Week XV Pt I: Optimization

As President Ronald Reagan said, information is the oxygen of the modern age. Little did he know the extent to which his tenet would hold true in the decades to come, especially in context of e-commerce.

One of the most common reasons online businesses fail to reach great success is that they simply are blind. How can you troubleshoot without a plethora of diagnostics to consider? That's where Google Analytics steps in. Some of the features they measure are of paramount importance:

1. What causes people to leave the sight?

Google Analytics allows users to take a look at which pages visitors navigate through, and exactly how long they spend on each visit. This allows a business to see just when and where users lose interest so they can compensate accordingly.

2. Where is traffic coming from?

Checking out referrals is a fascinating and powerful tool Google Analytics offers. The platform enables businesses to analyze which social media or other platform is sending visitors their way. This can be leveraged to increase an already strong flow of traffic or bolster a weak stream of referrals.

3. Which device should I be optimizing for?

One of the most understated analytics is visits by browser and device type. Although Google Chrome on iPhone tends to be the highest trafficking combination, certain sites will experience more users on Safari or Firefox through different devices. It would be a shame to have a site that looks gorgeous on one browser or device, but isn't optimized for another, where a substantial portion of traffic is coming in from.

All in all, Google Analytics provides a massive variety of tools to assess a business's online presence from. It's only a matter of choosing which information to interpret the most!


Comments