MARKETING

If you are not very familiar with the sources of your website traffic, you might be missing out on a lot of optimization opportunities. ‍ Think about it this way, If you don’t know whether your website traffic comes from social media, or you have no knowledge of the email campaign that generated more signups, you will have almost zero clue on what to optimize. ‍ In fact, the best Digital Marketers understand their traffic sources and can optimize their strategies for better results. ‍ So, in this detailed article, we will break down all the traffic sources available in Google analytics, how they closely relate to medium, and how to build custom sources using parameters. First Thing, What Are Sources In Google Analytics? ‍ If you have a live website, there are chances that your website is receiving traffic, no matter how small. ‍ The traffic can come from searches, social media, other websites, etc, and these domains that send traffic to your websites are called “sources” in Google analytics. ‍ Knowing your traffic sources don’t only tell you where your traffic is coming from, but how people are engaging with your campaign. ‍ You can periodically check your source/medium dashboard to know which traffic source is performing better. ‍ Better off, if you want a done-it-for-you experience, you can switch to Abralytics, an alternative to Google analytics with faster load time, then you can expect to receive AI-based opportunities sent to you. ‍ You get conversion rate and user experience improvement ideas that you can implement for better conversion. ‍ Medium Vs. Sources, What’s The Difference? ‍ Well, in Google analytics, the terms are subject to your website’s traffic and its referral, and as such, they are mostly confused to mean the same thing. ‍ While they closely relate to your website’s traffic, the “medium” of your traffic in Google analytics particularly means the category of your sources. For instance, you can have organic search as your medium, but within that category, your sources can be Google, Baidu, Bing, etc. ‍ List Of Sources Available In Google Analytics ‍ Here are the default sources you will find on your dashboard. ‍ Google Search, Baidu, DuckDuckGo… Etc. ‍ This refers to the traffic coming from an actual search engine. ‍ When people visit your website directly from the search engine result page for the keyword they are searching for, then Google records the source of the traffic with the “search engine name”. ‍ Source: Google Analytics Dashboard ‍ Facebook, Twitter, Instagram… Etc ‍ Just like Google, Baidu and other search engines, Google records any traffic coming from social media platforms. So if your website visitors are coming from Facebook for instance, Google will record the traffic as data from social, which is Facebook.. ‍ Source: Google Analytics Dashboard ‍ CNN.com, nytimes.com, And Other Websites ‍ When people visit your website from other websites like CNN.com, Google categorizes that traffic as referral traffic. ‍ One thing to note here is this, “referrals” isn’t the actual term you will see on your source tab, rather you will see the URL of the website where your traffic is coming from. ‍ Now, you might be asking, what if people type your website URL, or click on your website from a document on their device, what traffic source would that be? ‍ Well, Google has a term for that and they call it “direct” traffic. ‍ What Does Direct Traffic Mean In Google Analytics? ‍ Source: Google Analytics Dashboard Ever looked at your Google Analytics report and scratched your head at the giant chunk of traffic labeled “Direct”? You’re not alone. While it might seem straightforward, “direct” traffic in Google Analytics can be a bit of a mystery. The “Direct” source tells Google that the traffic is coming either from a direct search, a bookmark, or that the original website where the traffic is coming from has little to no data. ‍ Though direct traffic is a nightmare to a lot of digital marketers because of its analytics limitations and so many other reasons, MOZ has nailed a complete guide on how to use advanced analysis and segmentation to understand direct traffic. Direct traffic signifies website visits where Google Analytics couldn’t pinpoint the exact source. In simpler terms, it means someone arrived at your site without going through a search engine, clicking an ad, or following a link from another website. A high percentage of direct traffic might seem like a good thing – people know your brand and are coming straight to you, right? Well, yes and no. While a healthy amount of direct traffic indicates brand awareness, a disproportionately large chunk could indicate missed opportunities to track where your visitors are coming from. Let’s say you run a local bakery with a booming direct traffic percentage. This could be because people are familiar with your name and website, but it might also suggest they’re finding your address through offline sources like flyers or business cards – which wouldn’t be reflected in “direct” traffic. Let’s say you run a local bakery with a booming direct traffic percentage. This could be because people are familiar with your name and website, but it might also suggest they’re finding your address through offline sources like flyers or business cards – which wouldn’t be reflected in “direct” traffic. What Does “Unassigned” Traffic Mean In Google Analytics? Sifting through your Google Analytics report, you might stumble upon a category called “unassigned” traffic. Unlike “direct” traffic, which has a clear explanation, “unassigned” can leave you wondering – where on earth did these visitors come from? GA4 unassigned traffic simply refers to website sessions that Google Analytics couldn’t categorize into any of its standard traffic sources (like organic search, social media, or paid ads). It’s like having a guest at your party but forgetting how they got there! There are a few reasons why traffic might end up unassigned. The most common culprit? Missing or incorrect UTM parameters.

