Google Analytics is a powerful reporting tool that provides most of the data a business might need to see if their web marketing efforts are working.
But beyond the typical visitor numbers and traffic sources there is more data goodness to be found.
These statistics aren't the critical ones, but could be helpful when you make decisions about your site:
- Time of day: The time of day that people visit can tell you the best time to send a newsletter, tweet or other social update. If more visitors come after 5.00pm it probably means they are looking at your site from home (as opposed to work).
- Mobile – this will tell you how many people are accessing the site via mobile devices (including tablets like iPads). This is useful data when that pushy sales person tries to sell you mobile advertising
- Length of visit: visit in minutes and seconds. If all your visits are quite short, it suggests that there isn't much on your site to interest people.
- Location: If your business is locally based, you want as many of your visitors to be from your geographical area. Discounting visitors from other countries will give you a more accurate picture of whether you are reaching your target market. On the other hand, if you are trying to export or access international markets watch the country statistics. They will tell you whether you are having success penetrating these markets and where the most interest is.
- Exit page: The last page that visitors see can provide you insight into when they've "had enough or when they're not getting what they want. Ideally, this would be your thank-you, but it can also help identify points at which you are losing them.
- Browser and OS – if you are trying to decide whether to spend extra money on making sure your site displays in Internet Explorer 6.0, your stats will tell you how many people have viewed your site using this technology, and therefore whether it's worth your while
- Day of week: The days of the week also let you know your visitors patterns. Do your sales or enquiries peak during certain days? There could be a slight delay because people browse first and then may not make the enquiry or purchase until a day or two later. To see this in Google Analytics, you will need to create a custom report. Here's how to do it.
Have any more you think should be added to the list? Let us know!