9 Important Metrics to Grow Your Business

To achieve our KPI goals, it is crucial that we have a clear understanding of our data and identify the metrics that demand our focus. Let us analyze this together with confidence.

Google Analytics is a widely used analysis tool that provides a plethora of analyses and tools. It's easy to feel overwhelmed by the Google Analytics panel, especially for e-commerce website owners with their unique setups. This article will discuss 9 essential metrics that will aid in understanding the success and status of your online business. These metrics will offer e-commerce companies valuable information and enable them to accurately measure user behavior. By utilizing the metrics listed, you can find answers to crucial questions such as: Did we achieve our goals? Is website visitor traffic and conversions increasing? How much time does a typical user spend before making a purchase? Which pages are visitors exiting from the website? Which pages are performing the best? and more.

3 Important Metrics and Reports in Google Analytics for E-commerce Websites

For a precise analysis of your e-commerce website data, it is highly recommended that you complete the custom Analytics setup for e-commerce.

Searches within the Site

When you analyze the search terms on your website, you gain valuable insights into what your users are looking for and which pages may benefit from additional information. This is just one of the many ways you can optimize your website for improved user experience and increased engagement.

To view the searches made on your website in your Analytics account, you must enable search terms in your Analytics account. If you are using WordPress, simply enter "s" in the search parameter. Google Analytics will now record searches made on your website. If you are using a system other than WordPress, obtain the query parameter from the person who developed your website. Typically, this parameter is written in the URL when you perform a search.

Once you have completed the installation setup, confidently access the search terms used by your users by navigating to Behavior > Site Search > Search Terms. Feel free to filter for specific date ranges, too.

With this metric, you can ask and answer the following questions.

*What percentage of users actually use the website's search function? If this percentage is high, does it indicate that users may be having difficulty finding what they are looking for on the website?

*To enhance the performance of Google Ads campaigns, it is essential to determine the most sought-after keywords on the website. Moreover, editing product descriptions based on the search terms could prove highly beneficial. It is also worth exploring whether users are searching for existing products under different names. To achieve a better understanding of the users' experience, it is highly recommended to search the website using the same terms used by the users. This would provide valuable insights that could be used to examine the results thoroughly.

*To better understand user behavior, it's important to identify the pages that receive the most searches. While the Home Page is a good starting point, we recommend exploring other frequently searched pages and prioritizing their development. By focusing on the most popular pages, we can enhance the user experience and drive engagement.

Time and Sessions to Purchase

To gain a comprehensive understanding of the user purchasing process, it is crucial to analyze the number of sessions and average duration required for a purchase. As the manager of the e-commerce website, it is imperative to examine the customer journey. You can access this screen by navigating to Conversions > Ecommerce > Time to Purchase in Google Analytics.

By analyzing this data, you can reach the following conclusions and questions:

*To determine your marketing channel, it's crucial to know the percentage of users who make a purchase during their first session. If this number is too high, you'll need to concentrate on Search Ads to target potential customers who have an immediate need for your product.

*To determine how many sessions users need before making a purchase, it's essential to analyze the data. You can incentivize customers with special offers that can help reduce this number. For instance, you can offer a gift card or discount code through a pop-up screen by tracking their cookies once a user visits the same product for the second time. This method is effective in boosting sales and increasing customer satisfaction.

Comparison of Attribution Models

The Attribution Models screen provides a comprehensive overview and comparison of all available attribution models. It is important to avoid the common mistake of selecting "Last Click" in the Google Ads Attribution panel, especially for e-commerce sites. By analyzing this data in Google Analytics, we can gain valuable insights into the interrelationships between different models.

With the comparison screen, we can delve deeper into analyzing the association models. For instance, we can examine if users made any conversions on their first website visit, and access all related data.

If your sales process is lengthy, you can analyze the channels by comparing the first and last interactions, and identify the most effective marketing channel or tool. If the conversion rate for the first interaction is higher than that for the last interaction, that's fantastic and indicates that your sales cycle is brief. In other words, the user is making a direct purchase on the first try.

3 Great Metrics for Lead Generation Data Collection Campaigns

These are the top three metrics that businesses not selling online, but collecting data such as name, surname, phone, and email, will use to evaluate their campaigns with confidence.

Assisted Conversions

First, let's clarify the supported conversions. This screen provides a comprehensive overview of the channels utilized by users to send their information, including direct organic search and CPC. With this tool, we can effortlessly differentiate between these channels and optimize accordingly.

By examining the metrics on this screen, which channel provides the most leads? Which channel should receive more investment? We can explore questions like:

Website Exit Pages

The next step is to analyze the pages where users exit your website the most. For example, the screenshot below shows the report for my own website during the last month.

