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Digital Marketing - Study Notes:

Benefits of analytics

We can track user behavior online. Why is this important? A fundamental benefit of using analytics as part of your digital marketing efforts is that it helps you make informed, data-led decisions, which in turn should help you run effective campaigns and drive better commercial performance.

Other benefits include:

  • Ability to get closer to the customer
  • Ability to understand your users
  • Ability to gain insights from real customer activity
  • Ability to forecast using trends and patterns in customer behavior
  • Accountability of media spend and resource allocation
  • Stronger focus
  • Prioritization of resources
  • Higher conversion rates and enhanced return on investment

Benefits of Google Analytics

Google Analytics is the most commonly used free analytics tool, and it’s an excellent choice for most marketing needs.

Some benefits of the standard, free version of Google Analytics include:

  • It’s free.
  • It’s easy to implement and easy to install.
  • It has a user-friendly interface.
  • It offers customizable reports, dashboards, and data collection.
  • Both basic and advanced options are available.
  • It offers seamless integration with other Google products.
  • It offers post-click integration with non-Google traffic sources, including Facebook, Yahoo, and Bing.
  • It provides extensive, valuable insights into web behavior.

Limitations of Google Analytics

Google Analytics has a few limitations:

  • It doesn’t provide real-time data in downloadable historical reports.
  • The free version is limited to 10 million hits per month.
  • It offers limited customization.
  • It defaults to last-click attribution.
  • It’s not always 100% accurate.
  • It’s not as comprehensive at measuring the performance of top-of-funnel campaign activities like display and Facebook, where there is limited user visit and conversion data from these campaigns

However, despite these limitations, Google Analytics is still a highly effective web analytics tool for marketers in most instances.

As we'll want to know as much a possible about how consumers interact on our website and use our apps, Google Analytics can track the user or consumer journey, providing rich data around channels used, locations, and devices. These journeys can then be tracked through to on-site activity, goals achieved, and exit point, as well as returning visitors, which indicates loyalty.

Gaining a return from Google Analytics data is an ongoing process of monitoring, analysis, and enhancement.

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Bryan Kam

Bryan is an IT engineer who has worked in media, financial information, and algorithmic trading. He specializes in automation technology and large-scale Linux deployments. He also has a great interest in literature and the arts, and is working on projects to increase intellectual engagement in London.

Data protection regulations affect almost all aspects of digital marketing. Therefore, DMI has produced a short course on GDPR for all of our students. If you wish to learn more about GDPR, you can do so here:

DMI Short Course: GDPR

If you are interested in learning more about Big Data and Analytics, the DMI has produced a short course on the subject for all of our students. You can access this content here:

DMI Short Course: Analytics

The following pieces of content from the Digital Marketing Institute's Membership Library have been chosen to offer additional material that you might find interesting or insightful.

You can find more information and content like this on the Digital Marketing Institute's Membership Library

You will not be assessed on this content in your final exam.

    ABOUT THIS DIGITAL MARKETING MODULE

    Analytics with Google Analytics
    Bryan Kam
    Skills Expert

    This module begins with the fundamentals of web analytics and the associated legal responsibilities and best practices concerning data collection, consent, and privacy that enable a digital marketer to draw actionable conclusions from website or marketing channel data. It demonstrates how to set up and configure Google Analytics and install Google Analytics tracking code to glean insights about the website’s traffic and audience. It covers setting campaign goals to analyze performance and analyze customer conversion journeys. It also provides comprehensive detail on how to use Google Analytics reports and features to monitor and analyze digital campaigns.