It is no secret that the biggest constraint of small businesses is time. There is no time to go into Google Analytics and create specific reports, read blogs about new and free services, and understand traffic sources. Most small business owners focus on one Key Performance Indicator, sales.
What most small business owners don’t realize is they have hidden opportunities that lie within their web analytics platform. There are keywords, traffic sources, and landing pages that provide them with the most lift and opportunity. Finding these opportunities takes a few minutes for a good analyst.
Start Small, Develop a Few Key Reports
Small business owners do not need to be looking at hundreds of reports daily. They need 5 reports or less that let them know how they are doing. Ability to access these reports quickly and make decisions. This will allow the business owner to prioritize their time to what elements make them the most money.
Start Small, Consistently Optimize
Today’s market changes often and quickly. No matter how you look at it, some pages, products and content can become quickly outdated. Having reports that let you know what content, products, and services are not in demand are an asset to the small business owner. This allows them to optimize their time, website, and budgets towards the demands of the market.
Start Small, Develop a Business Intelligence Infrastructure
This sounds complicated, but it really isn’t. As soon as possible your goal is to create a database of information that links your website to your customers, to your sales. This opportunity is not backwards compatible. Six months down the road you cannot pull together insights from your customer database and link them to your web analytics platform.
Conclusion
Small business analytics doesn’t have to be expensive. You can start small by creating a few enhancements and later add to your project once you see the value and return on investment. The worst thing you can do is look back and wish you had the information that will answer important questions about your business at a later time.
Related posts: Case Study: Google Analytics eCommerce Segmentation, Google Analytics 201, What is data driven strategy for digital advertising campaigns