If we could see the future when it comes to our entrepreneurial efforts, many of us would take the chance to do so.
Although a crystal ball for business hasn’t been invented yet, we can use other means to gain insight on how well our business efforts will do.
One of these ways is through the use of analytics.
To be able to decipher patterns in data and transform a seemingly nonsensical mass of numbers into tools for business success is an essential skill to have.
What you do with these numbers is ultimately up to you.
However, there are a few areas entrepreneurs can utilize analytics most effectively.
Discover Your Target Audience googletag.
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display(div-gpt-ad-1439400881943-0); }); If you don’t know who’s coming to your website or purchasing your products or services, you won’t be able to market to them as well as you could be.
Although you may have a target audience already in mind, your data may show you that you should be focusing your efforts elsewhere instead.
This is where analytics come in handy.
Data analytics helps you determine who’s visiting your site and doing the most business with you.
Demographic information, how long visitors stay on your site, and how they got to your site in the first place are all vital pieces of information to your entrepreneurial success.
How you get this data can be derived in a number of ways.
From Google Analytics to geotargeting and heatmaps, it’s up to you to spend your budget wisely on the tools you believe will give you the knowledge that you seek.
When you know who your audience is, you can make more informed decisions when it comes to your website and product design to better suit the individuals who are interested in what you have to offer.
Optimize for Traffic Once you know who your target audience truly is, then you’ll need to learn how to optimize your site for that traffic.
One of the first things you should do is figure out which channels are attracting the most people to your site and invest your time and energy to promoting your presence on those specific channels.
It’s also beneficial to see which calls to action are performing the best so you can use the same wording or layout for your other ones.
Heatmaps and in-page analytics are definitely useful tools in this case.
These tools will aid you in determining which calls to action you should be focusing on and which ones you should probably scrap.
Keyword analysis should also be a part of your analytics game plan.
Different people will search for different things, so it’s pertinent to see what your target audience is searching for and create content with those specific keywords.
That way the right traffic will come to your website and give your business a higher chance of profitability.
It’s also important to test your website, products, marketing campaigns, and ideas out on other people to see what they think about it.
They’ll be able to tell you what’s working and how to improve your overall business to better fit their needs.
Either by using an online user testing service or forming a test group of your own, it’s vital to retrieve insight from real people who fall under your target audience.
Surveys are also a great option to see what your target audience likes and doesn’t to help you increase your site’s overall traffic.
Determine Ad Strategies Advertisements are useless if they’re not suited for your target audience.
With so many things already vying for your customers’ attention, you need to make sure the ads you do send out are tailored for your audience as much as possible.
The best way to do this is through analytics.
Due to all the data you have access to, you can make better and more informed decisions when it comes to your ad strategy.
Certain groups of people will respond better to different ads.
By personalizing ads for your target audience from the data you received from your site, you’ll have a much higher conversion rates as well as more satisfied customers.
Analytics also helps you narrow down your advertising efforts to the strategies that are most successful.
Although one ad may not work on one channel, it may thrive on another — and some ads will just prove to be superior over others.
With website cookies and click-through rates, it makes it much easier for entrepreneurs to figure out where they should be focusing their efforts and budget the most.
On a similar note, it’s also imperative that your ads be viewed seamlessly no matter which device or application an individual is on.
People use a variety of online tools, and it’s important for entrepreneurs to be able to reach these individuals no matter what.
With the guidance of analytics, you can make a more comprehensive map of your audience’s digital profile and get a better understanding of how your customers work and think.
Entrepreneurs know there’s no reward without some risk.
However, it doesn’t hurt to have some insight before making the final plunge.
Although analytics may not predict the future exactly, it can give you valuable information on who your target audience is and how effective your strategies and products are.
Data may be a bunch of numbers, but there’s a world of knowledge to be had if you just look close enough.
By effectively incorporating analytics in your entrepreneurial endeavors, you will give yourself a better chance at success than a crystal ball ever could.
About the Author Avery Phillips is a freelance human based out of the beautiful Treasure Valley.
She loves all things in nature, especially humans.
Leave a comment down below or tweet her @a_taylorian with any questions or comments.
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