Marketing for Seattle Businesses
Utilized by 97% of news sites, Google Analytics is the most popular tool to track analytics. Used alone, however, it doesn’t show how readers engage with a website. Newsrooms can improve their understanding of readers' experiences when they combine Google Analytics with other tools that track user behavior.
User behavior analytics offer valuable insight into the patterns readers exhibit when visiting your website. These tools provide actionable data through heatmaps, session recordings of individual users, funnel analyses and more. They help answer questions such as:
- What are readers interested in or skipping over on your website?
- Are you wasting precious space on your homepage with unpopular features?
- Where on your website do readers get stuck and struggle?
- Which pages are more likely to yield newsletter sign-ups?
- How worthwhile are your story elements?
Even a free trial can benefit your website strategy. You don’t have to be an expert to install this type of tool and interpret its findings. There’s no excuse not to try it.
The first step is to test a program. But, there are so many out there that you might not know where to begin. After signing up for several free trials and watching many demos, I narrowed down my list to these four tools.
Hotjar
Hotjar provides an aggregated view of user behavior over time. Its standout features include heatmaps and individual recordings of visitors interacting with your website.
Heatmaps use a color scale from red to blue to visualize the most popular (hot) and unpopular (cold) elements of a webpage. Hotjar’s heatmaps show where readers click, how far they scroll down, and what they look at or ignore. They are especially useful for spotting issues and determining if a new feature is getting the attention you planned.
The individual recordings show real-time actions as users browse a website. Each recording displays mouse movement, clicks and scrolling. It is easy to waste time reviewing these sessions, however: I suggest filtering down to categories such as rage-clicking and u-turning to find troubling spots on your site, or creating cohorts to analyze how different user segments behave.
Cost: The basic plan is free and gives access to unlimited heatmaps and up to 1,050 user session recordings/month. The business plan includes 500 daily session recordings at US$80/month and is available to nonprofits for free.
Microsoft Clarity
Similar to Hotjar, Microsoft Clarity is a user behavior analytics tool that offers instant heatmaps and session recordings. It also integrates with Google Analytics for more insight using the imported data.
For example, if you notice on Google Analytics that the average session duration on a page is low, you can review the session recordings to investigate why that is happening. You will have access to rage clicks, excessive scrolling and dead clicks, which reveal user frustration.
Clarity is great as a free tool, but the data report is not as advanced as Hotjar’s. The heatmaps don’t track movement, and session recordings have limited functionality. For example, you have fewer custom filters and can’t skip user inactivity. Future updates might improve these shortcomings.
Cost: Free, with unlimited recordings, heatmaps and 12 months of storage.
Smartlook
Smartlook is a popular tool that provides advanced features for behavioral analytics, in addition to the usual session recordings and heatmaps.
Although Smartlook’s features are especially useful for e-commerce platforms, newsrooms can gain valuable insight from events and conversion funnels. With Smartlook, it is easy to combine quantitative and qualitative analysis. Let’s say you want to understand what’s driving your newsletter subscriptions or any other event you set with Google Analytics (donation button, report download, etc): you can investigate the readers' journeys on your website and see the spots where they struggle.
All your findings are accessible in a clear, tailor-made dashboard. Teams with different key performance indicators can create their own customizable dashboards and easily share their reports.
Cost: The basic plan is free and gives access to up to 1,500 sessions/month and three heatmaps. The business plan starts at US$111/month for 15,000 sessions/month.
Oribi
Oribi was the first behavior analytics tool I ever tried. It works by tracking all actions on a website and grouping them into behaviors. There’s no guesswork with Oribi: it’s like having a dedicated data consultant who provides advice based on your analytics.
During a short trial, Oribi produced fascinating findings. It suggested highlighting the most attractive stories to keep readers longer on your website, correlations between pages and newsletter sign-ups, and the type of internal links that worked best.
Even with a discount, however, the cost is high at US$504/month for the annual plan. The cheapest option was to sign up for three months and make the most of it.
Earlier this year, Oribi was acquired by LinkedIn and stopped accepting new customers. According to its website, Oribi will no longer be offered as a standalone product, but it will be available to LinkedIn advertisers and users. I am still keeping an eye on it.
