74.jpg)
One question I always ask prospects and clients is whether they’ve got website tracking in place, i.e stats which tell them who’s visiting their website, where they came from and what they’re doing on their site. More often than not the stats are there, but how often they look at them, or whether they understand them is a different matter.
However, did you know that your website’s stats can also tell you all about the sales and enquiries on your website? If you didn’t know then this is something you need to be looking at. Knowing who converts on your website and where they came from is highly important in understanding which parts of your marketing are working best, whether it’s from an online or an offline source.
If you use Google Analytics for your website stats, then you should be setting up ‘goals’. You can define a goal yourself, so for example, when a form is completed it will record it, or when a purchase has been made. If you’re not sure how to set up the goal, then you can ask your web developer, or if they don’t know, yours truly!
Once your goals are set up, then you’ll have that vital information as to how the visitor found you that led to the lead or sale. So for example, you can find out which keywords were typed in to a search that led to the conversion, perhaps a link from another site led to the conversion, or the visitor may have come direct, so they already know about your website. You can also see visitors who clicked through from a newsletter that led to a conversion. There’s a wealth of information that you need to know to work out where your money is best spent. Did that expensive advertising or paid link lead to any sales?
The more information you arm yourself with about your site, the more effective your marketing will be, and we all need this in the current economic climate!
About Sam
Sam McArthur is an internet marketing consultant with 12 years in the industry. She helps professional service businesses with their internet marketing strategy, helping them to see significant results from their online marketing activities, particularly within the search engines. She also consults on the latest internet tools, technology and best practice techniques.
