Analytics is a complex topic and something that a lot of people have been struggling with in recent years. Collecting the data is one thing, but if you want to make sure that you actually reach the right people and that your campaigns are performing as well as they should be, then you need to be able to process that data well.
Let’s imagine that you hired a London web designer to put together your site, and you have good keywords and semantic metadata that will allow you to have rich snippets in the search results. You are ready to start a search marketing campaign and a social media campaign too. But how will you know if it really works?
The Challenges of Analytics
There are three main challenges when it comes to analytics, as described by Tim McGuire deciding which data you should use, handling the data and making use of the insights you are given. Until recently, even collecting data was a challenge, and processing the data required expensive software packages that were out of the reach of the average small-business owner.
Why Now Is the Time to Start with Analytics
Today, that has all changed. When you get your website put together by a company such as viziononline, you can add tracking code for one of many different analytics services. Google Analytics is a good starting point, but other services that offer heatmaps and user monitoring can be invaluable too.
Thanks to the flexibility of cloud computing and the ease of use of the analytics services provided by Google, and even by ad platforms such as Facebook, you can get actionable insights into the performance of your ad campaigns. You don’t need to be an expert in statistics or have a deep understanding of the metrics you are working with, and you don’t need to be a skilled developer either.
If you have been delaying working with analytics because you feel intimidated by the prospect of big data and analytics, then now is a good time to get started. Why not make 2016 the year that you put analytics to work for you? With the right approach, it could revolutionize your business and save you a lot of money when it comes to attracting new customers.
