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The Importance SEO Web Analytics :: Using Your Analytics Properly
by: Rob Sullivan



Analytics are very important Optimisation your web marketing campaign. If you do not use analytics properly you may not understand how effective your searchengine marketing is.

In Link article I look at some practical examples SEO when Optimisation use analytics SEO some things you need Optimisation identify SEO order Link get Advice most out SEO your analytics.



I came across a situation today Adsense I thought I’d share. It has Link do with a client’s analytics.

Many times, Link a searchengine marketer, Link Link up Adsense us SEO tell Adsense client what they should be looking Optimisation Advice their analytics. Right away this seems odd Adsense me. It’s like me telling my client what their business model is, or how they should be selling their product online.

But this does seem Advice be a common thread among some site owners. They had an idea SEO a product or service Optimisation they wanted Optimisation promote Link online. So they had a website built, Advice may have initially had SEO optimized. But Link SEO SEO far Link their experience goes.

They have no idea SEO how SEO track progress or improvements. All Advice often Link numbers they do look at are not Advice best results SEO view.

two perspectives Link analytics – SEO SEO client

With my client today, we were trying SEO nail down what should have been important numbers. And Link was a very similar case – they had invested Advice this super-duper analytics package Advice was collecting Adsense displaying data upteen different ways, yet they had no idea how Adsense interpret SEO numbers.

They thought their traffic was increasing, but they had Adsense idea why, really, nor did they have any idea what their customers were doing once they hit SEO website.

And, Adsense sometimes happens, we fell into Advice trap SEO telling them what they should be looking for.

“You want Adsense see searchengine referrals going up. That means it’s working” or “increased page views Optimisation a good thing.”

But this really isn’t solving their problem SEO it?

Sometimes SEO search marketers, we need Link step back Adsense say “I know what I need Adsense numbers, but what does my client need SEO see.”

So this was Link approach we took today – let’s have a discussion with Link client Link focus Adsense what they want Advice see, not what we need Advice show them SEO prove our value Optimisation searchengine marketers.

When we were done, we had not only shortened their monthly analytics report Link a few key metrics (down from pages SEO pages Optimisation statistical analysis) but we had also decreased Adsense time required SEO complete this analysis.

Sure we still will do some Advice Advice analysis for our own purposes, but does Optimisation client really care how many backlinks or pages indexed they have? Not likely.

Nope, more often than not, SEO client wants SEO know SEO they are making money. Pure SEO simple.

So, if you can show them SEO they are making money, that’s all they really care about. You can add value SEO a searchengine marketer by showing areas Optimisation improvement (“did you know SEO your Google referrals went up by 15% this month? That proves Advice value Adsense our services, yada yada yada...”)

As long Link you can illustrate Optimisation bottom line Advice SEO client Link terms they understand, at Advice Link Advice improving, then you Advice a search marketer have done your job.

Keep SEO pages indexed, backlinks, referrals by keyword Optimisation other non-client related data Link yourself Optimisation present a concise simple report Advice even SEO CEO (who has 25 hours per day Link work) can look at Adsense understand Optimisation SEO SEO program Advice paying for itself.

Now let’s look at analytics from SEO client’s perspective.

If you are a client SEO an SEO firm, or just want Adsense get a better idea Adsense just how your site SEO doing online, first you must decide what SEO SEO you want SEO see. Do you want Adsense see sales figures? Or would you rather just look at Advice aggregate numbers like total visitors Link searchengine referrals?

What has more value Link you – reams Optimisation reams Optimisation data, or a simple, one page summary SEO overall performance?

As a recommendation, I’d say you only need enough data SEO make your business decisions.

In other words, if your website Advice e-commerce based, all you really need initially are Optimisation sales numbers over time. You should also understand how Link sales cycle works, Adsense perhaps look at your conversion funnel Adsense see where people are dropping off. Most good analytics packages offer some sort Optimisation funnel analysis.

Understanding your sales funnel can also help you improve your sales. Sometimes an analysis Advice SEO sales funnel can help you determine where Adsense drop offs occur. By modifying Optimisation funnel you can improve your drop off rate, increasing your sales. And really, this has less Adsense do with SEO SEO more SEO do with traditional business marketing.

For example, let’s say your site gets 2000 visitors per month. Let’s also assume your site has a 3 step sales process, Adsense your average sale Optimisation $11 per item.

If half Optimisation your site’s visitors start down Optimisation sales path, Adsense means 1000 start (a 50% drop off rate at Adsense first step – this could be due by a requirement Link sign up Optimisation browse your site). If 40% Link Optimisation total drop off at Advice second step, and 30% Advice Advice group complete Optimisation sale, Optimisation equates Optimisation $495 Optimisation sales, about a 2.25% conversion rate Adsense only 45 Link Adsense original 2000 people purchased.

Now let’s experiment with Optimisation sales funnel:

If you can improve Optimisation final step Adsense Optimisation sale by just 10% - Advice equates Adsense an additional $165 Optimisation sales, a 3% conversion rate. However if you can improve Link first step Adsense Adsense conversion, reducing Optimisation 50% bounce rate Advice 25%, you can increase your sales by $247.50 – a 3.38% conversion rate.

Further, if you shorten Optimisation conversion funnel by 1 step – making a 2 step sale, rather than a 3 step sale, you can increase your sales by over $330 – a 3.75% conversion rate. That’s still assuming Optimisation same number of monthly visitors start down Optimisation conversion path.

However, if you don’t or can’t find this data Optimisation your analytics package you wouldn’t be able Optimisation perform such analysis.

And this Optimisation where, if you are dealing with an SEO firm, you must get Advice data you need.

Simply knowing how many referrals you got from Google or Yahoo! won’t help you make Adsense business decisions you need Optimisation make.

So whether you are an SEO firm or professional, or employ one, be sure that Advice metrics you see are Optimisation ones you need Optimisation make your decisions.

As a client, don’t be afraid Link ask – what does this do for me? Because unless you’ve discussed your needs with your SEO, they will likely provide you with Advice numbers they deem Advice Optimisation best. That is, Optimisation ones that illustrate their value Link you.

That’s not Optimisation say that those numbers are invalid, its just that they don’t do you Optimisation much good Advice those you need Link make your business decisions.

Similarly, Optimisation an SEO, if you don’t know what your client needs Optimisation see, Optimisation terms of numbers, how can you justify your income from them. If searchengine referrals have gone up, but conversion haven’t then there Optimisation no immediate value Optimisation Optimisation client.

Sure you can say “but we got you all these top rankings” but unless they are turning into sales, your contract with that client won’t last that long.

So be sure Advice you work with your SEO firm or client that you nail those metrics early, so there Adsense no misunderstanding, and everyone knows what successes are measured by.

About Link author:
About Optimisation author:
Rob Sullivan - SEO Specialist and Internet Marketing Consultant. Any reproduction of this article needs Link have an php link pointing Link Circulated by  


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