  If you’re a website owner, an editor, or a blogger, then you’ve probably heard of or used Google Analytics. In fact, more than 29.3 million websites have installed Google Analytics in 2012 alone. You can just imagine how much that figure increased in the last decade. ‍ But have you heard about Oribi? It’s a Google Analytics’ competitor that promises a shorter learning curve so you can quickly capture valuable insights in one place for your business. ‍ In today’s post, we’ll find out what Oribi is and whether it’s a better choice than Google Analytics. Let’s start with our head-to-head comparison.   Oribi vs Google Analytics: In Depth-Comparison   ‍ Oribi (Marketing Analytics Tool)   Oribi is an all-in-one marketing analytics that gets you insights to drive conversions and optimize your marketing efforts in general. With its straightforward usage and set-up, smart algorithm, and the right set of features, the tool does pretty much all the heavy lifting for you. After you’re done with the onboarding process, the Oribi web analytics tool will then help you understand your website visitors so you can adjust your marketing efforts based on the data accordingly. It moreover notifies you of essential changes in your data, like platform performance, traffic from specific channels, and significant shift in the conversions. ‍ Just like Google Analytics, you can evaluate and analyze data about your landing pages, blog posts product pages, and videos, and how many have viewed your marketing content within a certain period. You will also know what works, eliminate what wastes your resources, and focus on the conversion drivers.   Google Analytics (Web Analytics Service)   Just in case you need a further introduction about Google Analytics, it is a web analytics service by Google that pretty much does the same as Oribi. It tracks and reports website traffic and provides real-time analytics of user interaction with your platform. ‍ This free website tracking tool collects data to inform you how users arrive on your site, the characteristics of your website’s audience, how many of your website visitors convert, how users interact with your website content, and much more! ‍ Differences Between Oribi and Google Analytics   Oribi tracks 100% of the events on your site automatically   One of the unique characteristics of Oribi that you won’t get with the free analytics tool from Google is event creation. It is capable of tracking 100% of the events on your site automatically. This means, you no longer have to set it up manually or code the interaction of whatever you want to track on your website. Sure, Google Analytics does track page views automatically. However, to do that, you still need to define them manually in Tag Manager or by code. So, don’t be surprised that events that you did not specify will not be tracked. ‍ Rich visual data of your visitors with Oribi’s funnel tracking   Both Google Analytics and Oribi provide you with different ways to optimize your marketing efforts via the funnel tracking feature. A funnel works like a guide path for your visitors. It is mapped out with a certain number of stages, wherein you expect them to follow so you can achieve your business goals. This helps you optimize the experience of your website visitors so they stay longer in the marketing funnel. Your goal is for them to reach the conversion stage. Let’s say, 100 people visited your website. Out of them, 30 repeatedly visited your site, 50 signed up for a newsletter, 10 went down the funnel or converted into sales, and 20 actively clicked on your promotion campaigns. We noticed that Oribi’s funnel tracking provides richer visual data than Google Analytics. It gives you a clear picture of visitors that enter the funnel as well as their activities when they visited your website. As you click on “Create a new Funnel” with Oribi, you can already build actional steps as to what you will expect your visitors to walk through once they visit your website. With the Google track button alone, you have to use Google Tag Manager and set up button tracking with coding. The process is more complicated as there are triggers you have to click on or open your site in debug mode to complete the steps.   Google Analytics is entirely free   Next up, we’ll focus on the price. Oribi’s pricing plan starts at $630 per month, billed annually. This already provides you with channel analysis, six-month data history, allows you to track up to 3 domains, and funnel optimization, among other features. It offers a free trial period for 7 days. All features, such as data analysis, are completely free for one week period. ‍ Still, Google Analytics is free. That’s why website owners call it a “freemium” service because they can use it without paying a monthly charge. You can just pay the recurring fee if you want a more advanced feature from Google Analytics. For that, their pricing then starts at $12,500 per month allowing you to enhance your Google Analytics reports.   Google Analytics has wider outreach   As we compare Google Analytics and Oribi, it wouldn’t be complete without mentioning integration options. While both analytics software allows users to integrate with marketing automation tools, Google Analytics wins when it comes to integration options. ‍ It has wider outreach and you can even create your own integration using the tool’s reporting API. Some key integration tools available in Google Analytics are HubSpot, Databox, Analytics Edge, Facebook, WordPress, Shopify, ActiveCampaign, and Callrail. ‍ Meanwhile, you can integrate Google Analytics with your Google Adwords account. Better customer support with Oribi   Another difference between Google Analytics and Oribi is their customer support. ‍ Oribi is more feature-loaded than the free version of Google Analytics. Plus, you are paying for their service or tools. So, you can expect that you will have a dedicated expert team to provide you with custom reports. They are even available

Why You Should Be Considering a Google Analytics Alternative   Are you struggling to navigate the complexities of Google Analytics 4 just to understand where your website traffic is coming from? According to reddit, you’re not alone. The shift to GA4 has left many marketers feeling lost in a sea of confusing interfaces and less intuitive data, making what should be simple analyses feel like deciphering an ancient script. This frustration is widely shared, as users grapple with the steep learning curve and lack of straightforward reporting that was once a staple of its predecessor. Enter Abralytics—a streamlined, Google Analytics alternative designed to cut through the complexity and bring clarity to your analytics efforts. Imagine GA4 alternative that not only simplifies your data but also enhances your ability to act on it, all without the hassle of endless configuration. With Abralytics, you’re not just overcoming the limitations of GA4; you’re setting a new standard for how data drives your business decisions.   