What's an Intergalactic Computer Network?

Overview of Analytics & Reporting Websites

History

The first known idea of website analytics was conceived by an electrical engineer earlier in the '60s. Later, while the notion of “the internet” was still not fully formed, others, like Paul Otlet, an electrical engineer, began experimenting with ways to store and access information digitally. In the 1960s, J.C.R. Licklider, from MIT, proposed the “Intergalactic Computer Network” and completed the primary successful attempt at wireless data transfer. This wasn’t the web we all know today, but a critical lead-up to shaping the web experience we all know and love

Importance of using analytics

Online marketing is made simpler.

When you know what customers are saying about your product or services, you can immediately be proactive in ironing out issues or knowing that your business is successful. Also, you may experience an influx of sales, customer interactions, or sudden drops? But what's the cause of such spikes and declines in website traffic? These are all questions web designers and online marketers ask and analyze. For example, web analytics allow SEO agencies and experts to understand better what's working, why and identify strategies they should dump and those they should try.

Monitoring Bounce Rate

Another advantage of website analytics to identify the bounce rate. A lower bounce rate is significant for the success of an internet site. Though websites based on industries have different rates, 50% can be a great number to target. The data is available in the Behaviors section of Google Analytics.

Real-time monitoring of users

The benefit of using an analytic application is that they provide you real-time data and allows businesses to create immediate changes to the website, service, or product. Real-time data is very effective for websites that get a lot of traffic, especially following a marketing campaign. Online marketers can identify the impact of marketing strategies, the launch of a product, or a specific promotion.

Predicting future demands

Data analysis allows businesses to understand sales based on historical events. For example, services or products can be cyclical based on seasons, weather, dates, time, or day of the week. Online marketers can even identify data based on genders and target specifically males or females.

Getting data about content driving more social shares

Using Google Analytics and data analytics tool for your website facilitates you to seek out acquisitions from social media leads or other online channels. For example, you’ll be able to see what pages and URLs are shared and provide a higher ROI. Thus allowing you to create content around areas readers want.

Advantages of Data

  • Create custom reports
  • Export to spreadsheets or other applications.
  • Rank your pages by popularity
  • Show real-time traffic data
  • Integrate with other tools
  • Track campaigns
  • Understand where your traffic came from

Disadvantages of Data Analytics

  • Reports take a lot of time to do
  • Implementing report recommendations can prove difficult.
  • Reports are expensive to research and write.
  • Technical reports are usually difficult to understand

How analytics helps SEO

Focus on-site search

You can gain insight into what they’re looking for and what percentage people are searching for. For example, if an oversized percentage of your traffic is using the search bar, it’s presumably a powerful indication that you may have to consider its placement.

Locate top-performing pages using conversions

Understanding and expanding on top visited web pages will allow you to drive more traffic specific to those pages. For example, comprehending single page performance and conversions will help you realign and specifically target those visitors. Also, understanding negative trends on each page, such as why visitors immediately leave, will help you understand why. For example, if a selected page has seen an understandable decline, the issue is presumably isolated to one page. However, if there is a negative decrease across several pages, it could be down to some serious technical issues.

Observe bounce rate

The time visitors stay on a site determines how effective the content is. Is the site engaging, and is the correct information available? For example, your website may rank highly for a long-tail, niche keyword, but when someone lands on the web page, the content doesn’t convey or meet their expectations. A website’s design and a poor user interface are usually culprits for high bounce rates.

Custom segments

Custom segments are a key feature of Google Analytics and allow you to work out traffic by channel, visitors who completed goals, demographic data, and far more. Custom segments are additionally created from almost any facet of user data, including time on site, visits to specific pages, visitors who completed a goal, visitors from a specific location, and more.

Takeaway

The importance of huge data analytics is necessary based on the amount of data being generated each day. With so many SEO tools for small businesses and analytic reporting applications, they will inevitably become more of a norm across the board. In fact, data analytics is an evolving field with huge potential to become a part of everyday life.

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Visualwebz

A Seattle web design and online marketing agency that delivers high-end websites. A passion for web development and SEO.