Using Google Analytics to Become a Better Marketer

Using Google Analytics to Become a Better Marketer

Agenda The Five Stages of Travel (The Buying Process) Importance of Google Analytics Audience Reports Acquisition Reports Behavior Reports Analytics in the Marketing Process

Five Stages of Travel Each stage of travel is an opportunity for you to retain a customer

My Dream Begins FB Posts, Blogs, Digital Display Ads. 76% of travelers have no set destination in mind at this point Sources of Inspiration Social Media Outlets Friends/Family Display Ads (online, TV, Magazines) Blogs Source: Google Think 2013 Traveler Research Study

Time to Research 20 travel related sites in 9 separate sessions! Google / Bing/ Yahoo OTA s Trip Advisor DMO Sites FB, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram Blogs Display Ads Hotel sites/ pricing comparisons Search is the #1 source for leisure travelers and #3 for business travelers! What are you doing to make sure I am finding you? SEO, Paid Search, Display, Social *Source: Google Think 2013 Traveler Research Study

Make the Dream a Reality: Book It! 37% of travelers say the internet is what prompted them to book, followed by word of mouth from a family member or friend Most travelers rely on Brand Searches by this point. Things you can do: SEO/Paid Search Make Site Easy to Navigate *Source: Google Think 2013 Traveler Research Study

I m Finally Here Experiencing it all! Once at a destination, 58% of travelers rely on online sources to evaluate local activities 70% of travelers update their FB page while on vacation What is important at this stage? Hospitality Presentation Information What can you do to retain and grow customers? Ask them to write a positive review, share photos and experiences on your social feeds and theirs *Source: Google Think 2013 Traveler Research Study

I m Back. I m ready to share! This stage ties back into the dreaming and planning stage so make sure you do the following: Ask guests for their information (twitter handle, email, etc.) so you can send them timely messages for next year Create and execute a loyalty program Encourage guests to write positive reviews, post photos, share with friends, etc.

Why Is Using Google Analytics Important? Your Website is your virtual brick and mortar G/A is a free tool that tells you all sorts of things about your users/visitors Allows you to be proactive in your digital marketing efforts Helps you see areas where you may be falling short, helping you to adjust your campaign at any time for better results Keeps your vendors honest

Audience Reports Basic Reports Overview (visits, unique visitors, page views, duration, bounce rate) Geo (location) Behavior (new vs. returning, frequency, engagement) Mobile (overview, devices) Visitor flow Why do I need this information Are the right people being reached? Could/should other audiences be reached? Are any audiences over/under performing? Which stages of the traveler buying cycle do these reports help with Dreaming (geo, devices, bounce) Planning (new vs. returning, frequency, engagement) Booking (devices, visits, visitor flow)

Site Traffic - Overview Visits: The number of people who were on your site Unique Visitors: The number of unduplicated visitors to your site over a specific period of time Page views: Total number of pages viewed over a specific period of time Pages per Visit: Average number of pages viewed during a visit to your site Avg. Visit Duration: The average duration of the session Bounce Rate: The percentage of single page visits (people left the site after coming in with no other page engagement) % New Visits: Percentage of first time visits

Audience Visitor Flow Red indicates visitors leaving the site from that page Are people visiting the pages you want? (Someone may be accessing your things to do pages in the research stage, and the hotels or reservations page in the booking phase

Visitor Demographics - States Key Takeaways: Where are your visitors coming from? How can you determine where your biggest opportunity markets are? Can you use other marketing in these areas to help increase site traffic and conversions?

New Vs. Returning Visitors Key Takeaways: Aim for a good balance of new vs. return visitors (return visitors can indicate visitors in the dreaming or research stage. New visitors could be referrals from family and friends in the sharing stage) Monitor engagement for new vs. return visitors What is your strategy for new customers?

Device Overview Key Takeaways: Compare Desktop traffic to tablet and mobile traffic Match digital marketing strategy to how people are finding and accessing your site How do people use devices differently? (Research vs. bookings) Know your mobile strategy Is your site responsive design?

Acquisition Reports Basic Reports (available to all) Overview (channel, source, site) Keywords (organic only) Social (overview only) Business use for this info? Where sources are most of the visitors coming from? Any sources underrepresented? What stages in the buying cycle do these reports help with? Dreaming (are you running trackable campaigns to create awareness) Researching (are you seeing referral traffic from OTA s, DMO s or travelrelated sites) Booking (are people coming to your site via social outlets)

Acquisition Channels

Acquisition Channel Definitions

Acquisition Keywords Variations on business name or branded keywords indicate customers (researching, booking) Broader keywords tend to indicate undecided customers (dreaming, researching)

Acquisition Social Social referrals relative to total traffic Click on Social Network rows to see landing pages Are the landing pages consistent with someone dreaming, planning or sharing?

Behavior Reports Basic Reports (available to all) Overview (page views, duration, bounce rate, exit rate) Flow (granular views) Site Content (all, landing, exit) Site Speed (overview, page timings, speed suggestions) In-Page Analytics Business use for this info? What path do visitors take through the site Is that what the business wants them to take What landing page works best for each campaign - Why What pages do visitors leave from most often - Is that OK What stages in the buying process do these reports help with? Dreaming site content/speed Research page views/duration/bounce Booking- site speed / flow

Behavior Overview Hover on a small graph to see a definition Click on one to move it to the large position

Behavior Content Select an audience to see a filtered flow report Combine audiences to find synergistic opportunities

Behavior Speed Review speed suggestions regularly How might improving page speed benefit a business?

Conversions & Accountability Create UTM Codes to see campaign activity in analytics Track campaigns to see if they are accomplishing the goals you want them to Set up custom goals and events to measure the success of your digital marketing campaigns Use reports to figure out what is working best for your site and business so you can invest in those programs that are most successful Create a custom dashboard quickly asses the health of your website

UTM Codes What are they? A UTM code(urchin Traffic Monitor) is a simple code that you can attach to a custom URL in order to track a source, medium, and campaign name. Link to access the UTM builder page: https://support.google.com/analyti cs/answer/1033867?hl=en

Custom Goal/Event Set up (Basic) Step 1 Step 2

Analytics in the Marketing Process Gain Insight into your web traffic Use information for smarter, more strategic campaigns Think about how this info can be used in all five stages of the travel buying process Put Google Analytics to work for YOU

QUESTIONS