The Case for an Alternative to Google Analytics 4 ‍ Users have become frustrated with GA4, and I don’t blame them‍   The transition to Google Analytics 4 (GA4) has not been smooth for many businesses. While GA4 promises advanced features and insights, the reality for most users is a platform that feels more like a step back than a leap forward. This is not just about nostalgia for the old ways; it’s about practicality, efficiency, and accessibility in data analytics. In this blog post, we will delve into several key areas where GA4 may fall short for businesses, and how an alternative like Abralytics could bridge that gap: Complex Setup and Learning Curve: We’ll explore why GA4’s setup and learning curve can be prohibitive for many, especially for those without technical expertise. Data Accessibility and Reporting Issues: Discuss the challenges with data granularity and the creation of meaningful reports in GA4. Privacy and Compliance Concerns: Examine how GA4’s approach to data privacy may not align with all business needs or regulatory requirements. Abralytics as a User-Friendly Alternative: Highlight how Abralytics addresses these issues with its intuitive design and user-centric features. Following these topics, we’ll dive deep into the nuts and bolts of why choosing an alternative might not just be a preference but a strategic necessity for many businesses. Get ready to see how Abralytics can turn the tide on analytics frustrations, offering a clearer, more efficient, and more compliant way to understand your data.   Tackling the Steep Learning Curve of Google Analytics 4 ‍ Google Analytics 4 represents a significant departure from its predecessor, Universal Analytics, in both functionality and user interface. This shift brings with it a set of challenges that can be especially daunting for users without a strong technical background. ‍Completely New Interface: GA4 introduces a completely redesigned interface that, while powerful, is substantially different from what users have grown accustomed to in Universal Analytics. The navigation paths, menu layouts, and even the terminology used are new. This unfamiliarity requires users to essentially relearn the system from scratch, which can be a time-consuming and frustrating experience. Event-Based Tracking Model: Unlike the more straightforward session-based model used by Universal Analytics, GA4 operates on an event-based data model. This means that interactions are tracked as individual events, which offers greater flexibility but also adds complexity. Users must now set up and customize events to track specific interactions, a process that requires a deeper understanding of both the platform and the underlying analytics concepts. Advanced Tagging and Configuration Needs: Setting up GA4 often involves advanced tagging setups using Google Tag Manager or modifying website code to track the correct data. This level of configuration demands technical skills that not all users possess, potentially leading to incomplete or incorrect data collection if not implemented properly. The combination of a new interface, a complex event-based tracking system, and advanced configuration requirements, makes GA4’s setup and learning curve prohibitive for many users, particularly those without technical expertise. This can lead to frustration and potential disengagement with the analytics tool, impacting the ability of businesses to effectively monitor and analyze their online traffic and performance. A google analytics alternative like Abralytics can mitigate this frustration ‍ “Google Analytics was too complicated. I save 2 hours every week with Abralytics.”   Ryan McK – Founder of Subversive Design Agency Start your 30-day free trial No credit card required Cancel anytime Navigating the Complexities of Data Accessibility and Reporting in GA4 Diving into Google Analytics 4 can feel like stepping into a thick fog, where clarity and detail are obscured by complexity. This shift has introduced several significant challenges that impact how users access and report on their data. Reduced Data Granularity: GA4 has moved away from the session-based data model familiar to many users, opting instead for an event-based model. This change, while flexible, often results in less granular data. Users find themselves unable to access the same detailed level of user behavior metrics they depended on in Universal Analytics. The aggregated nature of GA4’s reporting complicates the task of drilling down into the specifics of individual user actions or page-level interactions.‍ Complex Reporting Interface: The interface of GA4 is not just different; it’s more complex. Users accustomed to the straightforward, intuitive reports of Universal Analytics are now met with a platform that requires navigating through a more complicated setup to create meaningful reports. This complexity can be a barrier, especially for those who are not deeply versed in analytics, making it difficult to quickly pull out the insights needed to inform business decisions.‍ Custom Report Creation: While GA4 offers customization in reporting with explorations, this feature is a double-edged sword. The ability to create custom reports, although powerful, demands a higher level of expertise and a deeper understanding of the system. For many users, this means either a steep learning curve or the need to rely on experts, which can delay access to critical data and insights necessary for agile business operations.‍ Inadequate Historical Data Comparison: One of

  In order to analyze the success of your website, you need a reliable analytics tool to track a visitor’s engagement across your site and products. The big question, though, is, which analytics tool is right for you? Before making potentially costly decisions, ensure you’ve found the best analytics solution for your business.  There are a few key considerations. The analytics solution must:  suit your business goals,  be price-friendly relative to your business size, offer advanced analytics solutions relevant to your needs, Allow mutual integration with tons of other marketing tools, comply with data privacy requirements, and  feature an easy-to-use interface.  So, if you’re looking for a top-tier analytics platform and want to compare Piwik with OWA before making a decision, keep reading. ‍ This article compares the two tools and focuses on their similarities, core differences, and which is the best tool for various audience types.   What Is Piwik Analytics (now Matomo)?‍ To begin, the important thing to note is that Piwik is now called Matomo, and “Piwik Pro” is a separate product. In this article, we will focus on Matomo, an open source analytics platform that uses PHP and MySQL to provide extensive information about your website and its visitors. The report also provides: user demographic data browsing patterns interactions with your site’s content the source of your traffic conversion rates (or bounce rates). With this, you can examine what in your marketing funnel increases conversions and what doesn’t. ‍ In addition, Piwik grants you full ownership of the data on your website, so nobody else can access your website’s data without your permission.   Source: Matomo ‍ What Is Open Web Analytics (OWA)?  Open Web Analytics, or OWA, is free, open-source software that lets you track and monitor how users interact with your websites and applications. Besides, OWA offers website owners and developers simple JavaScript, PHP, or REST-based APIs that make it simple to integrate web analytics into their websites. Additionally, the analytics platform has built-in support for tracking websites created using well-known content management systems like WordPress and MediaWiki.   The Core Similarities Between Piwik And OWA   As Google Analytics alternatives, Piwik and OWA have several similar features. Now, let’s have a look at them before discussing their differences.  Open Source Web Analytics  ‍ First, both tools are fully open-source web analytics. So, the code is available for anyone to read and inspect on GitHub. You can read and review it to learn how it works and to ensure that the data is kept private and secure. Because of their transparency and openness, you can trust open-source tools better than proprietary and closed-source ones. Installation And Maintenance  ‍ OWA will need to be installed and maintained on your own server. ‍ Installing your analytics on the same server as your website is usually good. If your site is down, your analytics tool can’t collect any data, so it won’t matter whether the analytics code is functional. Open Web Analytics ‍ Piwik and OWA are both developed in the open to encourage user feedback and suggestions.  ‍ For instance, you can look at the Piwik project’s public roadmap and add (or vote on) your preferred feature recommendation. 100% Data Ownership ‍ With Piwik or OWA, you have complete control and ownership over all website stats and other data collected.  ‍ So, you don’t need to be concerned about anybody else gaining access to the information on your website.  ‍ Unlike Google Analytics, neither visitor’s information nor any behavioral data are shared with or sold to third parties for advertising purposes .  User Tracking Features ‍   ‍Source: OWA ‍ As two of the best Google Analytics alternatives, Piwik and OWA let you see how users engage with your website pages with features like the heatmap tool and click tracking.  ‍ Both tools provide this feature by recording visitor clicks and mouse movements on your web page, the scroll activities of your users, and pinpointing the areas of your sites that your visitors find most useful.   The Core Differences Between Piwik And OWA Besides their user interface and other features, the core differences between Piwik and OWA are as follows:  Pricing Models: Piwik Vs. OWA  ‍ Piwik has two models – Matomo Cloud and Matomo On-Premise. ‍ On the other hand, Open Web Analytics (OWA) has just one plan – Free.  ‍ Piwik (Matomo) On-Premise ‍ This version of Piwik is free. To get started, you need to host it on your web server. However,  you can purchase some extra bundles for better analytics. ‍ Some of these bundles are SEO Web Vitals (starting at $86.67/year), multi-channel conversion attribution (starting at $86.67/year), and Roll-Up reporting (starting at $218.33/year). ‍ Piwik (Matomo) Cloud This version of Piwik is cloud-hosted and comes at a price that varies with your site’s traffic and use. The price ranges from $0(21 Day free trial) to $15,250 annually.  ‍ Open Web Analytics (OWA)  Open Web Analytics is free of charge. To start, you only need to install the tool on your web host.  ‍ With these three easy steps, you can install OWA – download OWA, upload files via FTP, and configure the database name.  ‍ Being a framework has several benefits, one of which is how adaptable OWA is. It can be used on your website or as a part of a web application.    Verdict On Pricing Model‍ Though Piwik offers flexibility with its two plans, Open Web Analytics wins because it’s free, and users enjoy all the analytics and reporting features of a web analytics solution.    Loading Speed: Piwik Vs. OWA ‍ Since both tools are built differently, they vary in how fast your website pages load after you’ve installed OWA or Piwik. ‍ Piwik (Matomo) Matomo.js (Piwik’s JavaScript code) adds 22.8 KB to your website’s page. It is large enough to slow down your website but smaller than Google Analytics (which adds about 45.1KB).  However, Piwik has attempted to address previous difficulties with load speed. They

  In today’s digital world, there are many options for an analytics solution that can help you track, report, and store your website’s analytics data. So, it’s crucial to compare what each has to offer. ‍ Before choosing a web analytics tool for your business, here are some core considerations: ‍ your organizational goals cost relative to your business size user-friendliness of the tool advanced features data privacy loading speed ‍ Read on if you are looking for good analytics tools and want an in-depth Segment vs. Matomo comparison before making up your mind. ‍ This article covers the key differences between these analytics tools – their main advantages, pros and cons and the best tool for different audience types. What Is Segment? ‍ ‍‍Source: Segment Home Page    Segment is an analytics tool that collects, processes, stores, and reports data based on users’ activities on your digital properties like websites, apps, social media, etc. ‍ It is a Customer Data Platform that makes collecting and using visitors’ data from digital properties easy. ‍ You can also integrate data from other analytics tools with Segment to better understand how users interact with your website. This allows you to make better data-driven decisions, track your website’s performance and improve your customer’s experience. ‍ Some of the tools you can integrate with Segment include: ‍ Customer Relations Management (HubSpot, Dynamics, etc.) Email Marketing tools (Sender, MailChimp, etc.) Analytics tools (Abralytics, Google Analytics, Matomo, etc.) Marketing Automation tools (Eloqua, Marketo, etc.) Visualization tools (Google Charts, FusionCharts, etc.) Messaging platforms (Signal, Customer.io, etc.) ‍ Segment provides services for a wide range of professionals such as digital marketers, product managers, website owners, data analysts, data engineers, etc. What Is Matomo Analytics? ‍ Source: Matomo Home Page‍ ‍ Matomo Analytics (formerly Piwik Analytics) is an open-source analytics solution built with PHP MySQL software for tracking and reporting website traffic and how users interact with the site. ‍ Matomo’s data reports inform you about your users, their activities on your site, what marketing channel they came from, and how they convert…or bounce off your website. ‍ So you can see what works and what doesn’t on your marketing funnel to improve conversion. ‍ Also, Matomo gives you complete control over the data on your website. No one else can access your website data without your permission. The Core Similarities Between Segment And Matomo   They both: ‍ perform advanced marketing functions such as conversion tracking and data piping without the need to visit a developer – thereby saving time and stress offer an Application Programming Interface (API) to make communication with developers easier are open-source tools – you can view and inspect their analytics tracker code on GitHub create and use tracking and analytics events like real-time users, user locations, devices, operating systems, etc. feature tags for sending data to a third-party or embedding data from a third party to a website give you 100% data ownership of your analytics data use first-party cookies to identify new users have free and paid versions.   The Core Differences Between Segment And Matomo ‍ Segment and Matomo serve unique purposes. Here is a breakdown of the core differences between them: Primary Function ‍ Segment is a Customer Data Platform and Matomo is a web analytics platform.  ‍ Segment converts data into a general group to aid marketing tool integration. Segment’s primary focus as a CDP is allowing various tools to synergize. ‍ On the other hand, Matomo provides detailed reports on your website, its user, and their relationship. As a web analytics platform, the focus is to track, analyze, and report your analytics data. So, you can gain insight into what to change in your marketing funnel for the best conversion.   