5 keys to successful web analytics tracking on your website

Being a web analytics junkie of sorts, I’ve seen a number of ways that all do the same thing when it comes to successfully tracking using web analytics software. The collection of web analytics data allows you to make informed decisions about how to proceed when you are marketing your website or online business but you can also use it to track things like web page performance or events like downloading your latest ebook or how many people watched your latest video.

Web analytics data can tell you everything from the return on investment of a certain campaign to the number of visitors finding your website or a web page in your website with a specific keyword. In other words, it provides great insight into what your online business is doing and more importantly what it’s NOT doing. I’ve put together a list of 5 success tips for tracking your website metrics using analytics software that cover topics that you may or may not have previously been aware of.

1. Install your tracking pixel or code correctly

One of the biggest oversights when people start tracking using any web analytics software is having it installed correctly. If you haven’t managed to do this correctly the first time it can “skew” the data that you are collecting about your website. In reading the vendor documentation look for best practices to install and implement the software and you’ll be ready to start tracking your website effectively.

2. Filter out your IP addresses

There is no quicker way to ruin your data collection efforts, destroy your return on investment and piss off your marketing team then forgetting to filter out IP addresses from your company. By NOT doing this you open the door to inflated numbers diminished ROI and a whole host of reporting problems. Do it right the first time and let your web analytics application “sing”.

Depending on the web analytics software that you are using there should be a way to do this simply and effectively. Once you’ve got this taken care of you can officially start tracking your website metrics with less worry.

Here is something for you Google Analytics users out their looking to set a filter to traffic to your website based on IP address called “How do I exclude traffic from a range of IP addresses?”

3. Investigate Weird Occurrences

Web analytics is an “uphill battle” because ever so often you’ll notice anomalies in the data that you are viewing and as an analyst or marketing professional you’ll ask yourself “What caused that?” or “Should I be concerned about this?” Most times there are explanations for the data that you are seeing and sometimes there isn’t.

Some anomalies can be caused by social media tools like FaceBook and Twitter, removing a web page from your site, spiders and robots visiting your website and countless others. Understanding why traffic spiked gives you insight into how your visitors are finding you and shed light on new opportunities when it comes to your website.

4. Track goals that make your website successful

Many small and midsized business owners are coming to the realization that a web-based business has to have clearly defined goals like any physical business. When you are developing the website this should be one of the questions you ask yourself because in large part the success of your company’s website is tied to the fact that you’ve got goals clearly defined. Whether you are selling snowshoes on your ecommerce site or you are blogging about human resources on your consulting blog there is always a goal to having your website up and running. So ask yourself, “What is the goal of my website?” or “What do I want people to do when they come to my site?” and you may realize that your current website does nothing to help the goal of your business.

The reasons for tracking these goals are as specific as the business that you are operating and as you drill into it further you may realize that there are sub-goals that make an overall goal successful and make your website or web-based business more profitable. A good web analytics platform will allow you to successfully track and manage the goals of your business.

5. Segment your traffic

Once you’ve got the traffic you’ve got to form conclusions or “insights” as they are known in the web analytics field. Insights are what fuel creative ideas and can to some extent control where money is spent on your business’ marketing. By segmenting the data into actionable information you can accurate tell what is going on and take a “proactive” approach towards how you are running your business.

If you take the time to perfect your website’s tracking capabilities you’ll be able to make clearer decisions about where and how to spend money on your marketing campaigns, query your data in a way that increases your profits and being as accurate as possible. Just remember to install the tracking code correctly the first time and use these tips to hone your website’s metrics.

Luc Arnold

Self professed “Web Analytics Junkie”