Americans, on average, spend most of their waking hours in this activity; interacting with digital media. Entire libraries of books, music and movies are replaced with streaming subscription services. Even everyday activities like getting directions or finding recipes frequently are done online. But entertainment and navigation aren’t alone in reorganizing around the infrastructure of the Web. Nearly any decision to buy will start on the Internet.
It is estimated that two-thirds of any purchase decision is completed online. Today, more than ever, it is critical that the digital side of the buyer’s journey be optimized with timely, relevant messaging. To accomplish this, marketers turn increasingly to web analytics packages like Google Analytics.
Analytics platforms unearth insights in a customer’s path to purchase that would otherwise be hidden from view. They can help distinguish buyer profiles and assist in benchmarking for different audiences. They also help in optimizing landing pages, blog copy and page layouts to increase the likelihood a visitor will purchase and streamline the purchasing process.
Considering a buyer’s mind is more than halfway made up by the time they call a seller, leveraging the insights discovered using analytics is a must. Analytics put digital marketers in the driver’s seat for the online portion of a purchasing decision, delivering clues to a buyer’s intent and pointing to content that may satisfy a buyer’s requirements and interests.
Here are four helpful ways analytics packages assist in unlocking the buyer journey:
- Deliver crucial insights – Marketers can have live data of how users are experiencing their sites. Bounces, pageviews, time per page and more give direction for site improvements.
- Measure campaign effectiveness – Analytics tools can help marketers determine, in detail, the performance of their campaigns. As soon as traffic hits their site, they can see each step between the first click and the conversion.
- Integrate with other tools – Beyond organic and paid traffic, analytics tools fuel insights for marketing automation platforms to track the success of emails, webinars and more.
- Optimize the buyer journey – Every step of the buying cycle can be examined in detail, helping digital marketers determine where they are winning or losing an audience and whether they are converting or deterring sales.
If you’re in the dark on your digital traffic, it’s easier than ever to get up to speed on analytics. Tools like Google’s Analytics Academy can help marketers of any skill level learn to use the platform and start tracking performance across their site.
