Google is an almost ubiquitous technological platform these days, with its virtual hand in everything from online searches to ad revenues to language translation. Google Analytics is one of the many Google-based applications that can be used by website owners and developers for free.
Google is an almost ubiquitous technological platform these days, with its virtual hand in everything from online searches to ad revenues to language translation. Google Analytics is one of the many Google-based applications that can be used by website owners and developers for free. The online-based program collects and organizes all of the information you need about your website, such as popularity, readership statistics and real-time site interaction.There are several ways that Google Analytics can be used with your town or municipal website. For this reason, all Town Web Design clients are given an Analytics account. Here’s the kind of information you can see when you learn how to use Google Analytics on your town website:
An analytics account will not just reveal how many people are clicking on your ads or searching for your website, but it will show you where they come from and what age group they fit into. Town clerks and any other website maintenance staff can use this information to learn more about how certain content and information appeals to different types of people. It’s particularly useful to follow user engagement to see whether urban and rural residents are both equally engaged on the website. If not, it’s time to try some new tactics.Sometimes, part-time town residents own a vacation home or a piece of land in the area. In these cases, you’ll be able to see how far your purely local reach actually stretches, and perhaps try to include relevant information for those people in postings.
Analytics also lets you see which pages are visited the most. Once you are able to properly ascertain which posts and pages are the most popular with your readers, you’ll be able to cater more directly to their needs. This means less wasted time posting news and events in a format that few people appreciate, and higher reader engagement. Furthermore, if you notice that a certain page is getting very little attention, you’ll know to try a different method. Sometimes it is best to combine elements of different pages; other times the information stands better on its own.
Ever wonder how people end up on your website, when they aren’t clicking a direct link or typing in the address? It may surprise you to learn that they aren’t simply typing in the name of your town followed by “website.” Thanks to Google Analytics, the search terms used by people on the Google Search Engine (before they saw your website in the results and clicked on it) are documented. Now, you can see what exactly drew them to your town website. Perhaps it was the name of the chairman, or a town councillor, the email address of the clerk or the title of an annual event in your calendar listings. If a topic is popular, keep posting new information or updating the existing page to bring in more readers. Thanks to this simple, free online system, website owners need never administrate a site blindly. Top-rate analytical information, coupled with an easy-to-use and attractive website, is a winning combination that will keep readers coming back for more.Image courtesy of Wikimedia
