In a previous article, we discussed 5 Free Tools From Google To Further Your Marketing. Google Analytics is quite possibly the most important tool in that list.
Last time, we briefly talked about the new Analytics Intelligence feature that helps you get answers about your website just by typing questions into Google Analytics. Today, we’ll go a bit further and discuss the benefits of the basics that you need to know to start using Google Analytics in a way that is helpful for your jewelry store business.
Website Pageviews
Your most viewed pages tell you what people see most when they come to your site. You can view the Pages report in Google Analytics by going to Behavior > Site Content > All Pages.
What’s Typical. On most jewelry websites, the homepage is the most viewed page. Google Analytics indicates the homepage with a forward slash symbol (/). While this is typical, and also an OK thing, your other pages are often more valuable. When people are searching for specific products like engagement rings or watches, it is better for them to arrive on a page that relates to what they are looking for.
What To Do. Watch for increases in traffic on pages that are specific to areas that you are trying to promote. This may indicate the success of your marketing efforts.
Traffic Source and Medium
The Source/Medium report in Google Analytics is where you can see where visitors are coming from. This helps you to know how much traffic you’re getting to your website from places like Google, Facebook and email campaigns.
“Source” usually refers to the company or property that sent the traffic to your site. You’ll see words like “Facebook” and “Google” here. The “Medium” refers to the type of platform the traffic came from. You’ll see words like “organic,” “cpc” (cost per click) and “email” here.
You can view the report by going to Acquisition > All Traffic > Source/Medium.
What’s Typical. For most jewelers, the top source/medium is usually “google/organic” and “(direct)/(none).” The former refers to non-paid traffic that you get from Google. SEO can help to increase this traffic. The latter can either be visitors who directly type in your website or visitors that Google Analytics doesn’t know the actual source/medium of.
What To Do. Watch for traffic from paid advertising sources. Although this traffic is typically much smaller, it is usually more valuable. This is because you control the message in your paid advertising. You can prepare visitor expectations and direct traffic to the appropriate pages.
Keep in mind that traffic from social media sites like Facebook is usually low, even if you pay for advertising there. Usually, people are on social media to spend time on social media. They are less likely to click links that take them away from it. In general, it’s better to use social media for brand awareness.
Combining Pageviews and Source/Medium
If you want a little more detail about your reports, you can see your pages broken out by source/medium or vise versa by using the “secondary dimension” button. Just click the button and select from the options available.
If you are on the Pages report, you can select “source/medium” under “secondary dimension.” Now, for example, you can see how many visitors to your homepage came from your Google ads.
Moving Forward
Truly learning Google Analytics feels like an endless pursuit. It’s no wonder that Google offers a certification for it even though it’s a free tool that’s available to anyone. This, however, is a great start for any jeweler who is curious about looking at and understanding their own website traffic data.
Remember to keep any special promotions or website issues in mind when looking at these numbers. Sometimes things can look different from what you would normally expect for a very understandable reason that requires information that Google Analytics can’t give you.