of path arrival and website events. These findings can be used to build a digital marketing strategy that further targets such individuals, turning your story into a best seller!

Delving deeper into the data can make the story contained within a website come to life. It can provide you with meaningful insights into your online campaigns, seasonal trends, industry specific information, social media strategies, and offline marketing. So take the time to set goals and analyse results. It’s the oldest trick in the book.