By
- TechTarget Contributor
What is web analytics?
Web analytics is the process of analyzing the behavior of visitors to a website. This involves tracking, reviewing and reporting data to measure web activity, including the use of a website and its components, such as webpages, images and videos.
Data collected through web analytics may include traffic sources, referring sites, page views, paths taken and conversion rates. The compiled data often forms a part of customer relationship management analytics (CRM analytics) to facilitate and streamline better business decisions.
Web analytics enables a business to retain customers, attract more visitors and increase the dollar volume each customer spends.
Analytics can help in the following ways:
- Determine the likelihood that a given customer will repurchase a product after purchasing it in the past.
- Personalize the site to customers who visit it repeatedly.
- Monitor the amount of money individual customers or specific groups of customers spend.
- Observe the geographic regions from which the most and the least customers visit the site and purchase specific products.
- Predict which products customers are most and least likely to buy in the future.
The objective of web analytics is to serve as a business metric for promoting specific products to the customers who are most likely to buy them and to determine which products a specific customer is most likely to purchase. This can help improve the ratio of revenue to marketing costs.
In addition to these features, web analytics may track the clickthrough and drilldown behavior of customers within a website, determine the sites from which customers most often arrive, and communicate with browsers to track and analyze online behavior. The results of web analytics are provided in the form of tables, charts and graphs.
Web analytics process
The web analytics process involves the following steps:
- Setting goals. The first step in the web analytics process is for businesses to determine goals and the end results they are trying to achieve. These goals can include increased sales, customer satisfaction and brand awareness. Business goals can be both quantitative and qualitative.
- Collecting data. The second step in web analytics is the collection and storage of data. Businesses can collect data directly from a website or web analytics tool, such as Google Analytics. The data mainly comes from Hypertext Transfer Protocol requests -- including data at the network and application levels -- and can be combined with external data to interpret web usage. For example, a user's Internet Protocol address is typically associated with many factors, including geographic location and clickthrough rates.
- Processing data. The next stage of the web analytics funnel involves businesses processing the collected data into actionable information.
- Identifying key performance indicators (KPIs). In web analytics, a KPI is a quantifiable measure to monitor and analyze user behavior on a website. Examples include bounce rates, unique users, user sessions and on-site search queries.
- Developing a strategy. This stage involves implementing insights to formulate strategies that align with an organization's goals. For example, search queries conducted on-site can help an organization develop a content strategy based on what users are searching for on its website.
- Experimenting and testing. Businesses need to experiment with different strategies in order to find the one that yields the best results. For example, A/B testing is a simple strategy to help learn how an audience responds to different content. The process involves creating two or more versions of content and then displaying it to different audience segments to reveal which version of the content performs better.
What are the two main categories of web analytics?
The two main categories of web analytics are off-site web analytics and on-site web analytics.
Off-site web analytics
The term off-site web analytics refers to the practice of monitoring visitor activity outside of an organization's website to measure potential audience. Off-site web analytics provides an industrywide analysis that gives insight into how a business is performing in comparison to competitors. It refers to the type of analytics that focuses on data collected from across the web, such as social media, search engines and forums.
On-site web analytics
On-site web analytics refers to a narrower focus that uses analytics to track the activity of visitors to a specific site to see how the site is performing. The data gathered is usually more relevant to a site's owner and can include details on site engagement, such as what content is most popular. Two technological approaches to on-site web analytics include log file analysis and page tagging.
Log file analysis, also known as log management, is the process of analyzing data gathered from log files to monitor, troubleshoot and report on the performance of a website. Log files hold records of virtually every action taken on a network server, such as a web server, email server, database server or file server.
Page tagging is the process of adding snippets of code into a website's HyperText Markup Language code using a tag management system to track website visitors and their interactions across the website. These snippets of code are called tags. When businesses add these tags to a website, they can be used to track any number of metrics, such as the number of pages viewed, the number of unique visitors and the number of specific products viewed.
Web analytics tools
Web analytics tools report important statistics on a website, such as where visitors came from, how long they stayed, how they found the site and their online activity while on the site. In addition to web analytics, these tools are commonly used for product analytics, social media analytics and marketing analytics.
Some examples of web analytics tools include the following:
- Google Analytics. Google Analytics is a web analytics platform that monitors website traffic, behaviors and conversions. The platform tracks page views, unique visitors, bounce rates, referral Uniform Resource Locators, average time on-site, page abandonment, new vs. returning visitors and demographic data.
- Optimizely. Optimizely is a customer experience and A/B testing platform that helps businesses test and optimize their online experiences and marketing efforts, including conversion rate optimization.
- Kissmetrics. Kissmetrics is a customer analytics platform that gathers website data and presents it in an easy-to-read format. The platform also serves as a customer intelligence tool, as it enables businesses to dive deeper into customer behavior and use this information to enhance their website and marketing campaigns.