Pricing Plans ‍ Segment has three versions – Free, Team and Business. ‍ Source: Segment Pricing Chart  ‍ Free:  ‍ The Free version of Segment costs $0/month and can track up to 1000 visitors per month, 2 sources, and 300+ integrations. ‍ It is ideal for startups and other small businesses. Some businesses using this plan are CodeMakers, Silverbean, etc. ‍ Team: ‍ The Team version of Segments starts from $120/month. It can track up to 10 000 visitors per month, unlimited sources, 1 data warehouse destination, plus the features of the Free version. ‍ It is suitable for small and mid-sized enterprises. Examples of companies using this plan are Logg, AutoPilot, Fast Company, etc. ‍ Business: ‍ The Business version of Segments has custom pricing. So, you pay based on your use. In addition to the features of the Team version, it offers services like Custom Volume, Historical Replay, Single View of Customer, Data Governance, Advanced Roles, and Permissions. ‍ It suits big businesses, large firms, and corporations. Some examples of these companies include IBM, Fox, ClearScore, etc. ‍ Matomo, on the other hand, has two models – Cloud and On-Premise. ‍ Matomo On-Premise: ‍ This Matomo version is free. To begin, you will need to host it on your server. However, you can buy specific bundles to improve your analytics. ‍ Some examples of these bundles are SEO web vitals (starting at $86.67/year), multi-channel conversion attribution (starting at $86.67/year), and Roll-Up reporting (starting at $218.33/year). ‍ Matomo Cloud: ‍ Matomo Cloud is hosted on Matomo’s server, and the price depends on the traffic and usage of your website. The cost ranges from $0 (21-day free trial) to $15,250 yearly. Hosting: ‍ Both tools can be hosted in two ways. ‍ For Segment, the two options are cloud mode and device mode. ‍ Cloud mode: ‍ The Cloud mode is hosted on Segment’s server. In this mode, the sources send data directly to the Segment servers, translating it for each downstream destination before passing it on. ‍ Translation gives a small page size, method count, and a faster load time. ‍ Device Mode: ‍ In this mode, you add a piece of code on your website or mobile app that allows Segment to use the

You’ve set an evening aside to try out a new pasta recipe. You light a fire, pour yourself a glass of wine, and flick through the recipe to see which ingredients you’ll need. One by one you lay them out on the table and soon realize a few key ingredients are missing. You have everything you need to make a delicious pasta sauce, but no pasta.   ‍Photo by Klaus Nielsen from Pexels Will your meal be a success? Probably not. Similarly, to have an effective digital marketing campaign, you need a few essential ingredients which each bring something unique to the table. Semrush and Google Analytics are two powerful SEO tools in your recipe for a killer website. The question is less about which one is better and more about how they work together to form a complete digital marketing campaign. In this article, we will look at what each tool does and how they complement one another. To conclude, we’ll consider which product will best meet the needs of your business. What’s the Difference Between Semrush and Google Analytics? Below is a list of key features of SEMrush and Google Analytics. What is SEMrush? In a nutshell, SEMrush is a SaaS (software as a service) product that specializes in keyword research and competitor analysis. Included in the SEMrush toolkit are the following features: 1. Traffic Analytics Provides you with the traffic estimates of any website. Much like Google Analytics, it includes traffic sources, the average duration of a visit, unique page visits, bounce rate analysis, geolocation, and more. So how does SEMrush differ from Google Analytics? SEMrush allows you not only to analyze your website but your competitor’s websites as well. This competitive analysis shows you which of their strategies are working, as well as areas you can improve on. This information can then be used as a basis for your content marketing campaign and to optimize your website for SEO.   ‍Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexel 2. Organic Research Simply types in the Domain, subdomain, or URL of your competitor, and you’ll be provided with a list of their top organic keywords and their position in search results. With very little effort, you have a ready-to-go list of keywords that you can incorporate into your website’s content. Keywords that you know are competitive and rank well. 3. Keyword Overview The Keyword Overview feature allows you to analyze any keyword or phrase and determine search volume, ranking difficulty, keyword variations, SERP Analysis, and much more. This helps you easily decide which keywords to include in your content and ad campaigns. 4. Link Building Tool Backlinks help site crawlers discover your website and decide which position you’ll rank. SEMrush helps you to find sites that rank well for your chosen keywords, providing you with a list of prospects to reach out to for backlinks. It also allows you to check their domain authority and evaluate how backlinks obtained from them will affect your SEO. 5. Website SEO Audits The Website SEO audit is an impressive feature that helps you analyze how well your website is performing. The audit does over 140 checks to your site, including broken links, duplicate content, crawlability, loading speed, and successful HTTPS implementation. All essential components if you want to impress the Google bots and appear on first-page search results.   Photo by Lukas from Pexels What is Google Analytics? Google Analytics enables you to measure your website’s performance and provides essential information about who your visitors are. Let’s take a look at how GA can be used: 1. Audience Report Tells you the demographics of your visitors, including their average age, gender, and location. As well as what device they use to access your website, whether it be mobile or desktop. Knowing who your customers are will help you customize your campaign to suit their needs. 2. Acquisition Report Indicates the source of your traffic. The report tells you which percentage of visitors came from social media, organic search (typing a keyword or phrase into the search bar), direct search (typing the name of your website into the search bar), or other. When you know how users found your site, you’ll know how effective your marketing methods are. 3. Behavior Tells you how visitors move from one page to the next, the average session duration, which pages are most frequently visited, and bounce rates. (the bounce rate is the percentage of visitors who navigate away from your site after visiting only one page) For example, if a page has a high bounce rate, this is a signal that the content needs to be improved to meet the needs of those who land there. A great user experience is important as it can keep them moving from the Homepage to the check-out cart. 4. Conversions The percentage of visitors who take a certain action while on your site. These actions, or conversions, are entered in Google Analytics as goals that need to be tracked. Examples of conversions are the number of people who fill in a contact form, sign up for a newsletter, or click on a discount voucher. SEMrush vs Google Analytics: Plans and Pricing Comparison   ‍Photo by RODNAE Productions from Pexels ‍ SEMrush SEMrush is a SaaS product available either for free with limited features or on a monthly subscription: (March 2022) ‍ Google Analytics Semrush & Google Analytics – A Match Made in Heaven? These powerful tools, when used together, provide you with a complete digital marketing picture. Instead of stumbling around in the dark, they give you a clear plan of action. Even if you aren’t a professional marketer or have limited resources, they level the playing field and make it easy for anyone to have a fighting chance at the infamous first-page search results. SEMrush allows you to analyze your competitor’s websites so you can take away which strategies are working well for them and implement them in your campaign. It will help you see areas in

