Think You Can’t be a Web Analyst? Think Again!

If you believe that you can only manage what you can measure, then using a traffic analysis tool is the key to a successful online marketing effort. With the proper effort, a tool like Google Analytics can tell you endless amounts of information on visitors to your website. Custom segments give you the ability to break down and translate general information about visitors to your site into actionable metrics.

For instance, would you like to know if a first time visitor to your site is more likely to convert than a repeat visitor? Would you like to know which online marketing medium garners the lowest cost per new customer acquisition? How about what geographic location is costing the most in PPC spending per lead? I think you get the point. Fortunately, Google has given the analytics newbie a very powerful tool: Advanced Segments.

Once upon a time, creating segments in Google Analytics took some technical know how, but the team at GA has given users of all knowledge levels access to creating custom segments. For starters, there are eight default segments built into Advanced Segments. So lets say that you need a segment that isn’t listed. No problem! Just click on “Create a new custom segment”, use the drag and drop interface to choose the metrics that you would like to see, and you have officially climbed one step higher on the web analyst ability ladder.

After spending some time creating custom visitor segments, you will have insights into the differences in visitor interactions with your website that will translate to higher profit margins.