With so many options and different functionalities, there are behavior analytics tools for every budget and need. Other well-rated options include Amplitude, Mouseflow and Crazy Egg.
Does your newsroom use behavior analytics tools? Did I miss your favorite? Feel free to reach out and share your experience.
Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash.
The SEO Strategist will help expand the Organic reach for Bloomingdale's digital properties. The SEO Strategist will report to the Director of SEO and work alongside SEO Content Co-Ordinators, vendor partners and other stakeholders to prioritize and create optimizations to be implemented on Bloomingdale's sites.
In addition, the SEO Strategist plays a central role in several reporting and analysis related tasks, assists in internal training, maintains store listing optimizations and works to ensure that SEO digital marketing strategies are seamlessly integrated into the overall Bloomingdale's marketing program.
Core Job Responsibilities:
- Support a variety of SEO content initiatives, including (but not limited to) conducting keyword research and categorization, creating copy briefs and working with copywriters to produce optimized content for pages.
- Strategic on-page Search Engine Optimization including canonicals, redirects, internal links, different types of meta tags, site structure and HTML/JS.
- Research and production of deliverables and activities, such as keyword scorecards, site hierarchies, copy briefs and monthly reports, utilizing appropriate tools such as Adobe Analytics, Google Search Console and other relevant vendor tools.
- Mentor and educate SEO Content Co-Ordinators and other members of the marketing team in SEO strategy.
- Ongoing maintenance of local SEO listings for Bloomingdale's stores and restaurants, using Google My Business and relevant vendor tools.
- Bachelor's Degree from a 4-year college or university
- 3-4 years related experience
- Practices open and continuous communication, values keeping others informed, effectively presenting information in a clear, concise manner
- Excellent leadership, facilitation, and interpersonal skills, with the ability to work across functional lines and at many levels
- Ability to think creatively, strategically and technically.
- Strong quantitative and analytical reasoning skills. Prominent financial acumen and analytical ability
- Understanding of websites, text editors and spreadsheet creation
Bloomingdale's is an Equal Opportunity Employer, committed to a diverse and inclusive work environment.
There is no one-size-fits-all answer to the question of how to succeed in marketing analytics, as the field is constantly evolving, and the best practices for success are always changing. However, some essential tips can help you get started on the right foot and set you up for success in this exciting and ever-changing field. In this ultimate guide, we'll define marketing analytics, review the different types of marketing analytics, discuss how to use marketing analytics to improve your business, explain what data/tools you need to succeed, and ultimately, learn how to use marketing analytics effectively.
So, what is marketing analytics? The process consists of measuring, managing and analyzing marketing performance to optimize marketing campaigns and improve ROI. Marketing analytics can track any marketing metric, including brand awareness, website traffic, conversion rates, lead generation and sales. To succeed in marketing analytics, you must have a strong understanding of data analysis and interpretation. You also need to be able to use data-driven insights to improve your marketing strategy.
Related: 5 of the Easiest Ways to Make Data an Integral Part of Your Business' Digital Marketing
The different types of marketing analytics
There are many different types of marketing analytics, each with its advantages and disadvantages. Here is a brief overview of some of the most commonly used types:
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Descriptive analytics: This type of analytics focuses on understanding what has happened in the past. It can be used to identify trends and patterns and to understand why certain events occurred. However, it cannot be used to predict future events.
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Predictive analytics: This type of analytics uses past data to predict future events. It can identify potential risks and opportunities and decide where to allocate resources.
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Prescriptive analytics: This type of analytics goes beyond prediction and prescribes actions that should be taken to achieve specific goals. It can be used to optimize marketing campaigns and automate decision-making processes.
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Social media analytics: This type of analytics analyzes social media data to understand customer sentiment and behavior. It can be used to improve customer service and to create targeted marketing campaigns.
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Web analytics: This type of analytics analyzes website data to understand how users interact. It can be used to improve website design and to identify which marketing campaigns are most effective.
How to use marketing analytics to improve your business
Marketing analytics can help you understand how your customers respond to your marketing campaigns and identify areas where you need to adjust your strategy. It can also help you track the progress of your marketing efforts over time to see whether they're achieving their goals. There are a few things that you need to take into account when using marketing analytics:
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It's best to understand your customers' needs and wants clearly.
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You need to know what kind of message will most likely reach them and why.
