AdWords is only one piece of a picture.
Alone, AdWords is an effective way of understanding and designating the cost of an advertisement as well as determining how many conversions you are getting on a given basis. These broad strokes, however, do not paint the entire picture. In a lot of cases, a consumer engages in a good deal of activity from when they click on your advertisement until they actually take action and become an official conversion. Without Analytics, you will be unaware of their behavior.
How do consumers behave on your website?
In the event you would like to know what happens from point A (click) through point B (conversion), you’ll need Analytics. This manner of information will help you determine where consumers are going if not immediately into your landing page. The only way to improve a conversion rate is by understanding which elements of a site are less enticing than others. Once you know exactly where potential conversions are hesitating, you can refine it.
The Last Word on a Keyword
Analytics enables a more sophisticated look at your keywords’ actual value. If you only went by conversion, you may think some of your keywords are productive merely insofar as they appear to result in one. The problem with this logic is not every click immediately becomes a conversion. As a result, the keywords a user exercises in finding your site may not be the same ones they ultimately click on just prior to converting. Analytics can distinguish them.
Analytics Makes AdWords Easier
Managing an AdWords campaign is difficult and, while adding Analytics on top of it may seem like even more for you to worry about, they actually have the potential of making each other more accessible. From the beginning, you integrate the two with no more than a few clicks. Moreover, you can import existing Analytics goals and transactions into your AdWords account. Linking them in this way offers a seamless experience and a lower learning curve.
Targeting an Audience
Another way Analytics will help your AdWords endeavor is by making it easier for you to identify demographics you need to work on as well as those with respect to whom you are already making inroads. This is useful in focusing on an existing campaign as well as if you are only beginning and haven’t figured out who you should be targeting. Inasmuch as you may have an audience in mind, the audience may not have you in mind––at least, not yet.
Performance Metrics
Evaluating your performance metrics will inform you of where you need to invest more energy. If you know a specific demographic isn’t spending very much time on a section of your website and you wish they would, you may begin to focus on ways in which you can improve the section in relevant measures. If you see a connection between users who view a given page and a higher bounce rate (user only goes on a single page), you know your page needs more work.
Bounce Rate
If you see a keyword is attracting a lot of attention and yet also gives rise to a high bounce rate, the keyword may not be affecting the kind of traffic you are looking for. In the event all of your keywords are associated with a high bounce rate, you may have a weak landing page. In other words, no matter how a consumer arrives at your site, they are not encouraged by what they initially find on it.
Reporting
One of the essential features of Analytics is all of the reporting you may access. These include an End to End Paid Search Report, which illustrates percentage of new visits and revenue per click––it can be adjusted to reflect your preferred metrics or filters–– and Multi-Channel Funnels Reporting, which will show you how all of the different channels make contact with your site on the way to a conversion––like emails and searches.
More Reporting
A Location Report indicates where, geographically, consumers are initiating conversion. A Devices Report will say which devices consumers are using as they visit your site, from mobile and tablets to desktop. A Landing Pages Report offers a list of which pages on your site amass the most traffic. The confluence of all your Reporting is a much more informed website and an enlightened campaign behind it.
Other features
Google Analytics offers even more beyond Reporting and basic performance metrics. Benchmarking enables you to see how your website is running in comparison with other website in your business category. Treemaps allows you to visualize a conversion trend on your website. Segmented Remarketing Lists can be specified and imported into AdWords. A Custom Alert feature activates an SMS or email when anything unusual is going on.