Introduction:
Several online retailers are utilizing Google Analytics to improve their conversion rates among their customers and also to follow new opportunities in the mobile and social commerce sphere. These retailers are noticing that their customer's online experience can be enhanced based on the information that they receive from the web analytics data (Martinez, 2011).
Really Good Stuff Uses GA:
Really Good Stuff is an online retailer that sells teacher supplies. Their VP of commerce, Larry Wasserman, says that the company utilizes Google Analytic software to "see what people click on and how that leads to conversion" (Martinez, 2011). They have been using the software since 2005 and stayed with it through all of their many upgrades. Aside from the new interface and social networking capabilities, Really Good Stuff is able to leverage Google Analytics' segmenting tools to analyze the difference in new visitor behavior versus returning visitors. According to Wasserman, "It's gotten more advanced in terms of custom reporting and the ability to set goals," (Martinez, 2011), The online company also uses the Google Analytics tools to understand product and promotion performance. For instance, if something is not performing up to their standard, then they can just slot in a new promotion. Really Good Stuff has recently rolled out a product customization tool and as a part of the development they were able to create feedback loops to improve the overall product (Martinez, 2011).
Recommendations:
a. Ecommerce Tracking
Google Analytics offers several ecommerce specific functions that are not just displayed by default and must be enabled. Therefore, it is necessary for Really Good Stuff to set up Ecommerce Tracking in the admin panel of their shopping cart, as it sends Google all of their conversion rate information (Chou, 2012). Once this function is set up, Google will know every product that the store is selling, how much the store is making, and even how much is being charged for shipping. Once successfully implemented, Google Analytics will help Really Good Stuff track: the total amount of revenue broken down by products sold and correlated with every traffic source that they receive; the conversion rate depending on the traffic source and if certain mediums are converting better than others; and the demographic data of the store’s customers and who is more likely to spend more or to buy a certain item from the shop (Chou, 2012). The value in this feature is that it would allow Really Good Stuff to gather and cross reference several important pieces of data for their store.
b. Funnel Visualization
Because Google Analytics puts out so much data, it becomes the company's responsibility to determine where consumers are experiencing issues or stumbling on the website so that they can have the best experience possible. In turn, a retailer like Really Good Stuff should think about implementing the funnel visualization tool within GA. This provision will help Really Good Stuff see when exactly users are backing out of a particular process on their site, like when they purchase the product or when they fill in particular information. Funnels are most commonly used in ecommerce sites where there is a shopping cart and checkout process, so Really Good Stuff would get the most out of this report. The web administrator at Really Good Stuff could set up a Goal Funnel that starts at a landing page of a pay-per-click or email marketing campaign that they establish and that ends at the Goal, like the "Thank You" page after the users completes their purchase (Teixeira, 2008). The marketers at Really Good Stuff will be able to look at each page in the Funnel and see where users are abandoning the shopping process or if they are facing complications in just handing over their money (Teixeira, 2008).
Setting goals within Google Analytics would also be beneficial for Really Good Stuff in that it would allow the Internet retailer the ability to establish and manage goals for pretty much anything they wanted, like sales, registration, successful ad conversions, and traffic. When these goals have not been met, then the marketers could use this data to pinpoint certain flaws in their marketing strategy (Sazbean Consulting, 2011).
c. Social Reports
Sometimes it may be difficult for companies to assign value to social channels and campaigns and there are several tools out there today that attempt to assess the return on investment of social media (Miller, 2012). Considering that Really Good Stuff maintains a few social media accounts, the Social Report application within Google Analytics seems like it would be a great asset for the company as well. This particular platform will allow the retailer’s marketers to be able to track all of their social accounts, websites, short links, and blogs easily. This report will connect the dots between their social media and essential business metrics. Really Good Stuff can identify the full value of the traffic coming from social sites and measure how they lead to direct conversions or assist in future conversions. They will be able to completely understand social activities that are happening on the store’s site as well as off the site to help them optimize user engagement and increase social key performance indicators. Also, the Social Report will ultimately allow them to be able to make more efficient data-driven decisions in their social media marketing programs (Miller, 2012). By defining goals within this report, Really Good Stuff can determine what the value of a specific network is and they would be able to tailor it to the things that are important to their business. The Social Reports will provide another segment of social insight that will be able to show Really Good Stuff which portion or products of their website attracts links, while enabling them to keep a record of conversations across other sites that may link to their site as well.
d. Refine Adwords Ads
Last, it would be ideal for the retailer, Really Good Stuff, to use Google Analytics to refine their Google Adwords ads. They could track all of the search queries that a customer may type in when searching and clicking on their Adwords ads so that they know what the customer is looking for (Chou, 2012). Then, they could cater their ad keywords and landing pages according to what they uncover. There may be an instance where a customer lands on the Really Good Stuff site looking for a certain type of product, like a special rack for the classroom. If the store does not carry this particular item, then they can add negative keywords to their Adwords campaigns. These keywords will prevent Adwords ads from appearing when a customer types in this specific online search item. In turn, Really Good Stuff will save money with their ad spend because they will no longer have to pay for ads that customers cannot buy from them. This information could also be beneficial to determining which products to add to the store. If there is an overwhelming amount of people looking for this particular rack, then it may be a good idea for the store to add it to their product mix (Chou, 2012).
References:
Chou, S. (2012). How We Use Google Analytics To Improve Our Online Store. Retrieved July 9,
2012, from http://mywifequitherjob.com/how-we-use-google-analytics-to-improve-our-online-store/.
Martinez, J. (2011, 01 August). Web analytics boost e-commerce sites. Retrieved July 08, 2012,
from http://www.dmnews.com/web-analytics-boost-e-commerce-sites/article/208145/.Miller, M. (2012, 20 March). New Google Analytics Social Reports:
Measure SMM Value, View Streams. Retrieved July 9, 2012, from http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2161938/New-Google-Analytics-Social-Reports-Measure-SMM-Value-View-Streams.
Sazbean Consulting. (2011, 16 March). 19 Reasons to Use Google Analytics for Your Business.
Retrieved July 08, 2012, from http://sazbean.com/2011/03/16/19-reasons-to-use-google-analytics-for-your-business/.
Teixeira, J. (2008, 18 September). Let’s talk about Funnel Visualization. Retrieved July 08,
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