The Importance of Web Analysis

Laura Stenhouse • Dec 12, 2014
By Laura Stenhouse from Conversion Foundry

Laura Stenhouse is an Online Strategist with Conversion Foundry, partnering with her clients to grow SEO and AdWord performance using a data-driven approach to increase online traffic and conversions. Laura has contributed a blog for The Talent Hive followers outlining the importance and value of web analysis to business performance.

The importance of web analysis

Working as an Online Strategist at Conversion Foundry in Christchurch, my role is to provide clients with analysis and insight from their web analytics and create plans to optimise their website accordingly.

Gathering Data

Unfortunately many companies don’t have analytics or mechanisms to track what’s happening on their website. This is usually due to lack of knowledge of what specific information can be gathered and how it can be used to improve business. At the very least, it’s important to know the basics of who is looking at your website, who converts, who doesn’t, and where these people come from.

Whether it’s an internal marketer or agency that’s in charge of gathering data, make sure they’re gathering useful information to give people in decision-making positions the right insights to make great choices. This means setting metrics that represent success for your website and company, whether that be growth of new users, sales or sign-ups for example.

Reporting vs. Analysis

When you’re gathering data, it’s important everyone understands it properly. Don’t get reporting and analysis confused – reporting provides data but analysis provides insight. Running reports from your analytics software in the hope of finding valuable insights seldom happens. Successful data-driven companies have a culture of critical thinking and ongoing analysis to proactively action insights and improve performance. This also reduces the risk of making business decisions based on ‘gut feeling’ or your ‘hippo’ (Highest Paid Person’s Opinion).

Measurement

Web analysis means you can measure performance and ensure money and resource is spent in the right places. For example you have a campaign running across five different media channels, all of which drive traffic back to your website. You need to know how each channel performs, where efforts can be improved and which groups of people convert well so more investment can be made there in the future.

Segmentation

A useful way to use data is to segment it – slice it up in ways that make the most sense for your company. For example the shopping behaviour of men between the ages of 30 and 40 in Auckland who clicked on a particular ad on their iPhones and came to your site for the first time. You can then compare this to other segments for more insight, such as those who completed a sale and those who did not. What were the key components of their conversion path, and how can it be improved?

Personalisation

Personalize your marketing efforts through analysis; target key audiences you’ve found through segmentation and get more return from your marketing dollar. This way you can consciously direct your media spend to people you know engage and convert well on your website. Furthermore, you can filter marketing campaigns to target users based on their past browsing behaviour, device and interests.

Testing

Testing theories, web layouts and marketing campaigns can help create a data-driven culture. You can base a split test on pages or parts of your website that are important to conversion, or on areas of the site that don’t perform well. Ensure your testing promotes customer-centricity, allowing visitors to find what they want and do what they need. You can then use the outcomes to implement change or enhance your overall strategy.

The limits of web analysis are endless; your biggest challenge is getting it right to create a culture of continued learning and change.

Conversion Foundry are a specialist online marketing and conversion optimisation company. They architect and optimise websites that make great first impressions, connect with the right people and convert them into customers.

Conversion Foundry have a team of experts in SEO, AdWords, Design and User Experience. They use a collaborative approach to optimise websites from all angles, ensuring steady traffic growth and return on investment.

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