Site visitors are great, but what we really want is conversion to sales.
photo source: Tax Credits via Flickr
Let’s explore how Google Analytics can help to get better conversion with your e-commerce.
You have an e-commerce site and you want to know how your visitors are reacting to your site. Maybe you have built in reporting from your e-commerce package, but it probably only covers the basics. Google Analytics can provide another level of detail as to what your visitors are doing on on your site.
Google Analytics can be inserted manually in your site as a bit of JavaScript code at the top of your page. We use WordPress plugins to add this functionality to the site and filter out your admin usage so you get a better idea of the true visitors to your site.
Previously, we discussed how to set up simple conversion tracking , but e-commerce tracking gives you more options. Here’s how to set it up in Google Analytics.
- Click the Admin button on any screen in Analytics.
- Select the View to get the property you want.
- Select View Settings.
- Set the e-commerce Site/App setting to “Yes”.
- Click Apply.
Once you set your site up as an e-commerce site in Google Analytics, you get extra options to track the e-commerce sections of your site. Additional parameters are needed to track specific things such as individual product information. However, most common e-commerce packages such as WooCommerce and BigCommerce add these parameters from your product database. There’s typically no need to do extra work once this is selected.
Some standard items that you can track:
-
What products visitors buy.
-
How much visitors buy in quantity and dollars.
-
Shipping costs.
With Google Analytics, you can gain additional insights:
-
How many visits it takes before someone buys
-
How long a visitor is on a site before before the buy
-
How an external campaign affects how visitors buy
This information is particularly valuable because it can help you design your site for maximum benefit. Are you losing people the first time? Do you need more content to keep people on the site longer to convince them to buy? Which products do well when promoted and which don’t? What type of external campaigns drive more sales? The answers will guide you toward better design, quality content and products that speak to your audience.
If you need help with Google Analytics or e-commerce, please let Blue Zoo Creative know how we can help.