Watching your analytics and reacting to them is the simplest way to add profitability to a website.  It seems like a really simple step, yet it is one of the most profound steps that you can take.

What analytics can show you:

At its most basic level, setting up a website with Google Analytics can show you a) Where people came from the get to your site, b) What they are doing while they are on your site and c) what causes them to leave. What I have found is that monitoring these three simple things and how they change over time can give me clues as to how my website is performing.

Where do they come from?

Much of my site traffic is driven by SEO (Search Engine Optimization) but there are other methods as well. You can use Pay per Click advertising, traditional advertising that has your website information on it, and email marketing to name a few, The old adage that 505 of your advertising is wasted, you just do not know which 50% is no longer true. Smart advertising and marketing in today’s world means taking a look at which advertising is actually working and doing more of what works and less of what does not.

What are they doing on my site?

What percentages of people that come into my site are taking the action that I want them to take. (In my case buying or selling a home in Sarasota)? Is that number increasing or decreasing. Can I increase the calls to action or simply use calls to action that are more effective to boost the percentage of people taking action on my site? Absolutely.

Why are they leaving?

By monitoring the bounce rates on the various pages in my sites, I can see where people are exiting my site. Are they leaving from the site where I WANT them to? (In my case that would be a detailed real estate listing or a contact me page or even possibly a registration page.

It literally takes 5 minutes a day to look at what people are doing in my site and it they are leaving from a given page, taking the time to correct it.