Google Analytics: How to make the most of your web analytics

What is Google Analytics?

Google Analytics is the world’s most widely used web analytics tool, and for good reason, it has established itself as the industry standard. It allows you to analyze the behavior of your visitors in detail. You can see exactly how users get to your site, which pages they visit most often, and how long they stay. With this information, you can improve your website specifically to optimize user experience and increase conversions.

Google Analytics is particularly helpful if you want to measure the performance of your marketing efforts. You can track which campaigns drive the most traffic to your site and which content resonates best with your target audience. This allows you to make targeted adjustments and develop your marketing strategy based on data.

The many features of Google Analytics

Google Analytics offers numerous options to gain valuable insights into the behavior of your website visitors. One of the most useful features is real-time analysis. This allows you to observe in real time how many people are currently on your website, which pages they are viewing, and how long they stay. This feature is especially exciting if you’ve just launched a new campaign and want to monitor the first reactions right away.

In addition, you can dive deep into audience analysis with Google Analytics. The tool shows you the demographic characteristics of your users, such as their age, where they are from, and their interests. This gives you a comprehensive picture of your target audience, allowing you to tailor your content specifically to their needs.

You can also track your visitors’ behavior in detail. Which pages are particularly popular? Where do most users drop off? These questions can be answered with the behavior reports in Google Analytics. You’ll gain detailed insights into site navigation, enabling you to identify weak spots on your website and optimize them effectively.

For e-commerce websites, Google Analytics is especially useful, as it provides detailed reports on sales, order values, and the purchasing behavior of your customers. This allows you to always keep track of which products are doing well and where there may be room for improvement.

How to use Google Analytics properly

To use Google Analytics, you first need to create a free account and link your website with a tracking code. This code is embedded in your website, ensuring that data is collected and analyzed in Google Analytics. We are happy to assist you with the setup. Once the code is implemented, you can start setting up goals. These can be specific actions on your website, such as completing a purchase, signing up for a newsletter, or filling out a contact form. If you want to explore the features of Google Analytics further, Google offers numerous tutorials and explanations. The Google Analytics Academy is particularly helpful, guiding you step-by-step on how to make the most of the tool.

Critical review of Google Analytics 4 (GA4)

With the introduction of Google Analytics 4 (GA4), Google has fundamentally redesigned its analytics tool. GA4 brings many new features, especially beneficial for larger companies and data-driven organizations. It focuses more on complex big data analyses and the integration of artificial intelligence to predict user behavior. However, for smaller companies and users who do not require deep data analysis, GA4 poses a challenge.

A common issue with GA4 is its increased complexity. While earlier versions of Google Analytics offered a simple and clear interface, GA4 often feels cluttered and complicated. This can be frustrating, particularly for smaller businesses that only need a clear overview of their website statistics.

Moreover, privacy regulations have become stricter in recent years, especially in Europe and Switzerland. GA4 requires user consent for data collection (Consent Mode), which can significantly limit the accuracy of collected data if this consent is not given. This has led many smaller companies to turn to alternative, more privacy-friendly tools like Plausible.io or Matomo, which are easier to use and do not intrude as much on user privacy.

We support you with integration

Whether you want to use Google Analytics 4 or an alternative tool, we at Comvation are happy to help you choose the right solution for your business and integrate the tool into your website optimally. We make sure you collect all the important data and use it effectively to improve your website and advance your business.

Contact us – we are happy to advise you!