The Online Analytics Process: 3 Simple Steps

by | Oct 31, 2020

Online analytics is a never-ending process. The market and competition don’t stand still, so online marketing tactics must be measured and adjusted to adapt to changing realities.

Data collection, reporting, and analysis must be part of your day-to-day activities if you want to effectively leverage online marketing to drive revenue growth.

The Analytics Process

1. Data Collection/Reporting

You must identify precisely what data is required and determine how this data will be secured and reported. The data must be directly aligned with the overall business objectives and associated metrics.

2. Analysis

Data/reports must be analyzed from the perspective of “good and bad” – which online activities are performing well and which are not performing as planned. This insight is required for making informed decisions about how to improve results from online marketing activities.

The analysis must include an assessment of how competitors are performing online so specific tactics to get ahead (and stay ahead) can be identified and put into practice.

3. Refine and Improve

Based on insights gleaned from analysis, make the necessary refinements to online activities to optimize the experience for prospects and customers, with the goal of improving overall performance.

The analysis will highlight opportunities for improvement and areas that can be further exploited. The resulting recommended actions must be identified, implemented, and analyzed.

Testing can effectively be used during the refining and improve phase to determine if tactics will produce desired results. As an example, if the goal is to increase email open rates, testing subject lines can determine which ones (if any) are resulting in increases in open rates.

Over time, the data collected and the reporting requirements will change. Early in the analytics process, the focus will likely be on baseline metrics such as website traffic. As time goes on, metrics will become more targeted; for example, measuring the performance of a specific landing page.

The Bottom Line

You can’t fly blind and expect to have great results. The sooner those analytics become a core competency, the sooner you will realize sustainable revenue growth from your online marketing efforts.

Core Online Marketing provides the experience and skillsets small and mid-sized businesses need to be successful online. We do so through a strategic approach that drives results.

Are you doing everything that you can to be successful online? Download our free self-audit to find out, it only takes fifteen minutes to complete!

Ben Molfetta
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