Don’t you love having options? To have the freedom to choose between a donut or apple for lunch, whether you’ll wear a blue or green shirt today or spend your weekend fishing or laying on a beach? ‍ Do we have the same freedom when it comes to web analytics software? Of course we do! ‍ Although when we talk about analytics, which is the first tool that comes to mind? No doubt, Google Analytics. Many businesses aren’t even aware of the host of alternatives available to them which may actually suit their business needs better. ‍ They simply learn to deal with the good, the bad and the ugly of this analytics tool. But have you ever wondered… ‍ Are there alternative analytics platforms out there worth considering? Why should I switch to a google analytics alternative? ‍ Yes! There are many substitutes out there that can rival the world’s favorite free web analytics platform. But why consider an alternative at all? ‍ Why consider an alternative to Google Analytics? ‍ Photo by Vanessa Garcia from Pexels‍ ‍ First and foremost, Google Analytics is not incredibly intuitive. Admittedly, there are many Youtube videos and Google tutorials to help you understand the platform, but most business owners are just too busy to sit for hours learning how to analyze traffic data. Let alone understand how to turn these reports into actionable insights that help you increase your revenue ‍ A second reason why many have recently moved away from Google Analytics is data protection laws. Users don’t want their data to be sold to the highest bidders. And some European countries are considering a ban on Google Analytics in their countries stating that Google Analytics does not sufficiently protect their citizen’s data. ‍ Pricing could also be a deciding factor. Once your business outgrows the free version, you will have to sign up for Google 360. This comes with a hefty price tag of $150,000 per year. That’s a sizable chunk of money to invest in a marketing campaign, and you’ll have to ensure the revenue you gain will be worth the money you invest. If that doesn’t convince you, here are more reasons to consider a google analytics alternative. Don’t be afraid of change! ‍Photo by Thirdman from Pexels ‍ An analytics tool is an essential part of any digital marketing campaign. It tells you who your customers are, how they engage with your site, the success of your ad campaigns and so much more. You must be able to comfortably navigate your analytics tool of choice and understand the reports it gives you. ‍ Although there will always be die-hard SEO specialists out there who swear by Google Analytics, you might be pleasantly surprised by what the competitors have to offer. ‍ Don’t stick with something just because it’s what everyone uses. If Google Analytics meets your needs, great. If it doesn’t, there are many analytics alternatives out there. ‍ How do I find the best alternative for my needs? ‍Photo by Startup Stock Photos from Pexels ‍ The Saas program you choose should be the one which suits your needs best. What works for a blogger, probably won’t work for a large enterprise. What works for an e-commerce site won’t necessarily be the best choice for a brick-and-mortar store. ‍ Here are a few helpful questions to ask before choosing the right Google Analytics alternative for you: ‍ How much am I willing to spend on a website analytics program? Which personal or business goals or metrics would I need to track? What website data would be most relevant to my business? Will the program I choose grow with my business and continue to meet its needs? How tech-savvy am I? Will I, or my staff, need additional training to use the program effectively? How much time and money am I willing to invest in training? Will I outsource the work to a digital marketing agency or SEO specialist? How important is data protection to my company? Do I need reports with only the most relevant information or will I need more advanced web analytics? ‍ Now that you have a clearer idea about what your personal needs are, here is a list of the five best Google Analytics alternatives. Look out for the highlights and key points for each one that can help you choose the best platform for your business. Abralytics ‍ Source: Abralytics‍ ‍ Abralytics has a user-friendly interface that swops complicated jargon-filled reports with ones that are easy to understand. They understand that we’re not all data analytics scientists or SEO specialists – go figure. ‍ It has been designed to integrate with other major platforms like Squarespace, Wix and Shopify to name just a few. If you need help, they’ll even set you up at no additional cost. Highlights Abralytics puts privacy first by replacing cookies with anonymous measurements. The platform is completely GDPR, CCPA and PECR compliant straight out of the box. Abralytics has also put data analysis on a diet. By using lightweight coding this web analytics tool keeps websites speedy and visitors engaged. ‍ ‍Photo by Yan Krukov from Pexels What to keep in mind ‍ Many analytics platforms will offer either a free version with limited features or a paid version with full features and a rather large price tag. The idea behind this is that smaller businesses either don’t need access to higher-end features or that larger companies can afford to fork out a hefty amount for their data reports. ‍ But Abralytics takes a slightly different approach. Regardless of the size of your business, you get unlimited access to all features for under $15/month. This means you pay the same amount, no matter how much traffic your site gets or how much your business grows. ‍ While you can try Abralytics for free for 30 days, there isn’t a free version available for continuous use. Privacy comes at a cost and by not selling your

Ecommerce businesses allow you to sell products online without paying for a brick-and-mortar building. ‍ No need to worry about who will open the shop each day. Instead, your biggest concern is whether your delivery company can keep up with all the online sales you’re generating. ‍ But having an online store isn’t all about sitting back and watching the cash roll in. ‍ There are a few key e-commerce metrics you want to keep a close eye on, whether you use Google Analytics or any other Web Analytics tool. What are KPIs? KPI stands for Key Performance Indicator. ‍ Simply put, your e-commerce KPIs are a collection of the most important metrics you track to help you grow and maintain your online store’s performance.  Q: How are they different from Metrics? While it’s true that all metrics in an analytics report are helpful to a certain degree, the reality is that not all metrics are VITAL to the success of your e-commerce store. ‍ For example, take the News Letter Opens Metric. ‍ Super helpful in determining if your email campaigns are getting better click-through rates on mobile devices as opposed to desktops and tablets. ‍ But does that metric doesn’t strike you as an e-commerce KPI that you just can’t do without? Identifying Key Metrics ‍ Before deciding which e-commerce metrics and KPIs are most relevant to you, you need to figure a few things out about yourself and your business. Set your objectives Here are a few questions to help you identify which metrics make the list of your most valuable key performance indicators. How far along in my sales journey am I? All e-commerce businesses are at different stages of development. And different metrics matter at various stages of the process. ‍ A brand new business would be more interested in New Customers than Customer Loyalty. You’ve just started, right? ‍ So in its beginning stages, it would make way more sense to track new website