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Tag Archive for: measurement
The Largest Google Analytics Study We’ve Ever Done
This blog was originally published on Cupcakes & Websites website here: The Largest Canadian Google Analytics Study Ever Done
For this study we wanted to compare data from 2015 to 2016. Over those, only 57 qualified (had enough traffic over a two year period) to make the cut. If the website wasn’t setup until after 2015 we didn’t include the data as it is incomplete. Next years study (or later this year, we’ll see) will be even bigger!
What did we find?
Average number of visits to a website:
2016 – 14,267
2015 – 15,700
A decrease of 10%
A decrease in average traffic would indicate you can’t have the “build it and it will come” attitude. You have to be doing something on your website that gets people to come back again and again. No you don’t need SEO (search engine optimization) if you’re creating amazing content for your intended audience.
Monitor you traffic. One past almost client (they never said yes) asked if they could talk to us about their “new” website and why they lost 80% of their traffic. Get a monthly report from your website provider at the very least just to ensure someone is reading what you publish!
Average number of visits from search (traffic from Google):
2016 – 7,513
2015 – 6,150
An increase of 18%
Ever since we’ve been measuring websites in Google Analytics it’s always been an anomaly about how much traffic comes from search. And not just our website, EVERYONE’S, yes yours too! You just need to understand better what Google is looking for. Search in powerful, if someone if looking for what you sell, the odds are they will search for it eventually. Make sure when your potential customers search for what you provide, you come up!
Everyone needs a Google Strategy.
The average growth (loss) of traffic:
Total traffic – (10%)
Organic traffic – 18%
Facebook traffic – (.08%)
Traffic fluctuates. Google gives you some tools on seeing what the average search volume is for specific terms over the twelve months of the year to see when search peak.
You Can Measure Success by The Amount of Thank You Cards Received
We have a row of cards at the StratLab office we keep there as a reminder of why we do what we do. A hand written thank you card is something so precious because you rarely see them anymore. Think about the times you’ve given away a hand written card, and think of the times you’ve received one. Those moment are very special here’s why.
It’s hard to fake a thank you card. Generally people who give a hand written note REALLY mean it. You never write a nice thank you note because you “ran out of time to thank someone”, or “you couldn’t figure out what to get them!”. No you wrote the thank you note because you actually care. Something very rare these days.
It’s hard to take time out of your day to write something using your thoughts, that’s why it means so much more.
In a world where a tweet, snap or post on Facebook is so simple to do, write a hand written note, you’d be surprised as to how far it goes.
How We Measure Your Website || Episode 32 of #InTheLab
Warning, Jeph gets nerdy in this one!!
The slides I go through in the video are included in the Slideshare below. Some of the images aren’t the highest quality in the presentation, if you want to look at the specific reports referenced, scroll down I’ve included them in this post!
1. Open Site Explorer
You have to start somewhere with measurement, Open Site Explorer is a good place to start. It’s also a Free SEO tool you can use. We use Domain Authority as a central metric to compare websites to each other. If you want to learn more about Domain Authority check out this blog here (What is Domain Authority? And why do we use it?). Read more
A beginners guide to website strategy
In the real world if your store has a better location, if you can get in front of more people, if everyone can recognize your store from a mile away, you have a distinct advantage.
The Internet doesn’t work that way.
If you rent space in the West Edmonton mall beside a popular retailer you’re sure to increase your foot traffic. The catch is, retail space beside Holts, the Disney or Apple store will come at a premium.
When you build a website it’s like you put your store in a farmers field somewhere near Grenfell, SK. As your site acquires more links, is updated more often, you move closer and closer to a bigger town (more “traffic”). The front page of Google, the epicentre for qualified traffic, takes time and deliberate effort to get to the front page of and every day it’s getting more and more competitive.
The front page of Google is a zero sum game…
as one website goes up, another has to go down. All four major players in the market can’t rank number 1. As one company builds links and increases their rankings, other websites feel the equal and opposite reaction. If you don’t start being proactive about your online presence you’re going to see you traffic decrease from Google.
And I’m not sure if you’ve checked your traffic sources report in Google Analytics lately, Google organic search is probably your websites largest traffic provider. Might be a good idea to build a strategy to increase that traffic from Google.
