Why does your business have a website?
Understanding the purpose of your business website, is crucial to effectively creating goals in Google Analytics and what data you wish to extract.
A website serves as an online representation of your business and can fulfill various objectives depending on your company’s needs and industry.
Table of contents
Here are some common reasons businesses have websites:
Increasing brand visibility and credibility
A professional-looking website can help build trust with potential customers and showcase your brand’s values, mission, and offerings. It provides a platform for sharing your company’s story and differentiating it from competitors.
Generating leads and sales
A well-designed website can serve as a powerful marketing tool for capturing leads and driving sales. By incorporating effective calls-to-action (CTAs), contact forms, and providing valuable content, you can attract potential customers and guide them through the buying process.
Providing customer support
A website can help streamline customer support efforts by offering self-service resources like FAQs, knowledge bases, or live chat functionality. This not only improves customer satisfaction but also frees up your team to focus on more complex issues.
Showcasing products and services
Your website allows you to present your products and services in an organised and visually appealing manner. High-quality images, detailed descriptions, and customer reviews can help persuade visitors to make a purchase or inquire further.
Building an online community
Engaging with customers and fostering a sense of community can be achieved through a website’s blog, forum, or social media integration. This can help keep your audience engaged, strengthen your brand’s reputation, and provide valuable feedback for improving your offerings.
Facilitating e-commerce transactions
For businesses that sell products or services online, a website serves as an essential platform for processing transactions, managing inventory, and tracking orders.
Sharing valuable content
A website allows you to create and share informative and engaging content, such as blog posts, case studies, whitepapers, and videos. This can help position your business as an industry expert, drive organic traffic, and generate leads.
By determining the primary purpose(s) of your website, you can better understand which type of goals to track in Google Analytics.
Remember that your website can serve multiple purposes simultaneously, so it’s essential to define and track goals that align with your overall business objectives.
Related: developing a consistent brand and standing out from the crowd
Is there a specific goal you’re looking to achieve?
This is the most important question you need to consider when you are trying to figure out when creating goals in Google Analytics.
Generally speaking, there are three kinds of websites; e-commerce, lead generation, and content websites.
Depending on which of these three broad categories you fall under, this will affect what kind of goals you are tracking.
Destination Goals: Tracking Conversions and Optimising User Journeys
Destination goals in Google Analytics are useful for monitoring when visitors reach a specific page or series of pages on your website.
These goals help you measure conversions and optimise user journeys, especially for e-commerce and lead generation websites.
Importance of Destination Goals
Measuring Conversions
Destination goals allow you to track the effectiveness of your marketing efforts by measuring how many visitors complete a desired action, such as purchasing a product or signing up for a newsletter.
By setting up goals for these actions, you can assess the conversion rate and identify areas for improvement.
Analysing User Journeys
Destination goals help you understand the paths users take on your website before completing a goal.
By analysing the user flow, you can uncover bottlenecks, drop-off points, and opportunities for optimisation.
Engagement Goals: Monitoring User Interactions and Improving User Experience
Engagement goals in Google Analytics help you track user interactions with your website, including metrics such as time on page, bounce rate, and number of page views.
These goals are particularly valuable for lead generation and content-based websites, as they provide insights into user behaviour and help you optimise your website for better user experience and higher engagement.
Importance of Engagement Goals
Understanding User Behaviour
By monitoring engagement metrics, you can gain insights into how users interact with your website, which content resonates with them, and which elements may need improvement. This information can guide your content strategy, website design, and marketing efforts.
Reducing Bounce Rate
A high bounce rate may indicate that users are not finding what they are looking for or that your website is not meeting their expectations. Tracking engagement goals can help you identify problematic pages and make necessary changes to keep users engaged and reduce bounce rates.
Enhancing User Experience
By analysing engagement metrics, you can identify opportunities to improve the user experience on your website. For example, if users are spending less time on certain pages, you may need to reevaluate the content or design to make it more engaging.
Event Goals: Capturing User Interactions and Measuring Content Effectiveness
Event goals in Google Analytics allow you to track specific actions taken by users on your website, such as watching a video, downloading a file, or clicking a specific button.
These goals are especially beneficial for content-based websites and can provide valuable insights into user interactions and content effectiveness.
Importance of Event Goals
Measuring Content Effectiveness
By tracking event goals, you can assess the performance of various content elements and interactive features on your website. This can help you identify which types of content are resonating with your audience and refine your content strategy accordingly.
Optimising User Interactions
Event goals help you understand how users engage with interactive elements on your website, such as forms, videos, and buttons. This information can guide your website design, user experience, and conversion optimisation efforts.
Gaining Insights into User Preferences
Tracking event goals can reveal user preferences and habits, such as the types of resources they download or the specific actions they take. These insights can inform your marketing strategy and help you better target your audience.
Are you tracking your goals correctly?
Understanding and effectively tracking the right goals in Google Analytics is essential for optimising your website and making informed decisions about your marketing efforts.
By setting up destination, engagement, and event goals, you can gain valuable insights into user behaviour, content effectiveness, and conversion rates, ultimately driving growth for your business.
If you need assistance in setting up Google Analytics goals or interpreting the data to make strategic decisions, our team of experts is here to help.
We have the experience and knowledge to guide you through the process, ensuring that your goals align with your overall business objectives and provide actionable insights for continuous improvement.
Don’t miss out on the opportunity to optimise your website, boost conversions, and grow your business!
Caroline Hagan
Caroline brings over 15 years as a Designer and Developer; featured in .NET magazine, the only woman in the UK accredited for Google Mobile Sites. A business mentor with Enterprise Nation, STEM Ambassador and Google Women Techmaker Ambassador Previous client projects include Blackberry, FIAT, Clark Shoes and Sky.
