Google Analytics Is An Empowering Tool

How much time do you spend reviewing Google Analytics? Have you ever set up and managed a sophisticated Google Adwords platform? Just a couple of the questions we ask each new prospective client who contacts us for help. The vast majority have never spent any measurable amount of time doing either. With each client we serve, we spend a good bit of time providing education into the value of understanding the unique attributes of the Adwords and Analytics platforms. We find that educating a client, as to how to effectively review and evaluate Analytics data, is empowering for that client.

Here is one example of the types of information we share with our flower shop owners. When flower shop owners come into our group, they don’t have any idea why Adwords and Analytics conversion data is different. Many assume that there is simply a problem with how the e-commerce tracking code is loaded. The reality is, the platforms are designed to track conversions in a completely different and explainable way. Google Analytics tracks conversions as they occur. Adwords on the other hand, drops a cookie on the computers of every person who clicks our PPC ads. That cookie tracks information for a designated period of time. If the folks who click on our PPC ads, don’t make a purchase at the time of the initial click, that cookie can monitor their search activity over a designated period of time to see if the sale occurs at a later date. If those folks make a purchase with us from that same computer, within the designated tracking time frame, Adwords will attribute the sale to the campaign and ad that generated the initial click. This is why Analytics and Adwords conversion tracking differ.

Why is this information important? It’s just one step along the path of becoming a more knowledgeable and empowered business owner. We frequently encourage our clients to review their “Top Conversion Path” reports. Why do they need to understand that report you ask? The answer lies in the fact that the report provides a great visual teaching tool for our florists and other e-commerce clients. It shows the precise path customers took in choosing to make a purchase. PPC is often the platform we see noted on the report, as the tool that initially allowed us to connect with the customers. The report provides the visual proof our flower shop owners need to better understand that even though PPC may have helped us make the initial connection, it does not always get the credit for generating the actual sale. The actual sale may in fact be attributed in Analytics as coming from a direct visit, organic visit or even from referral traffic. Having a full understanding of how to accurately evaluate the value of the marketing data in Analytics can be critically important to your ability to see and grasp opportunities to grow your business.

Lets talk for a minute about another piece of information that is important when evaluating the value of Adwords. We choose to display Google dynamically generated phone numbers with each Google ad we serve up. That gives customers who see our clients Google ads the opportunity to either click and visit the website, or call and speak directly with a live operator. We find that many shoppers opt to utilize the click to call phone numbers. The rapid increase in smartphone ownership and usage is likely at the root of why we are seeing an increase in the usage of the click to call feature. By using the dynamically generated numbers, we receive call data from Google that appears within our Adwords platform. That call data tracks back to the campaigns that are generating the calls. We use that information in our tactical account management efforts. We also forward each dynamically generated phone number to a call tracking number in our own call tracking and recording platform. That allows us to validate call conversions. Our customers have 24/7 access to our call center. They can go in and see the call data as well. They can also listen into actual conversations to see how their folks handled the sales opportunities.

Google Analytics does a great job of gathering all related costs from running Adwords. Unfortunately, it cannot always adequately capture sales conversions from calls, especially if those calls didn’t occur via the dynamically generated phone numbers. If Adwords was the impetus behind the customer purchase, but the customer choose to call directly into your flower shop call center, that sale will likely never be attributed to Adwords in the ROA calculations. We have met many less empowered florists who have looked at Analytics data and concluded Adwords just cannot be cost justified. My advice to any florist with a mind to learn is this. In the right hands, Adwords can and will help your grow your business to levels you might never achieve otherwise. Adwords alone though isn’t the answer to solving the whole growth equation. More accurately, Adwords is one tool in the comprehensive program we deliver for our shop owners that helps them achieve the growth rates they desire.

We recently took on a new flower shop in Houston. The owner shared some point of sale system data with us. After just one month of running our program, we saw strong growth in overall sales transactions, overall revenues, credit card sales, average value per sale and other mission critical areas of the clients business. We attribute that growth to several factors. First, rolled out a new website for the client. Then we deployed our comprehensive marketing program. Our main focus was to drive high quality web traffic to the new site. The sites job was to convert that traffic into sales. We aren’t just trying to drive any type of traffic. We are focusing our energy and platforms around connecting with shoppers who want to buy.

Hopefully this information provided by Flyline Search Marketing® is helpful to you. Let us know if you have questions or would like more information around these subjects?