Google Analytics KPIs, Metrics, & Reporting with Dana DiTomasoRead Time: 8 minutes

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Increasing brand awareness is a terrible goal.

Yep, you read that right. Successful digital marketing web analytics and KPIs require clear goals and the right custom metrics. Dana DiTomaso is the founder and president of KickPoint and has over a decade of experience in web development and digital marketing. On this week’s episode, Dana breaks down how to know what meaningful data to pull from Google Analytics to show the value you create.

REPORTING WEB ANALYTICS

Key metrics are crucial in digital marketing. They allow marketers and clients to understand what value is being produced. But, marketing reports aren’t always as useful as they should be.

“A lot of people don’t know what to report on, so instead they report on everything,” notes Dana DiTomaso. Reports with 50 metrics including everything from impressions, to reach, to page views all listed together. Google Analytics has more data points than most people can comprehend, let alone compile all of them into a useful document. These reports are asking the reader to determine the value from the metrics.

Instead, the marketer should be highlighting only the meaningful metrics.

What are meaningful metrics? Well, Dana suggests you frame them the same way business owners do. Their metrics:

  1. How much money did we make this month?
  2. How much money did we spend this month?
  3. Therefore, how much profit do we have?

Take the wide range of digital marketing metrics and frame them around to those three questions. The answer will be based on what is meaningful in the work that you do.

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GOOD METRICS NEED GOOD GOALS

Measuring success in digital marketing requires clear goals. These goals may mean to make a certain amount of money or help a certain number of people. But, it’s easy to have bad goals in digital marketing.

Dana DiTomaso explains, “Increasing brand awareness is a terrible goal.”

Unless you make it measurable. For example, if you want to increase brand awareness, Dana asks:

  • What’s the baseline?
  • How will you know if we’ve gotten there?
  • What do you count as awareness?

These questions move the goal into something measurable. Then you can know what to report on to show value and progress. And consider if another larger analytics goal is more accurate. Make a million dollars this year is a very good, very measurable goal.

We can help ensure that your business goals align with your SEO metrics. Learn more about Sure Oak’s Google Analytics consulting services here.

WHAT DOES A METRIC MEAN?

All these measurements have to be organized. Dana has broken down her seriously useful method to define goals, strategies, KPIs and metrics.

Once your (good!) goal is identified, it will have one or more key performance indicators (KPIs).

KPIs are the high-level measurements that indicate overall progress towards a goal. KPI goals are the key values that are reported to client or management.

Each business KPI is broken down into tactics to achieve it. These tactics are the specific tasks that must be done to accomplish the overall goal.

Each tactic has its own metrics to measure its progress. Metrics are “the little tiny things” that you measure internally but don’t necessarily report.

For example, page visits, time on page, or impressions may be a crucial metric for your work. But, it does not tie directly to the goal so it is not a KPI and does not get included in external reports. A useful KPI example could instead be average time to close a sale, which is more meaningful to the client or executive who is reading the report.

KEY INSIGHTS

  • Only include metrics that show your value in reports. Don’t include everything Google Analytics has to offer.
  • Defining good goals internally and with clients will ensure you know what you need to measure.
  • Match your measurements with the core business questions: like “How much profit did we make last month?”

DANA DITOMASO’S TAKEAWAYS

  • Break down your goals into KPIs, tactics, and metrics. Use metrics but report KPIs.
  • Ask good questions of your clients. If the goal isn’t clear or measurable, keep asking questions.
  • Get off your desktop! Marketers need to use sites just as their users do. 60% of people are using your website on their phone.

MORE FROM DANA DITOMASO

Dana’s website

Kickpoint

Dana on Moz

Dana on MozCon: Prove Your Value

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