Because right now my role is mostly in implementation, it sometimes feels like the world of analytics is nothing but figuring out how to report- either how to get the data in there or how to present it. I want to see some action!
I challenge you all to spend a mere 30 minutes in your tool of choice to find one- just ONE- actionable piece of data, and *here’s the kicker*: actually take steps towards that action (even if it’s just making a plan). I don’t expect the action to only take 30 minutes, but you should definitely be able to find your piece of data and start a plan in that time.
Here are a few ideas that range from simple to ambitious to help you get started:
- Look at your Error Pages report and fix the most-clicked broken link. If needed, use a pathing report to find the page sending people to your error page. This is practically a freebie.
- Look at your top internal search keyword. Figure out a way to make content on that topic more easily findable from your homepage. Ask yourself: would this make a good internal promotion?
- Look at your top 5 highest-traffic landing pages, then see which is converting the least. Make a hypothesis about what could improve (compare to highest-converting page if you need ideas), then make a game plan to A/B test it.
- See which paid search keyword has the highest bounce rate. Hypothesize on how to make your landing page appeal to users clicking on that keyword more, or reword your keyword so it brings in more qualified traffic. Make an A/B test out of it.
- Think of the one thing on your site you wish users were doing more of. Now put it in a fall-out report. Find the point of highest abandonment. Hypothesize about why users are falling out. Test it.
- Find a low-performing call-to-action. Figure out a different way to present it: perhaps a different graphic or reworded text. Test it. (Are you noticing a “test it” theme, here?)
- Take your highest-performing campaign. Play with segments until you see who the campaign appeals to the most. Earmark that segment for more marketing efforts. Find a video with a high conversion rate. Feature it in an area with higher visibility.
- Look at your top Organic Search Terms. Do you see a lot of your brand name in there? Find a high-converting product page and focus some SEO efforts there so you can reach users looking for your products, not your brand.
If you reach the end of your 30 minutes with no action plan, don’t give up. Spend some time finding a recent success or failure. What’s trending up? What’s trending down? Try segmenting the data different ways. Make some theories, then plan some tests. Not to sound like a broken record here, but you can’t go awry with a well-executed test.
Ready, Set, Go!
I’ll happily take suggestions for more ideas, too. I’d love to make one huge long list of your ideas for actionable data.
Ready? Go team!
When you’re done, please come back here and tell me how it went.
PS: If you can’t find one piece of actionable data to move with, then either you need to revamp your implementation, or congratulate yourself on a perfect website and implementation. In which case, you have free time on your hands to volunteer at the Analysis Exchange!