Google Analytics is a free and very powerful tool for tracking how your website performs, so you can fix what is missing and build on what works. Every website owner should use it. It turns data such as how much traffic your site gets, where that traffic comes from and how many conversions you are getting into clear, detailed reports.
Note: this article was written in 2020 for the version of Google Analytics at the time (Universal Analytics). Google replaced it with Google Analytics 4 in 2023, and some reports now have different names, but the ideas below still apply.
1. Real-time
This report shows what is happening on your website right now. For example, you can see that two users are active, that they arrived from social media, that they are in Myanmar, that one is reading your About page and that another has just moved on to your gallery.
2. Audience
Here you can see your users and new users, their gender, age and country, plus:
- Sessions: the number of visits
- Session duration: how long each visit lasts
- Pageviews: how many times pages on your site were viewed
- Pages per session: how many pages people view in one visit
The bounce rate shows the share of visitors who view a single page and then leave. A high bounce rate tells you people are leaving because they didn’t find what they wanted, so you can work on those weak spots. What counts as a good bounce rate depends on the type of page and your industry, so compare your own pages over time rather than against one fixed number. (In Google Analytics 4, bounce rate is the share of sessions that were not engaged.)
3. Acquisition
This report breaks down your traffic sources, so you can see which platforms bring the most people looking for your business. Putting more of your investment into those channels helps you get better returns.
4. Behaviour
The behaviour reports show how visitors move around your website, including the user flow. You can see which pages are read the most and which sections are never read at all, so you can fix the weak areas and strengthen the good ones.
5. Conversions
Conversions work like sensors that tell you how well your website is doing. Typical conversions include reaching a thank-you page, filling in a contact form, downloading a white paper that educates customers, and making a purchase.
There are also micro-conversions, such as sharing your content on social media, subscribing to a newsletter, watching a video, playing a game, using a calculator, using live chat or searching with the intention to buy.
One important point: you have to set up conversion tracking before these reports will show any data.
Because conversions are the step just before a purchase, a rising number of conversions is a good sign that your website is working well.
We hope this gives you a better idea of how Google Analytics can help your website. We share website tips regularly, so do visit the MWD website whenever you have time.