To properly evaluate this data, it is crucial to grasp the exact function of the pages and scrutinize them. If the pages are solely designed to provide information to the user, and there are no other goals, then a high exit page percentage is not a cause for concern. However, if the aim is to convert from that page, and the exit percentage is unacceptably high, then optimization of the page should be an immediate priority.

Here, you have the opportunity to evaluate the average session time and take advantage of a pop-up screen. For example, if Analytics indicates that the average exit time for a user on a page is 40 seconds, you can send a pop-up offer to the user after 35 seconds on that page. This strategic move will surely boost your lead conversions.

To thoroughly analyze exit pages, I highly recommend utilizing tools such as Hotjar to scrutinize your website's heatmap. By doing so, you can gain a comprehensive understanding of which areas caught the users' attention prior to logging out, enabling you to effectively enhance those sections.

Devices, Browsers, Networks & Network Services

The next step is to examine devices, browsers, and network services. The purpose is to review the data and conduct development studies for the devices and browsers that provide the highest conversions.

You should definitely check the performance of your website on mobile, tablet, and desktop devices. By doing so, you can optimize your online marketing strategies and make more informed bid adjustments based on device performance. For instance, if you are getting the most conversions from mobile devices, it makes sense to decrease the frequency of your ads on desktops. You can decrease your bid adjustment for desktops by -40% and increase it for mobile by +15%. This will help you get the most out of your advertising budget and achieve your marketing goals with greater efficiency.

If there are notable discrepancies in conversions across devices, it is definitely worth delving deeper into the matter. Take into account factors such as website page speed, image quality, and design when conducting your investigation.

Upon reviewing the network services report, you have the power to tailor your bids for network services in your ad campaign settings. For example, if you observe that the Turkcell network service is generating the highest number of conversions, you can confidently boost your advertising campaign's offer for the Turkcell network service by 5%.

For Brand Promotion Campaigns

In my extensive experience, I have found that even the most skilled digital marketers can sometimes struggle when it comes to crafting truly successful brand campaigns. However, by utilizing the powerful tools available through Google Analytics, we are able to gain valuable insights into the web pages and content that are most engaging to our target audience, as well as their specific interests. Armed with this knowledge, we can confidently create more impactful and effective campaigns that truly resonate with our customers and drive real results.

Page Views Report

This report is packed with valuable insights that will help you determine which content is most engaging and which content needs improvement.

Through this report, users:

*You have the ability to determine which pages your visitors frequent the most, how much time they spend on each page, what type of content they prefer, the relevance of the content to your brand, and many other valuable insights that can inform your strategy.

*When a page has a high number of views but also a high percentage of exits, it's a clear sign that improvements are needed. To keep users who come directly from the organic website on the page and encourage them to explore other pages, innovative solutions can be developed and implemented.

User Interest Categories

This report confidently showcases the categories of interest for users visiting your website. You can use this valuable information to create new target audiences in those interest categories. Prior to launching new advertising campaigns, it is crucial to know the interests of your audience. This report helps answer the question, "What kind of audience should we target?".

This report offers valuable insights into the lifestyle preferences of your users or customers. Armed with this knowledge, you can confidently customize your offerings to better serve their needs and exceed their expectations.

Naturally, it is necessary to thoroughly scrutinize specific categories. For instance, in the event that "Turkish education enthusiasts" is the top category when optimizing advertising campaigns for an English school, it may suggest a problem with your current target audience. Therefore, it is imperative to reassess and make appropriate adjustments.

Once your advertisements are up and running, visitors will land on this page where their interests will be analyzed to determine your target audience. If irrelevant interest categories appear absurd, don't hesitate to reconsider your target audience to ensure optimal results.

How to Link Organic Search Terms and Results to Your Brand in Google Analytics

To view this report in Google Analytics, you simply need to associate your Search Console account with Google Analytics. Once completed, you will gain access to the valuable data on search terms from organic traffic by navigating to Acquisition > Search Console > Queries in a seamless and effortless manner.

In this report, you can observe the conversions of users from organic searches through new segments.

When selling in multiple countries, you have the ability to filter organic search terms by country by leveraging the "Primary Dimension - dimensions" feature. This feature empowers you to scrutinize search term-country-conversion data through the report with ease.

You can easily find users who specifically search for your brand by following these steps.

Notes and Conclusion

When creating online marketing campaigns, it's essential to explore Google Analytics data thoroughly. By using this data, we can leverage it in many ways to achieve outstanding results.

If you encounter any difficulties, do not hesitate to leave a comment or reach out to me for help.

In my previous article, I introduced Google Analytics Intelligence. If you haven't had the chance to read it yet, I strongly recommend doing so by clicking here. You'll gain a better understanding of Intelligence and how it can benefit your data analysis.