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9 steps for a monthly Google Analytics data check

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Reading time minutes
By Shannah de Ruijter

For your website to perform optimally, it is important to track how it is performing. However, this is only possible in a Google Analytics account that is set up correctly. Then you can collect the right data to better understand the needs of your visitors. Do a monthly Google Analytics data check to make sure your account is still properly set up. This will help you achieve your business goals!

Currently, more than 55% of websites use Google Analytics. It is necessary to know where your leads are coming from, who your visitors are and what else is happening on your website. Without Analytics, you don't know this. You only see the results. To see if your website is set up properly, you can go through these ten steps for a monthly Google Analytics data check:

#1. Check where the traffic is coming from

Through online marketing campaigns, you probably direct traffic to your website. But which actions actually have an effect? You can read this in Google Analytics.

Via Acquisition → All Traffic → Channels, you can see the default channels (Direct, Organic, Social, Referral, and so on). You can see for each channel how many visitors came in and whether this channel generated conversions.

It's not necessarily about increasing the number of visitors to your website, it's about making sure they are relevant visitors. Are they really looking for information or do they leave the website right away? And do you notice anything else in the conversions per channel? For example, did a channel contribute to achieving a goal, such as a download?

Channels Google Analytics

#2. Check the 404 pages on your website

It often happens that special landing pages are created for various campaigns. After the campaign ends, the url is often still published somewhere such as on social media, newsletter or even in Google.

When this is the case, you are still drawing traffic to this page. It is then important that you know if the visitors land on a 404-Error page or if it has a redirect. A 404 page causes visitors to leave your website immediately, which is bad for your Google ranking.

In Google-Analytics, you can create a separate view for the 404s. This view will then show all 404s. If you then look in this view at Acquisition → All traffic → Channels, you can see how people arrived at the url.

At Behavior → Site content → All pages, you can see how many visitors come to these pages.


404 Error page

#3. Check what content is relevant to your visitors

In Google Analytics, you can easily assess whether the content on your website is relevant to visitors. In Analytics, go to Behavior → Site content → All pages and you will see which pages are visited the most.

The exit rate shows which pages your visitors are abandoning. Combined with the time visitors spend on the page, you can determine whether or not they find the content relevant. You can then optimize this.

Do you have a search bar on the website? Then this is another way you can find out what visitors like to read. Via Behavior → Searches on the site → Search terms, you can see what searches were made in the search bar on your website.

Search bar

#4. Check the number of conversions

Your website's conversion rate is one of the most important metrics to measure. Conversions can be hard conversions or soft conversions. The difference is in the result. With hard conversions, the visitor makes a purchase or fills out a form on the website. A hard conversion contributes directly to the company's bottom line. Soft conversion is a form of conversion that does not immediately lead to additional sales. Yet a soft conversion is valuable; this lead can still bring the company results at a later time.

A hard conversion is seen within Google Analytics as a goal that has been achieved. An overview of the goals achieved, how the goals were achieved and what this yields in revenue can be found under Conversion → Goals → Overview.

Target categories overview

#5. Check the differences in performance between desktop, mobile and tablet

It is possible that your website will be opened via different devices. It is therefore important that the website is user-friendly on the different devices. In Google Analytics, you can see the difference in usage of the website between different devices under Audience → Mobile → Overview.

When checking the data, look for certain points that stand out, such as in the number of conversions per device or visitor behavior across devices. A big difference in hard conversions per device could mean that something might be wrong with one of the devices.

Test the website on the different devices and try to improve it. This improves usability. While checking, keep in mind that a mobile user has a different behavior pattern than a user via desktop.

Differences devices

#6. Check what the drop-off points are on the website

Thanks to Google Analytics, we can precisely track website behavior. This also allows us to know where and when visitors drop out. You can find the exit moment by looking at the exit percentage of the individual visitor. When a page has a high abandonment rate, it may mean that the content does not match well with what the visitor is looking for.

A visitor may drop out for a variety of reasons. The visitor may have encountered a problem on a page or the page may not be user-friendly enough. Also, as with the previous point, there may be a difference between visitors from different channels. It could be that a page works differently or even crashes on mobile but flows well on desktop. It is important to test this out yourself and optimize where necessary.

#7. Check your visitors' Google searches

Another free feature from Google that can provide you with a lot of important information is Google Search Console. Search Console allows you to track and maintain your site's presence in Google's search results. Ultimately, you can gain insight into how Google sees your site so that you can improve your site's performance in Google rankings. Here's how you can link your Google Analytics to Google Search Console

The keyword data can be found under Acquisition → Search Console. In this data you can find which keywords were used to get to your website, how often the keyword was used and at what position you are in the Google Ranking with the same keyword. Based on this data you can improve the findability of your website.

Linking Google Analytics to Google Search Console:
1. Log in to your Google Analytics account

2. Click on Administratorat the bottom left of the page
3. Click on
Property settings
4. Scroll down until you come across Search Console

5. Click on Customize
6. Your website's URL should appear here automatically, if not click on
Add to add your website to Search Control.
7. Click on Done/Confirm

#8. Check the conversion paths your visitors follow

In Google Analytics, a conversion is always assigned to the last interaction. While it could also be that a visitor comes to the website through a LinkedIn campaign, remembers the website and comes back at a later time to convert. So how do you find out which path the visitor took to the conversion? Fortunately you can find this under Conversions → Multi-channel funnels (provided the person is using the same device to convert).

Supporting conversions
Under supporting conversions you can find a list of the channels you use, the source/mediums. In addition, you will see a column with the supporting conversions, with this you can see which channels are most supportive and help you achieve conversions.

Supporting conversions

Best conversion paths
The report Best Conversion Paths contains all the unique conversion paths that led to a conversion, the number of conversions from each path and the value of this conversion. In the report you can also see which channels along the conversion path influence each other, so it shows which channels work well to familiarize the visitor with the website. Ultimately, this allows you to determine the effect of the channel.

Best conversion paths google analytics check

Delay
The report delay shows the number of days from first user interaction to conversion.

Path length
The report path length displays how many channel interactions occurred before a conversion was achieved.

#9. Check the overall improvement of your website

After checking all the above points, you will have a good idea of the actions performed on your website and how your website is performing. It is important that you keep checking monthly to constantly improve and optimize your website.

To assess whether your Web site continues to improve, it is important to establish Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). KPIs are variables you have set for yourself that help you determine whether or not your Web site is improving. KPIs are different for every business. Here are some examples of KPIs from different companies for Web sites:

  • KPIs for Lead Generation websites: the conversion rate is the most important KPI, this because it is obviously important to generate leads. You can also look at the average length of a visit and the number of pages visited per visit.
  • KPIs for Content Websites: an important KPI for content websites is the ratio of new visitors to repeat visits. This is because a content website wants to acquire visitors. Another important KPI is the number of pages visited per visit, as this can mean that your content is interesting and the visitor wants to read more.
  • KPIs for E-commerce Web sites: The most important KPI for sites that focus on sales is, of course, revenue. Yet it is also important to look at, for example, average order value and the number of new or repeat purchases made.

 

After going through these 9 steps with your monthly Google analytics check, you will have gained much more insight into your website. You can use this data and insights to further improve and optimize your website so that you always meet the needs of visitors.

Should you still have questions about data from Google Analytics. 

Get in touch!

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Shannah de Ruijter
Shannah de Ruijter

About this schurq

Online Marketing Consultant

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