21 August 2024 · Chris
Running a website without analytics is like running a shop with no idea who walked in, which aisle they stood in, or whether they bought anything. Google Analytics is not interesting because it produces charts. It is interesting because it can tell you which pages and channels deserve more of your time.
The handful of views that matter
Traffic sources: organic, paid, direct, referral. If you cannot see which of those produces enquiries, you cannot decide where to spend.
Landing pages: which URLs start sessions, and which of those sessions bounce. A high bounce rate is not a moral failing; it is usually a mismatch between the promise that got someone there and the page they found.
Conversions: form submits, calls (if you measure them), purchases. Until these exist, optimisation is taste.
What to do with the data
Double down on the content that already attracts the right searches. Fix or redirect the pages that waste the visit. Move budget toward the channels that create the actions you care about. That is the whole loop.