5 Must-Know Google Analytics Tricks for Better Conversions

[guest post by Jessica Gust]

But you might be missing out on even more useful features! If you aren’t using these 5 must-know tricks, you need to get on it right away. You could be letting conversions slip right through your fingers.

Look Long-Term

Most people will use analytics to look at how their site has been performing lately, and to assess how A/B campaigns are doing. Any changes can be monitored closely to see whether they improve or worsen the statistics. However, you can also use the analytics to look at the bigger picture. Go back as far as over 6 months of data and you will find much more interesting points to look at. You will see ongoing trends and figure out how to leverage them, as well as spotting the most underperforming areas of your site.

Check Locations

So you know how many customers are using your website, and you know which pages they use, and how long they are staying for. You may also have spotted the map that shows where they are from, only to skip over it as a trivial statistic.

It’s actually hugely important. If you are based in the US, for example, but find that you have a large percentage of visitors from France, it’s clear that you need to capitalise on them. Try adding a translation option to your website – most use a small flag in one corner of the screen so that international visitors can make the switch. You might find that your sales increase hugely when the largest part of your audience can comfortably read the site.

Go Deeper With Searches

You can find data on what users search for when they come to your site in the Google Webmaster tools, but here’s another way to approach it. Head to Traffic Sources and find the organic search segment to see a list of specific terms that visitors are using.

This will be very useful for getting your site to rank highly for the people who are actually interested in your product or service. If you see a strong keyword with high specificity, use it on a web page or in a blog post. The better you rank for specific terms and phrases, the more likely it is that visitors to your website are potential customers.

Use Visitor Flowcharts

Are visitors clicking onto your home page first, or another page? Are they going in the direction you expected, or clicking in a way that seems random? Which pages see the most common drop-offs? Highlight and improve these problem areas, and make sure that you are directing visitors towards conversions where it is likely to be most effective. This will help to keep visitors on your site until you can make that conversion.

Analyze Screen Sizes

One of the problems you are facing might be that your site does not display properly on certain screens. Analytics can show you the size of the display your visitors were using, and show you how the site looked to them. This could be very important – conversions simply won’t happen if some visitors find it difficult to view the whole site. Fix any issues that arise to keep them on a site which is easy to use.

The power of Google Analytics is amazing once you really get into it. These tricks could boost your conversions by a huge percentage.

** About the Author: Jessica Gust is a Marketing Assistant at Localpeek.co.uk, a new postcode finder. She is passionate about new marketing strategies and always eager to share her ideas through blogging.