You could advertise on Facebook or LinkedIn or reddit or the Leaderpost.com. Telling more people to come to your website should help you get closer to your goal.
You have defined a goal haven’t you?
OK we may need to take a step back here. No one really “needs” a website, think about it.
You need a contact us page so people can get a hold of you. You need a products page so people can see your new products regularly. You need a staff page so potential customers can see ‘who’ they’ll be dealing with if they so choose to set up an appointment. But no one really needs a website, a website is a tool, a tactic within a strategy. The sooner you recognize this the sooner you can being to use your website to its full potential.
No one really needs a website, companies need to be found, they need to be searchable, within a couple words hopefully. So that in the moment when your next customer has a problem, they pick up their phone, pull up Google and search for (insert your company’s keywords here) “funny marketing speaker Regina” and boom you’re right there.
5 New Year’s Marketing Resolutions
It’s that time again. People are making lists of things they want to change, things they want to do less, and things they want to do more of in order to improve their lives in the upcoming year. The changeover to a new year can be cathartic and feel like a new beginning. As we all know, follow-through on resolutions tends to weaken partway through the year. The personal consequences tend to be minimal and go unnoticed.
The new year is also a great time for businesses to adjust their goals and make resolutions of their own. Here are some changes that we suggest for businesses in the new year and how they relate to those token resolutions we hear all too often. Unlike those personal resolutions, a lack of follow-through on these can be very costly.
1. Spend More Time With Family Measurement
The old adage “what gets measured, gets improved’ still rings true. Still too many marketing efforts are shots in the dark. As more and more people spend time online and do business there, measuring everything has never been so achievable.
2. Focus on Fitness Conversions
Don’t just count traffic; track conversions
Advertising agencies have historically done a great job of “driving traffic”. While traffic is important (web, in-store, or otherwise) , it’s useless if it’s not being met with quality content or value propositions that establish connections and ultimately create conversions. Measure these conversions rates. Perhaps the most basic way to improve them is to view this traffic as it really is: real people.
3. Lose Weight Unnecessary Marketing Initiatives
While millions of people are hitting the gym to rebound from a holiday season of indulgence, your business can be doing the same by trimming your marketing efforts. Instead of continuing to travel down older marketing avenues while trying to dip your toes in every new, seemingly cheap online or social effort, focus on the ones that are measurable and suit your competencies. Spreading yourself too thin will eat up a lot of time and money. If you’re having trouble deciding where to direct your focus, take a page out of Gary Vaynerchuk’s book who said it’s as simple as “Go(ing) to where people are to get them to do what you want them to.”
4. Help Listen to People
Learn Something New Get Feedback; Embrace the Negative
Too many marketing decisions made either on a whim or for poor reasons. These shots in the dark often end up as costly misses and sometimes even end up doing more harm than good. A research stage should take place before any marketing initiative is executed. Finding out what people love, hate, and are indifferent about regarding your company can help you make important changes to improve what people tell others about your company and develop long-term relationships. Embracing the negative feedback will likely be both the most difficult part and the most rewarding part.
5. Stop Start Smoking…Smokin’? (K, so this one’s a bit of a stretch – but still important)
Focus on the BEST Part of Your Company
Many attack the new year with a plan to incessantly put their best foot forward and show the world they’re a force to be reckoned with. At Strategy Lab, we believe that identifying the best and most easily talked about part of your business is an important part of the research stage. Once you’ve discovered what it is, go forward with confidence and build your marketing around it. This way, you can be smokin’ without blowing smoke.
5 Reports in Google Analytics You Need To Start Using
If you have had a website built recently (2018+) you should have Google Analytics installed on your website and given access to for free. If by a rare chance you DON’T have Google Analytics hooked up you could kindly ask your website manager to add the code to the site and add you as a user. It literally takes 5-10 minutes for a developer to set up.
Google Analytics is your command central for your website. You can tell where people found your website, what they searched to find your website, the pages they visited on your website, and a whole lot more. Below are 5 of the first reports I started using. Please ask if you have questions!
1. Traffic Sources Report
Why is it important?