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You'll want to track which elements of your campaign are working best and which ones aren't.
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You need to determine what changes (if any) you should make to improve results.
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You need to be able to act on the findings promptly so that you don't lose momentum or hit a plateau in your campaign.
Overall, marketing analytics is essential for any business looking to improve its performance. Using this information, you can better target your marketing campaigns and boost sales figures accordingly.
Related: 5 Analytics Tools to Supercharge Your Marketing Strategy
Types of data you need to track in order to succeed with marketing analytics
Before you can start tracking your marketing data, you need to know what kind of data you need to collect. There are a few different types of data that are essential for effective marketing analytics:
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Demographic data: This includes information about your customers' age, sex, income, etc. Understanding your target audience and creating tailored campaigns that appeal to them is essential.
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Qualitative data: Qualitative research captures user feedback and opinion to better understand customer attitudes and preferences. This information is especially useful in creating new products or services.
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Quantitative data: Quantitative research measures the performance of your campaigns using numerical measurements like clicks or conversions. This information can improve your campaigns and help you make informed decisions about the best ones.
You can track this data in several ways, but the most reliable method is using a tool like Google Analytics or Mixpanel. These tools allow you to easily collect and store all your data in one place to access it whenever you need it.
The tools and software that can help you achieve your goals with marketing analytics
If you're new to marketing analytics, the first step is to determine your needs. Are you looking for insights into how your campaigns are performing? Do you want to track customer behavior over time? Are you looking for ways to optimize your content or advertising? Once you know what you need, the next step is to find the right tool or software for the job. There are several different options available, and choosing the one that will fit your specific needs is essential.
Some popular marketing analytics tools include reporting tools like Google Analytics and ClickStream, web tracking tools like CrazyEgg, social media analysis platforms like Mixpanel and email tracking tools like GetResponse. There's also a wealth of software specifically designed for marketing professionals, such as Salesforce Marketing Cloud and HubSpot CRM. However, it's important to note that not all of these programs are perfect for every business; testing out different options is essential to see which one suits your needs best.
Related: To Better Understand Your Users, Learn About These 4 Categories of Marketing Analytics Tools
Tips for using marketing analytics effectively
Here are a few tips for using marketing analytics effectively:
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Measure everything: Start by measuring the most important things to you, and then add more metrics as you realize how valuable they are. By tracking multiple channels and data points, you'll get a complete picture of how your campaigns are performing.
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Use data visualization tools: Seeing data in a way that's easy to understand will help you make better decisions about where to focus your efforts. Some popular data visualization tools include Tableau Public and Google Sheets.
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Compare and contrast results: Once you've gathered some data, it's essential to compare it against previous versions of the same campaign or product. This will help you identify any changes or improvements you may have made and areas where further improvement is needed.
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Don't be afraid to experiment: If a marketing strategy isn't working as intended, don't be scared to try something new. However, ensure that you test the new approach in a limited way to monitor its performance closely.
Marketing is one of the most important aspects of running a business, and if done right, can lead to exponential growth for your business. Once you better understand the field and its needs, you can put your best foot forward and optimize marketing campaigns to boost ROI.
Google Analytics (GA) may be introducing a lot of changes to the analytics workflow with GA4, but one kind of workflow that marketers can steadily rely upon is site search. I covered the site search feature in Google Analytics back in 2015. Site search remains one of the most valuable analyses for marketers who are responsible for a wide portfolio of products and services.
A Query by Any Other Name
Site search is when a customer types or speaks a query for the text box at the top of the page. The query returns a set of pages from within the site relevant to the query. The pages can be product pages, a Q&A page that answers some frequently asked questions or content that explains a step in a process, like a registration.
Site search is part of a customer experience that marketing teams sometimes overlook — marketers often worry about gaining customer attention through ads, videos and white papers, mainly because they are immediately visible to an advertising campaign. But site search unveils content that is not immediately seen when the customer is on site or on an app. Thus, it provides a continuance of the customer journey. Plus, people are familiar with that magnifying glass icon and the concept of searching online. Just one mention of Amazon as a search engine of products, and the value is clear.