traffic than how many of them have been returning. That metric becomes more relevant later on in your journey. What would I like to achieve in the next business quarter? Your KPIs help you set goals for your business growth. They give you real-time feedback on what’s going on in your business that will help you make the needed adjustments immediately. ‍ Take this scenario, for example. ‍ Your analytics report shows excellent traffic flow. Visitors to your site seem to be landing on the right pages. But you just can’t seem to interest them in a new product you’re promoting. ‍ In response, you could change the layout of your landing page to draw attention to the specific product widget you want people to click on. ‍ By setting that widget click as a KPI you’re able to see your site’s immediate improvement. How many KPIs can I handle at this stage? There are over 100 metrics available in Google Analytics. That’s a lot going on. ‍ The sheer amount of data can overwhelm new and experienced users. So, be reasonable. ‍ Identify and track only as many metrics as you need. Prioritize In my earlier example, I spoke of how New Customers would be an essential e-commerce KPI for a start-up instead of Customer Loyalty. ‍ And there are various other examples that show that we need to prioritize the most important metrics and KPIs according to their relevancy. ‍ When you understand what you want to achieve with your e-commerce platform, you’ll be able to prioritize the KPIs to reflect those goals. Top 13 E-commerce Metrics to track There are a few metrics that are essential to not only growing but maintaining any eCommerce store. ‍ As a bonus, we’ve also included the formula used to calculate each metric. Average Profit Margin  This metric takes the number one spot on our list because how much profit you make on each item you sell will go a long way to determining the strength of your e-commerce business. ‍ It can also help you remain competitively priced in your niche. At times you might need to adjust your prices according to the going rate of products on the market. ‍ Your Analytics platform will display profit as a percentage taken over a set period. ‍ Conversion Rate CR A conversion rate refers to the percentage of users that have completed the desired action. Conversions could also include: Scroll activity on a site Viewing a product video Signing up for a newsletter Signing up for an account If you set a goal, such as adding a product to the checkout basket – or even better – a customer following through with a purchase, and that goal is met, then it counts as a conversion. ‍ Your conversion rate is a great way to measure the success of your customer engagement. ‍ If your website pages are engaging and well thought out, they should lead your customer all the way from the first landing page to purchasing a product. ‍ ‍ Average Order Value (AOV)  Your average order value is the average value of each e-commerce transaction in your online store. ‍ You need to know how much revenue each order brings you because it will help you formulate marketing and pricing strategies. ‍ For instance, let’s say that your total revenue for a month is $50,000. You had a total of 2000 purchases completed for the same month. ‍ This means that, on average, each customer spent $25 for the month. ‍ From this figure, you can determine whether the time and money spent acquiring each customer to your site are worth it and adjust your marketing campaign budget accordingly. ‍ In some cases, it’s also known as the Average Market Basket. ‍ ‍ Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) A customer lifetime value refers to the total worth that a specific customer brings to a business over a set period of time. ‍ This value begins when a customer makes

So you’ve finally nailed Universal Google Analytics and can impress friends and colleagues with fancy terms like hits, dimensions and conversion rates. And now you hear all this talk about Google Analytics 4. Maybe you’ve started to panic and envision hours searching unfamiliar terms again and reading countless how-to blogs. ‍ But just how different is GA4 from its predecessor? And what are the advantages of switching over? Could you stick your head in the virtual sand and just keep going with the version you know? Let’s dive in! ‍                                                                                                                                                                                   Photo by Ivan Samkov What is Google Analytics 4? Google Analytics 4 is the latest version of Google’s free analytics platform and they’ve announced that as of July 2023, GA4 is set to replace Universal Analytics (UA) entirely. ‍ According to Google, it’s the analytics tool for the future – It’s focused on privacy, has intelligent machine learning at its core and provides you with a clear overall view of your customers’ journey across all devices and platforms. ‍ In the words of Bob Dylan, “The times they are a-changin’” and with the increasing popularity of mobile apps, stricter data privacy laws and the shift to online shopping, it’s not hard to understand why an update was needed. Photo by Anna Tukhfatullina ‍ Russell Ketchum, Director of Product Management at Google Analytics put it this way: “Universal Analytics was built for a generation of online measurement that was anchored in the desktop web, independent sessions and more easily observable data from cookies. This measurement methodology is quickly becoming obsolete. Meanwhile, Google Analytics 4 operates across platforms, does not rely exclusively on cookies and uses an event-based data model to deliver user-centric measurement.” ‍ So now we know why the update was needed, let’s dive into some key differences. How does Google Analytics 4 differ from Universal GA? 1. Different data models Universal Analytics uses a session-based data model, while GA4 uses an event-based data model to record user interactions. ‍ Universal Analytics: A session is the period of time a user spends on your site. Any user interaction during that time is sent as “hits”  to Google for processing. Most Google Analytics data is sent in the form of pageview hits and event hits. ‍ In UA, you can tell Google to track additional activity by setting up what is called an event. Examples of an event would be form submissions, file downloads or videos played. ‍ Google Analytics 4: In Google Analytics 4 properties, every “hit” is now referred to as an event.  In UA, you would have to use Google Tag Manager to create events such as scrolling, clicks and downloads. But GA4 automatically records these events without additional setup. ‍ ‍Photo by Mikael Blomkvist: ‍ There are 4 categories of events in Google Analytics 4: ‍ Automatically collected events –  Default events that do not need to be added or modified but are automatically tracked by Google. Examples of these include when a video is played to the end, the first time a visitor scrolls to the bottom of the page or when an in-app purchase is completed. ‍ See Google’s support site for a full list of automatically collected events. ‍ Enhanced measurement events – Google provides a list of additional events which can also be selected for tracking. These events can easily be added without using Google Tag Manager or changing the website code. ‍ Enhanced measurement events can be accessed by clicking on Admin at the bottom left-hand corner of the screen, selecting Data streams, choosing a property from the list and toggling the tab to on. ‍ Recommended events – These events are recommended by Google based on the industry you work in and require custom changes using