- Crazy Egg. Crazy Egg is a tool that tracks where customers click on a page. This information can help organizations understand how visitors interact with content and why they leave the site. The tool tracks visitors, heatmaps and user session recordings.
This was last updated in May 2021
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FAQs
What is web analytics? ›
Web analytics is the collection, reporting, and analysis of website data. The focus is on identifying measures based on your organizational and user goals and using the website data to determine the success or failure of those goals and to drive strategy and improve the user's experience.
What do you mean by web analytics? ›Web analytics is the collection, reporting, and analysis of website data. The focus is on identifying measures based on your organizational and user goals and using the website data to determine the success or failure of those goals and to drive strategy and improve the user's experience.
What does a web analytics tool do? ›Web analytics tools report important statistics on a website, such as where visitors came from, how long they stayed, how they found the site and their online activity while on the site. In addition to web analytics, these tools are commonly used for product analytics, social media analytics and marketing analytics.
What are the four kinds of web analytics? ›Analytics is a broad term covering four different pillars in the modern analytics model: descriptive, diagnostic, predictive, and prescriptive. Each plays a role in how your business can better understand what your data reveals and how you can use those insights to drive business objectives.
What is the difference between data analytics and web analytics? ›Did you catch the difference between web and data analytics? Web analytics focuses on understanding websites. Data analytics works with data sets that can be extracted from websites, solutions, channels, platforms, or anywhere else.
What is an example for web analytics? ›Analytics platforms measure activity and behavior on a website, for example: how many users visit, how long they stay, how many pages they visit, which pages they visit, and whether they arrive by following a link or not.
What are the two main types of web analytics? ›The two main categories of web analytics are on-site analytics and off-site analytics. On-site web analytics provide data about how visitors to your website interact with it, and what content they find engaging. This helps you understand how effective your content strategy and marketing campaigns have been.
What are two skills required for web analytics? ›- Business Acumen. Always start with a question or “business problem”. ...
- Problem Solving Skills. ...
- Data Visualization Skills. ...
- Understanding of Traffic Drivers. ...
- Adaptation Skills. ...
- Strong Communication Skills. ...
- Political Skills. ...
- Technical Skills.
Google Analytics is the most popular free web analytics tool out there. It's a traditional analytics solution, meaning it provides real-time data about your site's traffic like pageviews, sessions, time on page, bounce rates, and other stats and metrics.
How do you use web analytics data? ›- Pick metrics that align with your business objectives. ...
- Use data to drive decision-making. ...
- Don't limit your focus to traffic. ...
- Always pair data with insights. ...
- Look at your data in context. ...
- Share and ask for feedback from stakeholders.
What are the 5 pillars of web analytics? ›
- Objectives for visitors. What do you want your visitors to do? ...
- Tracking conversion. The conversion is important part of web Analytics. ...
- Explain abandonment rates. ...
- Identify bounce rates. ...
- Determine cost per acquisition.
Web Analytics or Online Analytics refers to the analysis of quantifiable and measureable data of your website with the aim of understanding and optimizing the web usage. Web analytics focuses on various issues. For example, Detailed comparison of visitor data, and Affiliate or referral data.
How does web analytics help businesses? ›Website analytics help your site's SEO in various ways. By knowing your visitors' demographics and interests, you can create targeted content and get better visibility on search engines. Furthermore, you can gain some insights on backlinks by tracking your referrals.
Is Google Analytics a web analytics? ›Google Analytics is a platform that collects data from your websites and apps to create reports that provide insights into your business.
Is Google Analytics part of web analytics? ›Google Analytics is a web analytics service that provides statistics and basic analytical tools for search engine optimization (SEO) and marketing purposes. The service is part of the Google Marketing Platform and is available for free to anyone with a Google account.
Is digital analytics the same as web analytics? ›So back to the original question – What is the difference between Web Analytics and Digital Analytics? Web Analytics is analysis of the website data. Digital Analytics includes analysis of data from all digital channels that includes websites.
How do I track my website using web analytics? ›- Step 1: Get an Analytics Property ID. If you don't already have one, sign up for an Analytics account. Find your Analytics Property ID.
- Step 2: Add the Analytics Property ID to your site. On your computer, open a new Google Sites. ...
- Step 3: See your data. Open Analytics.
When you open a website and press F12 in Chrome, the Developer Tools opens. Here, you navigate to the Sources tab. On the left menu, you look for Google Analytics. There is also a chance that GA is installed with Google Tag Manager.
How do you measure web analytics? ›- Page views. This is a measurement of your overall traffic, or how many “clicks” your site receives.
- Unique visitors. ...
- Engagement. ...
- Bounce rate. ...
- Top pages and exit pages. ...
- Referrals. ...
- Keywords. ...
- Browsers.
