Google Analytics: Pros And Cons
Google Analytics is a great tool that helps businesses understand the population that most engages in your social media and content, as well as how much your content engages users. Although such insight can positively impact marketing strategies, there are gaps in Analytics, not unlike any other program.
The Pros of Google Analytics
Google Analytics serve as a valuable way to gain insight into your businesses most popular use of material, and understand what is most commonly engaging to potential consumers. You can build accurate reports to see what social media trends should be utilized more, and by using a hefty marketing mix, you can create a smart brand strategy. Such strategies can be used to involve more users and gauge how to maximize interest in various aspects of your market.
The Cons of Google Analytics
Google Analytics is a great tool to see how much activity you currently have, and thus, focuses on present and active views. The common loss from Analytics is the audience that is not responding or does not have the requirements for their data to show up.
Maintaining and improving your website and social media views is essential, but without understanding what non-prospects are interested in, you could be losing a large portion of potential consumers.
Why do we need Google Analytics?
Analytics helps you understand how people use your sites and apps, so you can take action to improve their experience. Discover what Google Analytics can do by checking out the features list below:
- Analytics Intelligence – Get fast answers to questions about your analytics data, uncover insights about how your business is performing, and tap into sophisticated modeling capabilities.
- Analytics Reporting – Understand how customers are interacting with your site and apps, and easily share insights across your organization with a variety of reporting tools.
- Data Analysis and Visualization – Analytics provides many ways to access, organize, and visualize your data to suit your business needs.
- Data Integration – Analytics is designed to work seamlessly with other Google solutions and partner products, saving your time and increasing efficiency.
How does Google Analytics track data?
Google Analytics tracks all of its data by using a distinctive tracking code that you install on every page of your website. This code is typically a snippet of JavaScript that runs in the viewers’ browser when they visit the designated pages. The JavaScript code works with a larger JavaScript file on the Google server to collect information on the user’s activity on the website. The code tracks information regarding their visit each time the user visits the website. The code also sets a cookie on each visitor’s computer, which provides anonymous information to create user IDs.
What can you do with Google Analytics?
The main thing Google Analytics can do for you is help you make decisions based on the qualitative and quantitative aspects of the collected data. You can find out whether it is a good idea to continue investing money on advertising. In addition, you can discover where you should be advertising in regard to geographic location.
What does Google Analytics measure?
Google Analytics measures the dimensions and metrics. Dimensions include the attributes of your data, the page you are assessing, or the social network channel you are evaluating. Metrics are the quantitative measurements for those dimensions.
Gaps In The Analytics Process
There are a few gaps that occur throughout the Analytics process that are beyond the control of users. Two ways that data may be negatively be impacted include:
- No cookies: If cookies are disabled for a user, there will be no record of them checking out your website or social media
- No Java: Users who do not use Java will not have data included in final reports
Those two issues are quite large and can make for gaps in any report, but understanding that gives you, the website owner, a better understanding about missing data or lower numbers.
Overall, Google Analytics is a great tool to understand what activity is taking place on both your social media accounts as well as on your website, but like any program, there are gaps. Understanding such issues and working to minimize them creatively is a great way to boost your brand, and also learn more about the tools you are using within your branding strategy. Contact the Appfy team for all your Analytics needs, training, and professional support. Ranking shouldn’t have to be tricky, so let us help you get your business off the ground with a hassle.