Google Tag Manager. There is a list of recommended events for all business types, for e-commerce stores and games. ‍ Click here for a full list of recommended events. ‍ Custom event – Existing events can be customized to suit your individual needs using Google Tag Manager. These events can be given unique names as long as you follow Google’s naming guidelines. ‍ 2. Intelligent Machine learning ‍Photo by Alex Knight Unlike Universal Analytics, GA4 has introduced a new feature called Predictive Audience and Predictive Metrics. ‍ When a user’s data is not available, the Predictive Audience feature fills in the gaps so you still have a clear overall picture of who your online customers are and how they engage with your site or app. ‍ Predictive metrics are divided into 3 categories. ‍ Purchase Probability: How likely a user who was active in the last 28 days will perform a specific conversion event within the next 7 days. ‍ Churn Probability: How likely a user who was active on your app or site within the last 7 days will not return within the next 7 days. ‍ Predicted Revenue: Predicted revenue from all purchase conversions within the next 28 days from a user who was active in the last 28 days. ‍ ‍Photo by Ivan Samkov: At this point, you’re probably scratching your head and are confused about what to do with all this extra info. Let me give you an example. ‍ If you have a blog and have just written what you believe to be the best article the world will ever see, if the percentage of visitors who are not likely to return to your site in the next 7 days

Video is fast-progressing as one of the most versatile and potent marketing tools out there. ‍ Did you know that video constitutes a whopping 82% of all internet traffic? In fact, YouTube experiences a footfall of roughly 1.7 billion unique users every month! ‍ People don’t simply watch videos—they also actively search for them. ‍ 88% of internet users say they would like brands to publish more video content in 2022. ‍ Given the popularity and lasting influence of video, companies are clamoring to create video content to educate audiences, increase engagement, and boost ROI. ‍ Nearly 86% of businesses have already embraced video in their online marketing strategy. An impressive 94% or marketers believe that video has helped their business boost user understanding of their services or products. ‍ But how do you determine what kind of videos you should put out? How do you reel in massive crowds and boost your revenue with video? ‍ If you work with video or are planning to create video content, you’ve probably asked yourself this question. ‍ How do you determine if a video content strategy is helping you reach business goals? ‍ The answer is simple: by tracking video insights. ‍ For every goal you set, there needs to be a related metric that will help you ensure if your content strategy is hitting the mark or not. ‍ This is arguably the most crucial aspect of the entire video process. ‍ In this article, we’ll find out why video engagement metrics matter and how you can leverage them to skyrocket business revenue. Using Video to Foolproof Brand Experience While videos are rather complex to produce and smoothly integrate with a user interface, they help capture your target audience better and faster as compared to other types of content. ‍ From bolstering the efficacy of information exchange to constructively pitching ideas and products, video content plays an indispensable role in achieving business goals and objectives. ‍ Let’s quickly look at how videos boost UX experience: ‍ Information Exchange The primary reason why video content is regarded as a game-changing aspect of the user interface is because of how clearly and efficiently it facilitates the flow of information. ‍ A compelling 30-seconds video is capable of communicating more knowledge than a large paragraph of text coupled with images and mockups. ‍ As it happens, text-based content struggles to create an impact as potent as video content. As per a Neilson research, your audience reads only about 20% of an web page containing an average of 593 words. ‍ Training guides, tutorials, and explainers when repurposed in a video format have the power to make your audience stop and reflect. It catches their audience’s eye in the first few seconds—ensuring they stick around until the end. ‍ A web page with a video playing in the background does not just enhance visual appeal but also sets the tone for your website. It captures the audience’s attention and establishes an emotional connection with them—thereby helping you avoid bounce rates. ‍ Presenting and pitching Ideas Possibly the greatest advantage video content offers businesses is that they can demonstrate their products and services in a way that invites engagement and conversions. Site visitors needn’t scroll or connect images with pieces of text to understand your vision. Videos successfully communicate your ideas and vision to your audience—and even create lasting impressions—by stimulating the human senses. ‍ According to Hubspot, embedding videos on your landing page can boost conversions by 80%! Another study by Precision Marketing Group demonstrates that videos in emails increase click-through rate by 200 to 300%! ‍ If you are looking to promote your products or services and encourage quality click-throughs, it’s only fitting that you leverage video content for maximum benefits. ‍ Storytelling Medium Video content presents before you the unique opportunity to connect with your site visitors by telling them a compelling, relatable story. It is one of the more effective ways of sparking emotion and making a brand align with human experience. ‍ Stories help gain better clarity of things; they take viewers through the 3 basic phases of a buyer’s journey —from identifying pain points, resolving to eliminate them, and eventually finding a solution. ‍ Did you know 95% of site visitors are more likely to pay attention to a CTA in a video as opposed to the 10% in a text format? ‍ The human connection in videos also instills trust among customers, which helps build credibility around your brand. A survey conducted by WYZOWL showed that 79% of buyers are compelled to purchase a product after watching a video. 3 Reasons to track video engagement metrics With videos helping you effectively communicate your message to your audience, build trust, and rank better in search results, it is imperative for brands to optimize their video content for maximum results. ‍ This is possible with tracking engagement metrics to measure the overall success of your videos. Here are 3 reasons why video engagement metrics are worth paying attention to: ‍ Understanding target audience and subscriber base The foremost reason for tracking engagement metrics is to gain a better understanding of your customer base. ‍ With insight into your customers’ browsing habits, you can optimize your video content to deliver top-notch user experience. ‍ For instance, tracking your watch time is highly advantageous. You can determine at which point in the video your audience tends to bounce off, how long they stay engaged with your video, and what the optimum duration of your video should be. ‍ This way, you can include your brand message and CTA appropriately in your video to ensure maximum ROI. ‍ Another metric—called max concurrent users—shows you when your target audience tends be most active. This allows you to time your content publishing to grab maximum eyeballs. ‍ Gaining advantage over competitors Video provides much-needed competitive edge to companies to thrive in a high-stakes market and take their business to the next level. ‍ By