How Google Analytics Can Turbo-Charge Your Content Marketing

Learn how to "read" the most critical pieces of data Google Analytics gathers on your site and use them to take action.

Services like Google Analytics allow you to discover much information about your audience. Just as with the monstrous Great Old Ones of H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu mythos, a simple glimpse into the vastness of all available data (over 500 Dimensions and Metrics) is enough to drive a person mad.

Unlike the inescapable horrors in the works of Lovecraft, however, you can make sense of the chaos if you approach it methodically. You can understand what your audience wants.

You can take actions that will bring measurable results. And if they don't, repeat and reiterate, considering insights gained in the process. This might sound as daunting as a trip to Dunwich, but that's why we've put together these tips to help you make sense of it all:

1. Check Your Tech

Your technology must perform well since it can render your site inaccessible to many of your intended audience. A site designed only for desktop monitors will be almost unusable on a small mobile screen. If you’re using many images, plugins, and other “nice to have” extras, it’s worth remembering that they take a toll on your site’s performance. 

Mobile traffic has dramatically increased, overtaking desktop traffic, which will soon be how people consume content.

Mobile First?

Google has acknowledged that most people nowadays browse the web through their smartphones, tuning their ranking algorithms to reward websites that are "mobile first." Since most of your visitors will be on a mobile device, you should ensure your site offers a stellar mobile experience.

To check your site’s mobile performance, click on the Mobile tab in the Audience section of Analytics. Check out the Overview to gain insights into your site's performance on mobile devices.

We should note, though, that by “mobile performance,” Google doesn’t (only) mean your site’s speed. By a “site’s mobile performance,” Google also refers to how your site’s design works on mobile devices.

Is it easily accessible? Is the design “fluid” and “responsive,” changing to present its content optimally for all possible screen sizes and resolutions? A menu designed with a mouse and keyboard combination in mind could be entirely unusable on a small screen on which we use our thumbs.

In other words, if your site’s design was created primarily for the desktop, maybe it’s time you started thinking about a redesign. That is, if you want to rank higher in Google Search results.

If your site is slow, visitors won’t wait for it to load. And unfortunately, today, even a 3-second load time is considered “slow.”

The Importance of Being Speedy

Google considers your site's speed one of the most critical factors in their (updated) ranking algorithms. Real-world data justify them since 64% of smartphone users expect web pages to load in under four seconds.

With Google Analytics, you can pinpoint where your site is the slowest.

A mere one-second delay:

• Reduces page views by 11%
• Decreases customer satisfaction by 16%
• Eats away 7% of your conversion rate

To look at your site's speed, select Behavior > Site Speed > Overview. Page Timings, the next option, offers insights into how individual pages perform.

2. Know Your Audience

By understanding your audience, you can create tailor-made content for them. Google Analytics helpfully groups everything related to your visitors under the Audience menu. From there, you can learn more about your site’s visitors, helping you customize your content for them or expand it to reel in a broader audience.

Audience Overview

You can learn more about your audience's language, location, and the tech they use to access your site at the general Overview page. Why run local promotions on your site if most visitors come from a wholly different state or country?

If you create your content with over 35-year-old males in mind, but Audience Demographics in Google Analytics show your visitors are under 25 and female, it’s time you updated your approach.

Demographics

Audience > Demographics offers a quick glimpse into your audience's age and gender. This information can help you shift your content towards your better-performing demographics.

If over 50% of your audience is in the 25-34 range, maybe scratch those posts about smart hearing aids and rethink your target audience. You can get more detailed data by visiting the Age and Gender menu below.

Interests

The Interest reports are probably the most interesting. Start at the main Overview report to see what content your visitors like, from technology to cooking. It's worth remembering, but you shouldn't try forcing inappropriate content into your site, attempting to cater to everyone.

Recognizing the pages with the lowest bounce rates on your site will help you plan a better long-term strategy and create better-performing content.

Continue to Affinity Categories to see a more detailed drill-down showing bounce rates. If a specific type of content has a minimal bounce rate, you just found people who like what they see on your site. You should "like them back" by tweaking your content and campaigns for them.

3. Analyze Your Content

People will come to your site because of its content. They will leave for the same reason. Google Analytics can help you see what content works and doesn't, allowing you to plan the type of content you should publish. 

Find what’s performing better and try to replicate those successes while minimizing or eliminating anything that doesn’t work and pushing your visitors away.

As a bonus, you can check what your visitors want to see on your site, basically providing you with a ready-to-use list of hot topics.

Site Search

You can know exactly what your visitors want from your site. Just look at how they use its search functionality!

Analytics' Site Search will help you understand the content visitors expect to find on your site. If it doesn't exist, it will provide you with a helpful list of topics you should consider covering.

A peek at the Organic Search report of Google Analytics will show you the search terms people used to find your site. You can treat them as keywords and tweak your SEO to include them.

Organic Search

The Acquisition > Overview > Organic Search report will show you the search keywords that led people to your site. Based on those, you can build a list of topics you should target in the future.

For example, if your main content deals with computers, you might find that many of your visitors are interested in an area you could easily tap into gadgets.

You may find that it’s a good idea to add an “eco-friendly” sub-category to your cookware e-shop, promoting recyclable and reusable items. Or that adding some sporting gear reviews on your site about football will go over well with your audience.

High Traffic - Low Conversions

Some of your site's pages may perform exceptionally well regarding views but also have a very high bounce rate. Find and tweak them to reduce the problem and boost conversions.

Select Behavior > Site Content > Landing Pages to find your best performers. Then, click the "Comparisons" button (fourth after the search field). Select "Bounce Rate" from the second pull-down menu on the new report.

As you'll see, traffic is only half the picture: many of your most popular pages will also have a high bounce rate. Concentrating on engaging content that leads to conversions, not more insubstantial page views would be best.

4. Act on Your Data

Using Google Analytics will give you a clearer picture of your audience and content. You can use this newfound knowledge to expand your reach and increase conversions. After finding your content, it’s also time to consider additional parameters that play a role in its success - like the time of publication.

Don’t post when nobody’s around to see what you posted. Find the optimal content posting times by glancing at the “When Do Your Users Visit” panel on the Google Analytics home page.

Optimal Publishing

On the Homepage of Google Analytics, notice the "When do your users visit?" panel. There is a heatmap showing the optimal time frames to publish your content. Why post something when there's no one around to see it?

As mentioned earlier, you should shift your content towards topics proven by cold, complex data to work and convert. Then, expand on your existing content based on the keywords people use to find your site or through its search.

Set Some Goals

Setting up Goals in Google Analytics will help you see if you are approaching your actual goals or drifting further away from them. Has a post you estimated would have thousands of views achieved that goal? Are your visitors registering on your site or bouncing away after one or two page views?

To help set up your first goals, look at the Google Analytics help page.

The Tip of the Iceberg

We just covered only the beginning of your journey to optimize your content. You should reassess your approach to SEO based on the data you acquire. Consider this an area in constant flux: people and trends change.

By continuously keeping an eye on Google Analytics, you can steer your site towards success. To avoid the trappings of high-performing but low-converting campaigns, check out more suggestions on creating better content.

We would love to hear more about how you use Analytics to improve your content—leave us a comment with your tips or suggestions.

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