Google Analytics (GA4): What to consider when using the program

Even if you’re familiar with monitoring website data, the numbers, charts and settings in Google Analytics can be intimidating. Knowing what to look for will help you interpret Google’s insight about the people who visit your website.

Understanding how website traffic fluctuates will help determine when people will seek your products or services. Your website might generate more traffic during the warmer months, or maybe most of your traffic is driven on weekdays instead of weekends. Knowing those patterns lets you strategize when to add new content or features, such as promotional offers.

Need an extra resource to get started? Here’s a link: Setting Up Your Google Analytics 4 Property for Success

Key Areas to Examine in Google Analytics

Traffic Sources

Learning how users find your website lets you target their search patterns. Google Analytics segments traffic by acquisition source and evaluates performance based on that data. Do visitors reach your website organically through a search engine? Is an ad or email campaign driving traffic? Some users may find your website via social media or links from other websites.

• Overall Traffic: This is a high-level view of your audience, where they’re arriving from and what their experience is on your website – what content they are seeing, how long they stay on your website, if they are a new or returning user, etc.
• Traffic Breakdown: GA4 charts the search to your site and their sources – social media, email, etc. Targeting strong keywords, for instance, will boost organic traffic via search engines.  
• Referrals: These are clicks from another website to your GA4 account.

Audience Insights

Google Analytics profiles users who visit your website. As a result, you can view the geographic location of your visitors and the device each one uses to access your site. When you know the percentage of your audience using mobile versus desktops, you can tailor your website to better serve their technology.

• Demographics: Reviewing demographics in Google Analytics 4 helps businesses understand their audience’s age, gender, and interests. The insight allows for targeted marketing strategies, personalized content and refined messaging to engage users and drive conversions.
• Locations: Analyzing location data reveals where website visitors are coming from. This helps businesses optimize their local SEO, tailor ad campaigns to high-performing regions and base their strategies on geographic trends. It ensures marketing efforts are effective in reaching the right audience.

Behavior Analysis

GA4 gathers data on your website’s online traffic. You can analyze the pages each user visits before moving to another part of your website.

• Landing pages: A strong landing page gives users precise directions to navigate the site to your end goal. The data for these also tracks where users enter your website and the frequency of their visits.
• Average engagement time: Engagement time measures when your app or website is open in the foreground of the user’s device. Create a memorable experience to receive engagement and reduce your bounce rate.

Events and Key Events

GA4 reports specific user actions, such as clicking on a phone number or making a purchase. Tracking those events and conversions helps you understand how users interact with your website. You can also create custom event-tracking for further data.

• Event Count: These are metrics that detail how much total interaction occurs on your website.
• Event Count per Active User: GA4 tracks the total events amassed by each unique user within any time frame.

Mobile Performance

Any digital device must be able to engage and explore your site easily. GA4 distinguishes which users are visiting on mobile devices versus tablets. That way, you can measure your website’s mobile accessibility to improve SEO performance and assess user engagement.

• Device Breakdown: ‘Tech Overview’ in GA4 provides data about which devices visit your site and the frequency of their visits.
• Screen Resolution: This data tells you if your website is accessible across different formats, such as mobile or tablet.

Important Considerations when Reviewing Google Analytics

Setting up Proper Tracking

Proper Tracking is the detailed traffic capturing that organizes your data. The program uses cross-platform tracking to measure the success of your site’s campaign.  

Comparing Time Periods to Identify Trends

Google Analytics evaluates data from different date ranges. This helps detect seasonal variations in your growth. You’ll receive different page views or visitors based on designated periods, either weekly, monthly or seasonal. These reviews help you compare different data subsets, giving you a time-specific view of the overall engagement on your website.

Regularly Monitoring and Adjusting

Once your strategy is in motion, treat it as a living entity. You can’t ‘set-it-and-forget-it’ and assume your strategy is self-correcting. Track your strategy to make relevant adjustments in your course of action. Rely on metrics like KPIs to improve your efficiency.

Turning Insights into Action

GA4 provides you with data and insights to create optimizations and solidify your brand. Apply the insights you’ve learned to optimize your digital presence.

TouchStone: A Digital Agency Turning Data into Strategies

At TouchStone, our clients are our top priority. Contact us at 419.299.9000 or visit our website at TouchStoneDigital.com to schedule an appointment.