The cost of ignoring it is becoming even clearer. At SMX, William Tseng, director of sales engineering at Lucidworks, noted in his presentation concerning site search that 30% of website visitors use site search, and 55% of those who search leave the site if they cannot find what they were searching for.
Site search has been a standard report among analytic solutions since the inception of analytics. For example, Adobe Analytics has a site search analysis report. So does Matomo, an analytics solution formerly known as Piwik. Site search is an expected feature in analytic solutions, much like a steering wheel is expected in a vehicle, be it a sports car or SUV.
But just as car features change with vehicle redesigns, a few alterations in site search among analytic solutions have appeared. Many analytics solutions have renamed site search reports as internal search reports to better reflect the use of analytics in apps as well as websites.
With the arrival of GA4, a few steps in setting up the site search reporting feature has changed. But with some attention to the steps, marketers can ensure that this standard reporting is not lost with the new version.
Related Article: Leveraging Google Data Studio as the GA4 Transition Looms
You Start With Your Query
To add the search site reporting in GA4, you need to first locate your site’s query parameter. Every site has the same search term structure, so this is a standard step in every analytics solution. The parameter must be indicated in the site search setting for the analytics solution to “see” the query result page as part of a query, as opposed to treating the page as just another site or app page being accessed.
In Google Analytics, you go to the site search text window on your website, type a term, then look at the URL on the page. A query result appears in the URL window with additional characters.
The characters appear in the following format: the URL, along with a question mark, a random letter, and an equal sign. The letter before the equal sign ("=") is your website’s query parameter. So, a URL will look like this: https://yourwebsite.com/search?q=lightbulb
In Universal Analytics (UA) users had to input some information into GA manually — click a “Site Search Settings” button on the admin page — in GA4 it is a similar check process, save for an added step. The Enhanced Measurement must be selected before the site search is activated. (I explain Enhanced Measurement in this previous CMSWire post). Enhanced Measurement is accessed through the administration page under the Data Stream section.
Once the Enhanced Measurement is activated, users can click on the site search button. Click show advanced settings to add one of five types of parameters — q, s, search, query and keyword. There is a text box for additional parameters.
Related Article: New Google Analytics Metrics Improve How Marketers Learn About Customer Experience
How the Results Look in an Analysis
The results in GA4 appear in a slightly different format from those within Universal Analytics. UA provided an overview site search report that showed the overall metrics, plus three specific analyses — Usage, Search Terms and Page, which reveal the pages in which the search was conducted.
GA4 instead treats the results as an event-triggered dimension, called the search term dimension. The search term dimension allows the dimension to be added to several reports in the Explore report format, and then is analyzed. Think of it as metrics that are added to a report, rather than the three detailed reports in UA, and you’ll get the general idea.
Learning Opportunities
To access it, users navigate to the Events sections and type search in the search box. A report displays the dimensions where events were recorded in the analytics solution. The user then clicks on the view_search_results to see reports showing events related to the queries. A metric called “search terms'' displays additional event metrics relative to the query terms people used in the site search text box. You can also experiment with using the search metric with the other Explore visualizations and reports, such as the Entrance and Exit reports. The Entrance and Exit reports reveal if people are exiting after the search event — in other words, it answers if your site is experiencing that dreaded 55% exit for customers not finding what they want.
If the search query parameters do not show, users can use Google Tag Manager to add the query parameter. Keyword auto-completes often are an example.
Related Article: Breaking Down Another Google Delay: Universal Analytics 360 Sunset Date Now 2024
What to Expect From a Site Search Analysis
The site search analysis has traditionally benefited managers by revealing what kinds of terms site visitors were looking for. Often these terms included products or services not mentioned on the site.
Generally, analysts examine the query term results to identify some potential term variants — “strawberries” as opposed to “strawberry” can lead to different hints from customers.
An analysis can also hint at products where the queried terms are different words but describe the same product — say “soda and pop” or “Kleenex and tissue.” You can gain insight if one word is being searched more frequently than another.
Analysts also review the number of queries that occur. Depending on the site content and query, the count can reveal if a number of people are searching for a product or service. The frequency of the terms indicate that the visitors really deemed that item as valuable. For example, if strawberries are sought more frequently than peaches or pears, then an analyst can infer that some level of demand for strawberries exists among the site or app visitors.
