Wouldn’t it be nice if your website could talk to you? It’s a weird idea, but think about it: you could ask your site how many users interacted with it last Monday or you could find out which items sold the most in March. You could even learn about the geography of certain users, how long they spent on your site, or what pages they visited before making a purchase. And once you compiled that information, you could use it to predict, influence, and prepare for future visitor interactions. Yup, it sure would be great if our websites could talk to us… and through data analytics tools, they basically can.
Plenty of data is collected and stored about our websites, and this information can tell you everything you want to know about your site’s user patterns and preferences. However, this information isn’t always easy to understand–sometimes, you can’t find the statistics you’re looking for. And even when you can, the numbers might random or unrelated. It’s like the website’s speaking but we don’t know the language, and we need someone to help us translate. This is where data analytics tools step in: they take the information and reform it into easily digestible graphs and metrics. And with these graphs and metrics, you’ll better understand your business’s strengths and weaknesses, which will help you make more informed decisions going forward.
What Can Data Analytics Tools Show Me?
Data analytics allows you to track the information that matters to your business. You can find important data from various sources and compile that information into a single location. This data can then be used to form 3D and 2D graphs that allow you to visually compare different metrics. Some information you can view includes:
- Geographic data
- Session length information
- Sales
- “What if” analyses
- Live data
- Drill downs
This list is only a fraction of the information distilled by data analytics. If a certain metric doesn’t apply to you, you can easily remove it from your list and add information that better fits. And if your business changes focus over time, data analytics tools can evolve to track your new needs. Simply put, data analytics tells you what you need to know, and it makes sure that you can understand and utilize your data.
Is it Really that Easy to Use?
Most data analytics tools are similar to Microsoft Excel, so if you can use that, you can use these, too. And if you can’t find some of the information you need—or if you want an extra guide to help explain what certain data points mean—you can jump into the system’s Q&A and ask specific questions about your numbers. You can then publish and share this data with your coworkers, clients, and other stakeholders. Data analytics tools don’t just make this process easy—they make it effortless.
Metrics are an important component of a company’s decision-making process. But if you don’t understand those metrics, what’s the point in having them? Data analytics is essential to understanding, distilling, and sharing important business information. With data analytics, you’ll know exactly what your website is trying to tell you, and you’ll have the power to better understand and optimize your business.
