Congrats! You developed a website and now your business is online!
In an ideal world, that would be all you need to get non-stop traffic numbers and, ultimately, the revenue that comes from that traffic. But the reality is, this traffic isn't going to come all on its own.
There are many means of driving traffic to a website (Content Marketing, SEO, etc), but to reap the rewards of these strategies, you'll need a website analytics tool.
What is Website Analytics?
Web analytics is the collection, measurement, and analysis of audience and conversion data on your website and online assets. This data helps you better understand user behavior and enables you to continue optimizing your site.
How Can Website Analytics Tools Help Your Business Performance?
Website analytics will provide you with insights into your website visitors' behavior. This means that you can enhance user experience on your site and achieve both your business and marketing goals because you will be able to:
- Know your best content and make more of it.
- Use your top outbound links as market capturing opportunities.
- Track top referrals and develop strategies to increase your earnings.
That said, finding the right website analytics tool might be tricky because there are so many available. To make things easier for you, we've rounded up our top 10 website analytics tools below.
The Most Effective Web Analytics Tools for 2021
1. Google Analytics
When it comes to web analytics tools, Google Analytics is at the top of almost everyone's list, and for good reason. Google Analytics has many features that provide in-depth user analytics - including full performance insight, reporting, data management, among others.
Using these tools, you can view the pages viewed by your site visitors, identify the reason for their visits, track conversions, see how much time they spend on a webpage, and analyze the performance of the features on your website.
2. Facebook Pixel
The Facebook Pixels website analytics tool is a must-have if you use Facebook ads. Using trigger cookies placed on your website Facebook Pixel will help you get the most out of your ad budget by collecting data that helps you optimize your Facebook ads, track ad conversions, and build targeted audiences for future ads.
3. LinkedIn Insight Tag
The LinkedIn insight tag is a website analytics tool that measures the success of Ads campaigns on a social media channel - in this instance, LinkedIn. Just install the JavaScript code (or a plug-in for WordPress) on each page of your website. This will leave a cookie in the browser of each visitor to collect data that can be used for retargeting campaigns.
4. Parse.ly
Tracking the effectiveness of a content marketing campaign is where Parse.ly shines as a web analytics tool. Parse.ly allows you to effectively track the performance of your content in real-time and also provides insights into your traffic source so that you can optimize your website for visitor conversion and retention.
5.CrazyEgg
Crazyegg's “heat mapping” tools and “session recordings” are the cornerstone of this website analytics tool. Even better, Crazyegg also allows you to run A/B tests to improve your website design and user experience.
Through individual session recordings, visual reports, and other web analytics tools, Crazyegg provides valuable insights into how visitors to your site interact with the content on the webpages and the actions they take. To top it off, Crazyegg can be integrated with platforms such as Google Tag Manager.
6. Chartbeat
Chartbeat is the website analytics tool designed to track the effectiveness of your content marketing efforts. Chartbeat provides real-time insights, and impactful tools for content optimization including headline testing, dashboard reporting systems, and more.
Using Chartbeat, you can see how your audience connects with your content in real-time, and optimize your content for long-term audience loyalty.
7. Mixpanel
Mixpanel is a web analytics tool that measures, analyzes, and displays user retention rates. This makes Mixpanel a very useful service for eCommerce store owners who want to understand the online buying behavior of their customers.
In addition to powerful analytics, Mixpanel also has tools for building funnels, creating cohorts, and providing comprehensive traffic reports.
8.Woopra
Woopra uses proprietary technology to provide you with background details about each visitor (called People Profiles) and their journey through your website. This will help you analyze their actions and put in place strategies to earn their loyalty. To help you further optimize and analyze customer experience, Woopra offers a suite of integrations, with over 50+ platforms.
9. SimilarWeb
Competitor research is an integral part of running a business. Identifying who your competitors are and what they do to keep their business relevant is crucial for your business. This is where SimilarWeb can be of help.
SimilarWeb is an intuitive web analytics tool that gathers information about traffic, site performance, and other aspects of a website from multiple sources into a single data set. This means SimilarWeb can gather data on your competitor's customer acquisition model, so you can build strategies based on the data from the research to stay ahead of the curve.
10. Clicky
Clicky is a web analytics tool that is often described as a user-friendly alternative to Google Analytics with many of the same features, but with a much clearer breakdown of the analytics data and a simpler user interface.
The stand-out feature of Clicky's website analytics tool is the volume of on-site analytics that is available to you in real-time. What's more, Clicky has a state-of-the-art protection system that means you won't have to deal with referrer spam or bots.
Final Thoughts
Yes, web analytics tools can help you learn more about your customers but nobody wants to go through the work of installing a software tool, just to find out it's the wrong one. Not to worry, a website analytics consultation should set you on the right track! Please send an email to hello@cardinaldigital.com to get started.
