Google Analytics is one of the best tools to study traffic, market and effectiveness of marketing campaigns. However, it can also be used to track metrics that will tell you what to do to improve the UX of your digital product. How does Google Analytics data affect the development capabilities of websites or applications?
Google Analytics — an essential tool for web analytics
Why should you consider using a tool like Google Analytics? First of all — has great research capabilities. It allows not only to track the activities of e-commerce, which simplifies the optimization of processes and increase the number of transactions, but also to observe the interaction of users that would not be visible in other tools. Facilitates Thorough understanding of users and their needs, checking the correct operation of individual elements and indicating those that can be improved. And of course — it's free.
Google Analytics and User Experience
The role of User Experience is not exactly aesthetics itself. This is primarily the opportunity to create solutions that will be convenient for users and allow for higher conversions. This can be assessed numerically. At the moment when UX is supposed to eliminate business problems, 4 stages of action can be distinguished:
- search for a problem,
- analysis,
- developing a solution,
- evaluation of results.
In both the 1st and 4th stages, quantitative data are extremely important, obtained from Google Analytics. Analysis of the conversion funnel will allow us to assess at which stage users, among others, give up purchases — whether it is the shopping cart stage or choosing a payment method. Thanks to this, you know what to focus on, what to improve, and what brings the most benefits.
Google Analytics — how can it affect the improvement of websites?
UX and conversions are interrelated, so it is known that even the best done marketing campaigns will not make customers arrive at a time when UX does not meet user expectations.
The most important for any website or mobile application are high conversion rates. This can not be achieved if the user does not experience positive emotions when familiarizing himself with the product. Customers are impatient, so they have to the ability to quickly achieve your goals and objectives. If the experience of using a digital product is pleasant, there is a high probability that the consumer will return again and realize further intentions.
Google Analytics — what to look out for?
With the ability to track key metrics, UX designers can precisely determine the behavior of users from their entry to the site until the moment of the conversionBuying a product or using a service. However, it should be borne in mind that only one indicator is not enough to evaluate the project. It is also worth carrying out other studies, e.g. with the participation of users or a usability audit.
There are some particularly important Google Analytics reports to look out for. Among them are:
- behavior flow report — it is used to check the path of users, that is, the page they enter at the beginning, until the last, before they leave the page. If users try to navigate through individual pages several times, it can be considered that they do not quite know how to navigate the platform,
- demographics — allow you to check the website you visit, taking into account gender, age groups, similarities, market segments, which allows you to create a persona,
- New and returning users — thanks to these reports, you can find out what type of customers visit the website and what marketing activities bring the most benefits. They show both new consumers and those who appeared on the site again, that is, how many of them returned again. This information is obtained thanks to CookieID. However, this is not the most accurate source of data, because after clearing cookies, the user who has already visited the site is visible as new,
- type of device For Google Analytics, mobile, desktop and tablet devices are the most important. So, in the report you can see the distribution of visits on this type of device. Thanks to this, it is possible to make changes in areas that need to be adapted to a specific type of device or screen size,
- Average number of pages per session — allows you to specify the number of pages that users of the page view in a single session. Of course, this depends on the conversion path, the type of website and the business model,
- bounce rate — this will help you find both the sites with the lowest as well as the highest bounce rates. This information can be obtained by checking the interaction (or lack thereof) on the site. The report allows you to identify sites with lower performance and what is worth focusing on in order to optimize them,
- Average time spent on the site — allows you to check how much time users spend on individual pages, on which they are longer and on which ones are shorter. It happens that a shorter average time spent does not mean that the user does not like the site, but that he quickly found the information he was looking for.
Google Analytics — History and Changes
Google Analytics is a tool that has been on the market since 2006, but only in 2012 it became Indispensable for web analytics. A long time ago, this service was developing, however, at some point it became insufficient. In 2020, it is time for change. Google has notified users of the new version.
Modifications have been made, among other things, in technology. The old solution did not work optimally in the area of mobile applications, and these are becoming more and more popular. Improvements were therefore a necessity. Another reason was the changing needs of users. Until a few years ago, Internet users mostly used computers. Currently, most search for deals on mobile devices, however, they are still finalizing transactions on desktop devices. However, this difference is becoming smaller and smaller.
The introduction of modifications is also related to the protection of personal data, which limits the possibility of meeting users and presenting personalized offers to them. In addition, users often block the ability to track themselves, which makes it even more difficult to conduct research. So changes were a necessity.
How does the new version of Google Analytics 4 work?
As with previous versions, the main role of Google Analytics 4 is checking the effectiveness of the website or mobile application. However, the way the data is measured is different. The new tool is much more flexible, accurate and versatile. The old version functioned thanks to the measurability of sessions, i.e. visits to the site. Unlike previous variants, the new solution focuses on users and aspects related to them.
Google Analytics 4 focuses on the user, which is a kind of innovation with constantly introduced business trends. It makes it easier to understand the needs of users and analyze their interactions and behaviors in relation to the product. This, in turn, leads to the measurability of all elements of the relationship.
Google Analytics 4 — Who will work best for you?
Anyone who runs their business online would like to know if their actions are having the intended effect. Until July 2023, traders can use the old version of the tool, however, after that date Google Analytics 3 will no longer collect data, it will also be deleted. So it is worth taking care of timely migration to the new version. So if the owner of the site has not used Google Analytics so far, it is good to start working on the latest solution.
The changes introduced in Google Analytics may seem difficult to understand, so initially it is worth using the help of a specialist. However, the changes were necessary and allow to eliminate the problems that existed in the older version. If you want to seek the opinion of web analysts or improve the UX of your website using the appropriate tools — contact us.
