How to measure internet marketing results
This is the shortest module, but in some ways it is the most important. If you don’t know what aspects of your marketing efforts are working, you cannot have an efficient online marketing strategy.
It is kind of like going to the doctor, and before you get to see the doctor, the nurse checks (and documents) your temperature, pulse rate and blood pressure. Over the long term, any changes in those vital signs help the doctor assess your health and body functions.
In the same way, measuring and documenting your internet marketing results will give you an idea of whether your internet marketing efforts are working, or not. And, it will also give you a pulse rate on your target market – whether you are actually addressing the issues that are relevant to your prospects/clients, or not.
What we are going to cover…
- Where to find social networking statistics
- How to set-up website statistics
- What is Klout and why is it important
- How to document statistics
- How to determine what type of content is engaging
Where to find social media statistics
Website Analytics
You need to know how many visitors you are getting to your website, what keywords they are using to get in, what page they came in on, how many pages they visited and how long they stayed on the site.
Google Analytics will give you all of that information and much, much more. If you have a google account, just sign in and set up an account, add your website and get the tracking code. It is usually recommended that you add that code to the html of evey page that you want analytics for, before </body>. Here is the link to a YouTube video that you might find helpful – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5AHWFGJl04
At Google Analytics you have access to:
- # of visitors
- # of Pageviews
- Duration on site
- New visitors vs returning visitors
- Bounce Rate
- Traffic Sources
- Content
Jetpack for WordPress.com lets you know how many visits your site gets, and what posts and pages are most popular. It is a much simpler analytics tool that shows up right on your WordPress dashboard. Here is a link to the YouTube video that you might find helpful –
At Jetpack for WordPress you have access to:
- Site Stats
- Referrers
- Top Posts & Pages
- Search Engine Terms
Social Influence Analytics
Klout, Kred and PeerIndex try to determine how influential a person is in comparison to other persons, AND how influential that person is about particular topics. These systems index a lengthy list of circumstantial influence components and then use mathematical equations to assigns a score number that serves as a literal and figurative measuring stick of influence.
You can easily sign up for these sites, just login in using your Twitter account, then set up your profile and check back frequently to see what score you have achieved… the higher your score, the bigger your social influence.
What is Klout & why should you care?
- Klout is a social media grading system
- A high Klout score indicates that you have built a following on social media
- A professional in a specific field should have a Klout score of at least 50%
- If you have a Twitter Account you have a Klout score, just sign on and add other social networks
- Decision makers check out a Klout score before deciding to do business (or hire) with you
Social Networking Analytics
Social Networking Analytics give you the data you need to improve your social media engagement, make marketing decisions and tie social media to your bottom line.
Businesses are using the power of social networking to gain a better understanding of their markets, however, they need analytics to discover what customers are reacting to and to predict customer/prospect behavior.
allmyplus.com for G+ provides you with information on your most popular posts and pictures, shows the number of comments, plus’s and reshares for any of your posts. This give you an idea of what your audience is responding to.
Hootsuite statistics report. If you are using hootsuite.com, if you click on the analytics tab, you can create Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn reports that tell you the number of times that people have clicked on your links.
goo.gl If you use this tool to shorten the URL’s of the content that you are sharing, you also have access to some the number of click-throughs, and what social media site they clicked from
Email Marketing Statistics If you are using a Contact Relationship Manager (CRM), aka email marketing service, you have access to information that will not only tell you how many people opened your email. You can also find out exactly who opened your email and who didn’t, and what your open rate percentage was, and what is the industry average open rate.
Monitor Online Statistics
Once a month you need to go to all of your online monitoring sites to monitor what types of content is working for you, and what content is not working. At the very least you should keep a jounal to document your marketing results, both positive and negative. However, I recommend setting up a spread sheet (like the example below) and keep track of your marketing results that way.
How to determine What Works
Pay attention to:
- What posts people engage in
- What articles people read at your website
- What keywords people use to find you
- What social networking sites work for you
- What days of the week work best
- What times of the day work best
HOMEWORK
8:1. Access your Klout account and add your social networks
8:2. Add Analytics to your website
8:3. Monitor & Document your Online Statistics. Know what is working & when it is working.
8:4. Review your results and create more content that is obviously relevant to your prospects/clients based on what they are responding to.
Module #8 All Rights Reserved, 2014 Lynn Albro, SEO & Social Networking Coach