With this example in mind, the reason for the search volume can be a bit of a mystery — sometimes people query because they can not find a product or service immediately. This implies a product is hidden on a website or app, indicating that the product needs to be better highlighted on the site or app. Addressing it may mean revising the navigation or creating a dedicated page to the searched topic within the site. There can be a few ways to address this interest, the right one depending on how the website is laid out. But the one assumption that can be made is that customers want their queried information found quickly.
A good site search involves an understanding of the site and app. It leads to unified content management among a marketing team so that a team understands what content needs to be added or removed to raise the customer experience. A good analysis holds potential for better conversions and key performance indicators (KPIs), as well as better sales.
With site search, marketers gain a portion of the customer journey signal. Getting the analysis right will fuel the right decisions for planning content and planning customer experience.
improve the visibility and reach of a website, making it easier for potential customers to find and interact with a business online.
Search engine optimization, or SEO, is the process of optimising a website to rank higher in search engine results and attract more relevant, organic traffic. SEO is an important part of any digital marketing strategy, as it helps to improve the visibility and reach of a website, making it easier for potential customers to find an
d interact with a business online.
There are two types of SEO
On-page SEO refers to the optimization of individual web pages in order to rank higher and earn more relevant traffic. This includes optimising the content and HTML source code of a page, as well as ensuring that the page is mobile-friendly and has a fast loading speed. On-page SEO also involves the use of meta tags, which are short snippets of text that describe the content of a page and help search engines understand its relevance to specific keywords.
Off-page SEO refers to the optimization of a website’s presence on the web beyond its own pages. This includes building high-quality backlinks from other websites, as well as social media marketing, content marketing, and influencer marketing. Off-page SEO is important because it helps to establish the credibility and authority of a website, which can influence its ranking in search engine results.
There are a number of factors that contribute to the success of an SEO strategy. One of the most important is the use of relevant, high-quality keywords. These are the words and phrases that a business wants to rank for in search engine results. It is important to research and identify the most relevant keywords for a business, and then incorporate them into the content and meta tags of a website in a natural and relevant way.
Another important factor is the structure and organisation of a website. Search engines use algorithms to crawl and index websites, and a well-organised website with a clear hierarchy and easy-to-follow navigation makes it easier for search engines to understand the content and relevance of a website.
It is also important to ensure that a website is mobile-friendly and has a fast loading speed. With the increasing use of mobile devices to access the internet, it is essential that a website is optimised for mobile users. A slow loading speed can also negatively affect the ranking of a website in search engine results.
In cities such as Nuremberg and Aschaffenburg, SEO is an important part of any digital marketing strategy for local businesses. By optimising a website for relevant keywords and implementing effective on-page and off-page optimization strategies, businesses in these cities can improve their visibility and reach in search engine results, making it easier for potential customers to find and interact with them online.
SEO NurembergandSEO Aschaffenburg is the practice of optimising a website for search engines in the city of Nuremberg and Aschaffenburg Germany. This involves implementing both on-page and off-page optimization strategies in order to improve the visibility and ranking of a website in search engine results for relevant keywords.
Some of the specific tactics that may be employed as part of an SEO Nuremberg and Aschaffenburg strategy include:
Researching and identifying relevant keywords: This involves using tools such as the Google Keyword Planner to identify the most popular and relevant keywords for a business in the Nuremberg area.
Optimising website content: This involves incorporating relevant keywords into the content of a website in a natural and relevant way, as well as ensuring that the content is high quality and useful to users.
Improving the structure and organisation of a website: This includes ensuring that the website has a clear hierarchy and easy-to-follow navigation, which helps search engines understand the content and relevance of the site.
Building high-quality backlinks: This involves obtaining links from other reputable websites to a business’s website, as these links can help to establish the credibility and authority of a site and improve its ranking in search engine results.
Optimising for mobile devices: With the increasing use of mobile devices to access the internet, it is important to ensure that a website is optimised for mobile users. This includes having a responsive design that adapts to different screen sizes, as well as a fast loading speed.
SEO Nuremberg and SEO Aschaffenburg is an important part of any digital marketing strategy for businesses in the Nuremberg and Aschaffenburg area, as it helps to improve the visibility and reach of a website, making it easier for potential customers to find and interact with a business online.
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To view the original version on The Express Wire visit Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
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