As a small business owner, having a website is essential to reach and engage with potential customers. However, just having a website isn’t enough. You need to be able to measure the performance of your website and make data-driven decisions to improve it. This is where Google Analytics comes in.

Google Analytics is a powerful tool that can help you understand how your website is performing and identify areas for improvement.

Here are some tips on how to use Google Analytics to improve your website:

1. Set Up Google Analytics

This might sound obvious, but the first step is to set up Google Analytics on your website. Head to analytics.google.com to create your free account, add the tracking code to your website, and verify that the tracking code is working properly. We’ve created a a resource with links on how to implement your GA tag on the most common e-commerce and website platforms: https://dmsquaredmedia.com/pixel-implementation.

2. Set Up Conversions/Key Events

Once you have your account set up, you should set up conversion actions (now called Key Events). If you are using an e-commerce platform, your purchase data should start populating if you implement your tag correctly. So these “Conversions” are for anything OTHER than e-commerce actions (newsletter sign-ups, contact form fills, webinar sign-ups, etc). By setting up these events, you can track how well your website is performing in terms of achieving these actions.

In GA4, you will need to create custom events in the settings (easiest is to track when someone lands on a specific thank you page). Once the event starts tracking, you can select that event to be counted as a Key Event. Then you’re all set and it will count as a conversion in your reporting.

3. Monitor Your Traffic Sources

Google Analytics can show you where your website traffic is coming from, whether it’s from search engines, social media, or referral websites. By monitoring your traffic sources, you can identify which channels are driving the most traffic to your website, and which sources lead to the most conversions. Then you can focus your marketing efforts on those channels.

4. Monitor Your Website’s Performance

Google Analytics can also show you how your website is performing in terms of bounce rates, engagement rate, and other metrics. By monitoring these metrics, you can identify areas where your website could be improved, such as by optimizing images or improving the user experience.

If people are leaving your site really quickly or not going to multiple pages, you’re either bringing the wrong people to your site or your content isn’t matching what they expect to find.

If people are staying on your site but not converting, you’ve clearly got decent quality traffic, but might want to consider making tweaks to convince users to convert at a higher rate.

Understanding HOW your users are interacting with your site can you tell you so much about what needs to be improved.

5. Monitor Your Conversions

By monitoring your conversions, you can identify areas where your website could be improved, such as by simplifying the checkout process or improving the design of your contact form.

As mentioned above, data showing how your users interact with your content and whether or not they convert can really help you figure out where you need to tweak things.

Are they doing the free sign-up, but not purchasing your upsell? Maybe try a different upsell offer or tweak the language about that upsell.

Are they spending 2 minutes on the page, but then not taking the action you want them to? What tweaks can you make to convince them? Or are they confused by the offer which is making them leave without converting?

As you can see, all of this data hints into the mind of your consumer. There’s no one set way to interpret it necessarily, but it can help you immensely in starting to figure out what’s working and what isn’t on your website.

6. Analyze Your Audience

Google Analytics can show you information about your website visitors, such as their age, gender, location, and interests. By analyzing this information, you can identify who your target audience is and tailor your marketing efforts to better reach them.

You might have this idea in your head of who your ideal customer is, but the data could tell you something completely different (or confirm what you already thought). Take all the guess work out of it, and use the data to help you determine which audiences you should continue to go after.

7. Set Up Custom Reports

Google Analytics allows you to set up custom reports (called Explorations) that are tailored to your specific needs. For example, you could set up a report that shows you the conversion rates of visitors who come to your website from a specific social media platform. By setting up custom reports, you can get the exact data you need to make informed decisions about your website.

Or you might want to focus on how many visits to your website it takes before someone converts. Or you want to see the path people take throughout your website before they convert. Or you want to see what different pieces of marketing someone interacted with before converting. The options are pretty endless, and these are things you can build at any time. If you aren’t ready to be this advanced, just start with the default reports provided and see what you can start learning with that. There is a treasure trove waiting for you!

As you can see, Google Analytics is a powerful tool that can help you improve your small business website. By setting up conversions, monitoring your traffic sources & website performance, analyzing your audience, and setting up custom reports, you can get the data you need to make informed decisions about your website and grow your business.

At a minimum, just start with getting the tag on your site and creating your conversions. With that in place, you’ll at least be tracking the data and you can come back to it whenever you’re ready!