Do You Need to Install Web Analytics?

“Do you need to install web analytics?” may seem like a shocking question for those within the SEO community, but it’s something that a lot of website owners wonder about. You may think that web analytics are just for big websites or for facilities that have business analysts on staff. Surely, there are websites that don’t need analytics, right?

Wrong.

You can’t go back and capture information from the past.

One of the most common reasons why people choose not to install web analytics is that they think their business or practice is just too small to benefit from analytics. They figure that they can just install their analytics once the website brings in enough traffic to benefit from capturing that data.

The thing is, you can’t go back and capture the data later. When you’re in a position to make good use of data about your visitors, you will be glad that you have a history to work with. But only if you start capturing that data immediately.

Your webmaster can install Google Analytics, which is free, in a matter of minutes. Haden Interactive always does this as part of a website build. If your web designer didn’t do so, it’s worth asking them — or us — to take care of it for you now. 

Once it’s installed, you don’t have to do anything more with it until you’re ready.

Information from the past helps you create strategies for the future.

There are other reasons why people hold off on installing web analytics. Perhaps they’re intimidated by the amount of data, they fear they won’t know what to do with it, or they don’t want to face the reality of their website’s performance.

These are common feelings, but they shouldn’t stop you from installing web analytics.

Install web analytics, such as Google Analytics, even if you don’t have any plan to use it or don’t know how. Once you’re ready, you’ll have the information you need to create a practical SEO strategy:

• How people find your website
• What actions they take there
• Who your customers are and how they convert

If you try to develop a digital marketing strategy without this information, you’re less likely to be successful.

Your own first-party data can be much more useful than tips and tricks from other people’s experience.

It’s easy to find pronouncements on the web, around the water cooler, or at your local happy hour. “Instagram works best with Millennials” or “Facebook brings three times as much traffic as Twitter” or “There are only five keywords that will really work for you.”

These claims are often based on nothing but the gut feelings of the people who make them. And of course the reactions of the people who repeat them.

Armed with actual data from the actions of your website’s actual visitors, you won’t have to rely on someone’s feelings. Data-driven decisions are more likely to succeed.

Installing analytics is a simple process that won’t cost you anything (except the time for yourself or your web team to install and configure it), and it can provide you incredibly valuable information.

When you’re ready for an SEO firm to manage your web analytics, contact Haden Interactive.