What is Google Analytics?
Google Analytics is the search giant’s web analytics service. It tracks and reports traffic to a particular website and its mobile app. It works within the Google Marketing Platform and was launched in its first format the best part of 20 years ago, back in November 2005.
It essentially provides stats and analytical tools for search engine optimisation (SEO) and marketing purposes. What’s more, as long as you have a Google account, you can use this powerful, user-friendly service free of charge.
Use it to track website performance and collect visitor insights, identify the best sources of site visitor traffic, assess the success of your marketing campaigns or activities, and to understand in depth the way people interact with your site, and their needs.
Learn about page views, how much time has been spent on your site, when someone left it, plus lots of other information, too.
In short, it’s no exaggeration to say that this is a key tool for anyone who owns or runs a website. Since July 2023, Google Analytics 4 (GA4), has replaced the previous iteration, known as Universal Analytics (UA). This latest version has up-to-date features plus a user-friendly interface, so businesses can understand and optimise their digital presence more easily, while gaining a more comprehensive view of user behaviour.
Importance of Google Analytics to SEO
GA4 is hugely useful in terms of search engine optimisation (SEO). You can use the information provided to make the right adjustments to your site, so that it moves up the Google rankings, plus those of other key search engines. After all, it’s the product of the exact same search engine visitors use before landing on your site. So it can capture insights in a way that other SEO tools simply can’t.
With the information provided, you can devise a proper strategy for your SEO.
Visitor tracking
Once you know visitor numbers, and whether these have gone up or down, you can tweak your strategy accordingly, as necessary.
Understanding keywords
Once you appreciate which keywords your website is ranked for, you can decide whether to change these or not, and whether you’re focusing on the right keywords for your brand.
Know which domains bring traffic to your website
Google Analytics gives you insight into the source of your website traffic and which sites are referring visitors to you. This helps inform your strategy for link-building.
Click path
This metric gives you an understanding of the user-friendliness (or otherwise) of your website’s design. You can also assess how people leave your website, and where they stay if they do. That way, you can fine-tune your site’s navigation to enjoy the maximum number of conversions. If you have a high bounce rate, for example, you could try to come up with some more engaging content.
So, when used correctly, Google Analytics supplies invaluable data you can use to implement effective SEO campaigns which bring your business the best possible results. It can transform performance and allow you to identify any problematic areas right away.
Talk to us
At Simply Search, we’re a Google Analytics consultancy and can help you to derive maximum benefit from this powerful platform. Talk to us about how we could enhance your online visibility and, ultimately, overall business success with our professional solutions. Apply for a free website review today to kick start your search engine optimisation journey.