Google Analytics is installed on your website and will help you understand the behavior of the users on your site. Here are some goal-oriented steps to consider as you use your Google Analytics tools. These ideas come from http://www.bruceclay.com/analytics/google-analytics.htm
STEP ONE: Determine Needs
Determine what your website visitor’s needs are going to be. Once you understand what their needs are, you can figure out a way to meet them. Here are some examples of visitor needs:
- To find out more about Peruvian Hearts
- To find out how to donate
- To donate
- To find out what other organizations have partnered with Peruvian Hearts
- To find out who Ana Dodson is and learn more about her story
The Peruvian Hearts website is primarily a content site so some of its objectives are to increase readership- level of interest and time spent on the site (stickiness). Basic measures include visit length, and page views, and number of newsletter subscriptions and cancellations. The site also has some E-commerce characteristics because it connects to a donation site.
STEP TWO: Identify Goals
The macro goals for your site will be the broad main ones. For example:
- Generate awareness about Peruvian Hearts
- Create personal connections with visitors and donors
The micro goals for your site will be the relationship building activities that lead to the macro goals. For example:
- Increase the number of newsletter subscriptions
- Increase the amount of time spent on the site by each user
- Increase the number of newsletters that get subscribed to
- Increase the number of pages viewed by each user
- Increase the number of news articles read by each user
- Increase the number of web links clicked by each user
- Increase the number of videos viewed by each user
- Increase the number of clicks to donate at the ColoradoGives site
You may want to measure these activities to see if you are reaching your goals. When you have an activity in mind that you would like to measure, you should first ask yourself: “If we can get more visitors to complete this activity, will our site become more successful?” If the answer is yes, then go ahead and measure.
STEP THREE: Define Metrics
You’ll need to define the metrics that indicate progress on the goals you set in step two. For example, you could start to measure visit length and page views for each page. You can measure conversion and completion rates to see if you have met your micro goals.
STEP FOUR: Collect Data
Because you have setup page tagging by using the JavaScript code on each of your web pages, data is automatically being collected. To do this step effectively based on the goals metrics defined in steps two and three, you might need to add to your Google Analytics configuration. This is referred to as custom tracking. You can find more about this in Google Analytics documentation.
STEP FIVE: Record Data
You’ll need to record the data and compare it over time to see if your statistics are improving based upon your specific goals.
STEP SIX: Test Improvement Strategies
Once you have monitored your data, you can formulate and implement better strategies for accomplishing the same activities.
STEP SEVEN: Implement Improvements
You’ll want to implement improvements by changing your site and then testing the changes.
STEP EIGHT: Measure Results
Measure your return on investment, and start the process over again. Look at your progress towards your goals and make revisions as you see fit. Your reached goals are your new baselines, there is always more to achieve, so continue to set the bar higher.