Analysing and understanding data provides the foundation of a successful marketing campaign. It is all too easy to analyze the data, build the campaign, and let it run. But sustained success requires ongoing data analysis and interpretation, and taking campaigns that extra step further needs ongoing trials and tests. Fortunately for online marketers, we have the luxury of abundant historical and real-time data at our fingertips just waiting to be mined and utilised to our liking.
Web Analytics
With Google analytics providing a platform to analyze a huge amount of data, web analytics has become increasingly popular and rewarding for webmasters. We can now track a wide variety of usage data including pre-entrance statistics such a search terms, and post-entrance statistics which can tell us all about the quality of traffic that particular search terms and sources bring. The use of heat mapping and other website performance metrics enable us to determine which parts of our websites are generating high user engagement and channelling traffic effectively while at the same time warning us where our website and web pages go dark and unexplored.
Marketing Analytics
While web analytics can aid us in optimising our websites for better user experience and conversion, marketing analytics is screaming for some attention. Analysing channel specific performance alerts us to high potential channels that are perhaps lacking focus and attention. Once we know exactly where our traffic is generated and the quality of this traffic, we can direct our efforts to areas where we know high rewards are waiting. Using marketing analytics not only alerts us to high performance website traffic but to consumers who would love to be customers, but just haven’t found the great website we have waiting for them. And don’t forget competitors; where are they getting their traffic from? And how are they promoting this traffic flow both offsite and onsite?
Tools for Data Management and Analysis
Google analytics isn’t the only tool out there. Although they’re becoming better and better at offering greater opportunity for marketing analytics rather than just web analytics, we can still go elsewhere for more specific data acquisition:
Topsy provides a great social analytics platform which can tell you all about your social traffic flow, how they interact with you and how they react to you and your website.
Fresh web explorer provides information on links and mentions across the web over recent weeks – identify changing trends and surges in activity which have potential for manipulation.
Optimizely allows easily managed A/B testing where you can measure, track, and act.
Kapost provides an excellent platform for content marketing management – manage every step of the content marketing process.
Don’t stop at bounce rates and visits. There’s endless banks of data out there waiting to be tapped in to and multiple tools to help take advantage of this data. Taking that extra data step could just be the difference between winning a market share or losing it all to your competitors.
