Most companies are collecting data for no reason. Far too often we’re coming across companies that have some form of analytics but no idea why. They have had it put in (mainly because it’s free) and someone has normally shown them how to log in and told them what some of the numbers mean. They have never logged in again, let alone actually done any analysis of the data.

Data is useless without meaning. Meaning is useless without action. Companies need to be analysing their website statistics, finding out why certain trends are appearing or not appearing, and take action to change what they are seeing. Only then are you truly using web analytics, and not just being a data collector for no reason.

Here are some things you might want to know about your visitors:

• Where are they coming from? Which of these sources is the most profitable? What’s the trend of these visitor sources? Which are declining or increasing over time?
• What is my bounce rate? Which content gives the worst bounce rates (and therefore should be fixed)
• What content are they looking at on my site? Which pieces of content are the most popular? Which produce the most exits from the site?
• What keywords are people using to visit my site? Are they all brand led? If so what can I do to encourage people to visit my site that haven’t already heard of me?

There’s a ton of questions you can ask yourself. So why not start asking yourself right away. Stop collecting, start analysing.

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