Even if all you have, in terms of a web presence, is a simple website with a bit of info and your store’s physical address, it’s a huge benefit to know if people are actually finding you through it!

Let’s say you have something more complex, like a full online store. And, let’s say you know it’s driving a lot of sales. Wouldn’t you like to know where your best customers are coming from? Which entry pages perform best? Where you’re losing people? When you have that insight, you can plug leaks, focus investments for the greatest impact, and capitalize on the areas that perform best.

Analytics gives you so much insight into the performance of your web properties and how visitors are interacting with them. It allows you to identify what’s working, what isn’t, and what you can capitalize on. It can do this on a very granular level that empowers you to really focus your resources and get the most bang for your buck. Here are just a few of the insights you can get from it:

• Know what sources are driving your best traffic, and which ones aren’t
• Identify your top performing, and underperforming, pages
• See what paths visitors are taking once they arrive on your site
• Know where you’re losing people
• Test different landing pages or page elements against each other
• Understand what keywords people use to search for you and your competitors

Yes. In the past, only the largest companies with the deepest pockets could get even close to the type of insight analytics provides today. Now, analytics tools are accessible to companies of any size, meaning you can drive Fortune 500 results without the Fortune 500 budget.

Probably the best use of tools like Google Analytics for HR is in recruitment. There is a great deal of marketing involved in attracting top talent. From understanding what search terms candidates are using in their job hunts, to how they respond to your job postings, analytics can provide a wealth of insight.

Additionally, because analytics can give so much insight into the performance of the company’s web properties, it can help you get a clear picture of exactly the type of hiring you need to do. For example, you may know that you need someone to help improve website performance, but do you need SEO work? Content creation? Advertising strategies? UI/UX help? Someone to address compatibility issues? Analytics can give you a clearer picture of the problem, so that you know who is best suited to fill the gap.

If using Google Analytics (which is currently the most flexible, user friendly tool on the market, and it’s free), there is a bit of a learning curve to get started, and some tips and tricks that will really help you get the most of it. But, once you’ve figured out the basics and practiced a little, you should very quickly be able drive real value.

The Secret to Capitalizing on Analytics will walk you through the setup process, step by step, and walk you through some of the more common uses and configurations to get you started on running reports, understanding the data, and customizing the tool to suit your specific business objectives.

Benefit is everything. When people understand why they need something and what they’re going to get out of it, it’s so much easier to introduce new technologies, processes and best practices.

Analytics is all about customization. So, consider the general benefits of analytics, then consider how those apply to your organization and what it will help you achieve. Then, consider how it will help your team do their jobs better. Finally, consider the technical abilities of your team and what support they will need in adopting analytics.

So, it may sound something like this: “Analytics will give us the insight into market trends to get a leg up on our competition, as well as the insight into our own website performance in order to capitalize on what’s working and fix what isn’t. You will be able to consult real time data and trends in order to make better and faster decisions in your own work.”

Depending on the current knowledge and skill set of your team(s) you may then follow up will a simple workshop, or some more extensive training to get everyone comfortable with the tool and able to use it to its fullest.

This really depends on the level of knowledge you currently have. If you’re all experts already, you probably don’t even need this book, let alone a workshop.

But, if you’re new to analytics, want to get a better grasp of the flexibility of the tool, or if you want to introduce different departments to using analytics in different ways, a workshop can be a huge benefit, especially one that can be customized to your specific needs and objectives. If you’re having trouble getting your team to fully grasp the benefits of analytics, a good workshop can help you overcome that hurdle as well.

Yes. Analytics is business intelligence. It has applications in almost every industry and in a wide range of roles and specialties. Whether your students are studying accounting, veterinary sciences, international relations, law or even fine arts, arming them with a solid foundation of how analytics works and what it can do will give them a huge leg up in the job market or in their individual pursuits.

For universities themselves, analytics can also provide a great deal of insight into how their web properties are performing whether it’s from a recruiting perspective, alumni relations, fundraising, web tools for faculty and staff, or apps and tools for students.

Business moves faster than ever these days. A daily report is great, an intern or assistant to pull up stats on the fly is great, but even better is being able to instantly pull up real time data, wherever you are. It’s also a huge benefit to know how to customize reports to your needs and filter out what isn’t relevant to you.

If you want to get the full benefit of analytics, figure out how it can be applied to the various levels and departments, then incorporate it into your standard corporate training so that everyone in your organization knows exactly how to get the insight they need to take their role and team to the next level. If you’re struggling with any part of this, an analytics consultant can help.