What Are the Risks of Web Analytics? The main concerns around web analytics come from misuse of data. There has been mounting concern that companies have been using data in ways that they're not supposed to, which in turn negatively affects people.
Which web analytics tool is most popularly used Why? ›
Google Analytics
Google Analytics is one of the most popular web analytics tools. It allows you to analyze your website's activity and your audience's engagement. Pros: It shows user insights in detail.
- Predictive data analytics. Predictive analytics may be the most commonly used category of data analytics. ...
- Prescriptive data analytics. ...
- Diagnostic data analytics. ...
- Descriptive data analytics.
Yes, coding is essential when you pursue a Data Analytics Degree Online. However, it does not demand highly advanced programming skills. But it is a must to master the basics of R and Python. Also, an extensive proficiency in querying languages like SQL is more than necessary.
What makes a good web analyst? ›Great communication skills are required in order to tell a detailed story to clients about their analytics. A web analyst should be able to understand data, relationships between data sets, and be able to identify and explain recommendations for improvement.
How do I set up web analytics? ›- Sign in to your Google Analytics account.
- Click Admin.
- At the top of the Property column, select your property.
- In the Property column, click Data streams > Web.
- Click the data stream for your website.
- Under Google tag, click View tag instructions.
No, you don't have to use Google Analytics for your website. You can design, build, and run a website perfectly well without it.
What are the three domains of analytics? ›There are three types of analytics that businesses use to drive their decision making; descriptive analytics, which tell us what has already happened; predictive analytics, which show us what could happen, and finally, prescriptive analytics, which inform us what should happen in the future.
What are four basic standard web principles? ›The industry standard guidelines for web content accessibility are organized around four principles: Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, and Robust (or POUR).
What are the 3 pillars of web? ›HTML, CSS, and JavaScript are the three pillars of frontend development; they enable you to build a holistic website.
Is web analytics a skill? ›In this post, I want to focus on web analytics, an important and critical skill — and possible career for anyone interested in digital marketing. Contrary to popular opinion, this is not an industry dominated by IT professionals; management and marketing professionals fill 95 percent of the jobs.
Who is responsible for web analytics? ›
Web Analysts are generally responsible for analyzing, maintenance and web development costs. The ay also be responsible for decision making based on staffing, purchasing of equipment and new technologies related to deployment of websites and web development.
Is SEO a web analytics? ›SEO analytics is defined as a method of collecting and analyzing your data to gain a better understanding of your website's organic performance. An effective SEO analysis helps identifying key areas to focus on when optimizing your site for search engines.
Why is web analytics important in marketing? ›Web Analytics can help you understand your customers better. It tells you who they are, where they're coming from, and what their interests are. It tells you about their demographics and location. It also helps reveal any conversion challenges that might exist on your website.
How has web analytics progressed? ›Web analytics became more established as an essential tool for web optimization, providing increasingly complex solutions that reported massive amounts of data. The Web Analytics Association (WAA), now known as the Digital Analytics Association, was born.
What is Google Analytics now called? ›Google Analytics 4 is our next-generation measurement solution, and it's replacing Universal Analytics. On July 1, 2023, standard Universal Analytics properties will stop processing data.
What is the difference between analytics and Google Analytics? ›Digital analytics is the core skill. Google Analytics is just a tool used to implement digital analytics. You can also implement digital analytics via other tools like Adobe Analytics, Kissmetrics, etc.
Does Google Analytics cost money? ›Google Analytics gives you the tools, free of charge, to understand the customer journey and improve marketing ROI.
How do I become a web analytics? ›Aspirants who want to become Web Analyst are required to undergo web analyst internships. One can find interning opportunities through various recruitment websites where a number of employers post job vacancies on a regular basis.
What is the difference between web and digital analytics? ›So back to the original question – What is the difference between Web Analytics and Digital Analytics? Web Analytics is analysis of the website data. Digital Analytics includes analysis of data from all digital channels that includes websites.
Can you tell if a website uses Google Analytics? ›When you open a website and press F12 in Chrome, the Developer Tools opens. Here, you navigate to the Sources tab. On the left menu, you look for Google Analytics. There is also a chance that GA is installed with Google Tag Manager.
What is Web Analyst salary? ›
Web Analyst salary in India ranges between ₹ 1.2 Lakhs to ₹ 8.5 Lakhs with an average annual salary of ₹ 3.2 Lakhs. Salary estimates are based on 719 latest salaries received from Web Analysts.
What can web analytics not tell you? ›Web analytics tools cannot tell you what your customers are looking for on your website. While analytics tools can provide valuable insights into your online performance, they are limited in their ability to tell you what your customers are thinking or feeling.
How do I find my website analytics? ›To start, go to Insights » Reports » Overview. Here you can see a traffic overview report and the overall performance of your website. If you scroll down, you can see the Device Breakdown report that shows which device your visitors use to view your website.