Have you ever used Analytics data to supplement your Search Engine Marketing (SEM) strategies? If not, it’s important that you start! Digital marketing has become increasingly omnipresent for various reasons, but the most important reason is: indisputable data.
In choosing to invest in digital marketing, you are making a conscious choice to invest in an avenue in which you hope to see results! In order to make the most out of that investment and understand its impact, analytics is a must. Here’s why.
1. To collect data
In order to track how your search engine marketing is impacting your business, you need data. The collection of this data from your site is the core of web analytics, but there's a lot more going on behind the scenes. A proper analytics implementation is essential to the success of your website and marketing strategy. Improper implementation and coding could result in inaccurate data, which will make it impossible for you to make informed, data-driven strategies. This is why it's critical that you collect the true data.
Scenario: You are running a targeted Google Paid Search campaign, investing thousands of dollars. It is crucial that you correctly track the impact that this campaign is having on your site’s leads and sales. How many users is it drawing to your site? Is it leading those users to convert? Where are those users converting and when are they exiting? The true answers to these questions are only possible through proper analytics tracking.
2. To understand how your marketing strategy is working
So now you have the data in front of you…but so what? Data is only as good as its interpretation and is meaningless without context. It is easy to note that traffic inclined by x% or exits declined by y%, but what do you make use of that? The “so what” of analytics is crucial in managing and improving your site and marketing performance.
Scenario: Now that you know you’re properly tracking this targeted campaign, the data is true and you can investigate the impact it is having. Let’s say that your marketing efforts result in a 50% increase in traffic, but of those users, only half are converting while the other half are bouncing. What does this mean for your site? What does this tell you about the campaign you are running? Without understanding this, these numbers are just numbers, and are not useful in progressing your marketing strategy. Informed analytics ensure that you can clearly understand how your efforts are performing.
3. To make actionable, and informed decisions
We’ve figured out the “so what” but now it’s time to do something with it. We have the numbers, we know what they mean, but (arguably) the most important part of analytics is transforming this information into actionable items. Analytics has the power to inform strategies and tactics - like which remarketing audiences to build and when to perform a content audit - that can increase your online presence. Knowing how to take analytics data and improve your marketing efforts is crucial in ultimately improving your site performance… and your bottom line!
Scenario: You now have the proper data regarding the campaign and you understand what that data means. Now you must apply that data to actually benefit your brand. What can I do with this information? What actionable items should I take to make the most of this data? How can I take these numbers and use them in a way to better my brand? Knowing what and why is extremely important, but knowing how to apply that ‘what and why’ can mean the difference between maintaining or increasing profits.
Now What?
Analytics is a key foundation of SEM success. It is important to not only know how digital marketing affects your brand, but also to know why digital marketing affects your brand, and what you should do from there. Organic Search and Paid Search marketing can only reach their full potential when the correct analytics are applied. Comment below and let us know how you’ve been able to use analytics in the past to inform your marketing efforts. And don’t worry… If you don’t have an analytics success story of your own, Seer can help with that!
