What can analytics do for you?
At their very core, analytics exist to provide insight as to what marketing efforts are working and which just aren’t cutting it. Understanding key metrics can help you manage your marketing budget more effectively. You might have an instinct as to what you think works best for your business, but analytics and data can give you the insight you need to back up these decisions or figure out what tweaks you might need to make.
Not all website traffic or social media data are equal. It can be difficult to figure out what key pieces of information you should be paying attention to. There is no simple answer to choosing what information will be most useful for analysing website and social media performance. Ultimately, this is something that can only be decided on a case-by-case basis. However, if you’re new to the world of analytics, you can use the following information to help make some of these decisions.
Which website and social media metrics are overrated?
Metrics can be meaningless without insight. We live in a world filled with data. Your Google Analytics and social media dashboards are filled with information. Some metrics, called vanity metrics, might sound really good but really not have much meaning after all. So, what should you look out for?
Your view count for videos, web page views, blog post views, social channel likes, email open rates, and follower count are some metrics that are prone to sounding better or more important than they actually are.
Of all the overrated metrics, these are among the most common to give a false sense of success. This isn’t to say these measurements aren’t important. They’re a part of the picture, but they only have meaning if they are reflecting business successes. If you’re getting a bunch of likes and follows but business isn’t getting a boost, these metrics wouldn’t be supporting your ROI.
The most important metrics
It’s important to track analytics over a period to get the most accurate overview. Combining long-term analysis with choosing the best indicators of success for your business is key.
Often, the following metrics can provide vital information:
● Bounce rate
● Conversion rate
● Engagement
● Leads
In addition to these metrics, some of the vanity metrics listed above can be incredibly useful too. It is important to measure engagement, email click-through rate, follower count, and other similar metrics to get an idea of what kind of content works best. However, you shouldn’t determine the success of marketing efforts on those measurements.
Know your goals
Ultimately, the best way to make the most of your social media and website analytics is by understanding what your goals are. Once you understand your goals, you can focus on areas that are most important to you and your business.
Digital Bridge can help you with all aspects of your website, from web design to website hosting to understanding your website traffic. To get in touch, email us at hello@digitalbridge.com.au or give us a call at +613 8658 2434.