How To Calculate Marketing ROI Using Google Analytics

Does this sound familiar?

Your business invests money in online marketing but you aren't sure if that marketing is generating revenue. Everyone tells you that clicks mean success, but what your business really needs is more customers. At the end of the day, you just want your online marketing to do what it is supposed to do and grow your business!

Google Analytics is free and easy to install. It provides a wealth of information about what is hot and what is not on your website pages, BUT how can you find out your Marketing ROI?

Step 1

Set goals in Google Analytics

To set a goal in Google Analytics is pretty easy. Choose events that lead to revenue generation. It can be as simple as Quotes Submitted, particular Downloads or number of Downloads, Specific Time On Page or Watching a Video.

[Click here to see what Google says about setting goals.]

Here are some examples of goals that lead to revenue generation.

It takes an understanding of your business processes to select the correct goals. When selecting goals it is best practice to involve all those involved in the sales process so proper attribution can be assigned. 

 Step 2

Add a dollar value to the goals

Your gut reaction might be to assign Total Sale Value as the monetary value of the goal. The problem is you have not accounted for all costs.  We recommend that you download our ebook Marketing Metrics Your Boss Really Cares About for the methodology of calculating ROI on marketing.

Download
The Marketing Metrics Your Boss Really Cares About

Consider using some percentage of the profit after accounting for all costs. You must reach a consensus agreement with everyone involved in the process. Once you have agreement on the profit piece, the really hard part is next.

You must identify the sales that were generated by your website. This could include visitor downloads before they called for a quote or Simple Form Submission. This requires meticulous attention to detail in record keeping and the patience to gather historical data. Segregate existing customers from new customers to present a solid case so you don't hear "They were already a customer so we would have gotten that business anyway."

We like to use HubSpot with our clients as it makes tracking and attribution simple.

• Collect Data over a Specified Time Range - 30 days is OK, but 90 days is better.
• Reevaluate your goals to make sure you did not miss any "key" revenue generating activity.
• Determine the monetary value from website generated revenue based on goal completions.
• Assign Monetary value in Google Analytics.

Now you will see the results of your efforts in Google Analytics reports.

 There are no participation trophies in business. You need to know if your digital marketing is generating revenue.

Have more questions?

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You don't sell a product directly on your website. There is no shopping cart. How do you know if your website is actually helping people buy your product or service? Now let's complicate it further by asking what role social media played in bringing buyers to your website?

These are complicated questions and you would think you need a complex solution to answer them. Do you need to purchase special 3rd party software? Would it be better to pay a developer to write a custom program for your unique business situation?

There is a simple solution to this complex problem.

Did we mention it is free?

It is Google Analytics.

It is likely that you already have Google Analytics on your website. If not, it is free and is simple to install.  You do not need any special coding skills. Follow these simple steps to install Google Analytics. Once Google Analytics is installed you are ready to measure the impact of social media in the buying process.

How To Calculate The ROI From Social Media

Set a Goal in Google Analytics

 Choosing a goal in Google Analytics is simple. Choose events that lead to revenue generation. It can be as simple as Quotes Submitted, particular Downloads or number of Downloads, Specific Time On Page or Watching a Video.

Click here to see what Google says about setting goals.

Here are some examples of goals that lead to revenue generation.

It takes an understanding of your business processes to select the correct goals. When selecting goals it is best practice to involve all those involved in the sales process so proper attribution can be assigned.

ProTip- Create a Thank You page for all completed activities that are related to revenue generation.  Make the Thank You page the goal.

Assign A Dollar Value To The Goal

Your gut reaction might be to assign Total Sale Value as the monetary value of the goal. The problem is you have not accounted for all costs.  We recommend that you download our ebook Marketing Metrics Your Boss Really Cares About for the methodology of calculating ROI on marketing. Consider using some percentage of the profit after accounting for all costs.

Download
The Marketing Metrics Your Boss Really Cares About

You are almost there. Here are the next steps:

1. Collect Data over a Specified Time Range - 30 days is OK, but 90 days is better.

2. Reevaluate your goals to make sure you did not miss any "key" revenue generating activity.

3. Determine the monetary value from website generated revenue based on goal completions.

4. Assign Monetary value in Google Analytics.

Measure the impact from Social Media

In Google Analytics, click Conversions.

You can now drill down to see what social media channels were involved on goal conversion.

In  Overview, you can simply click Source/Medium and you will see which social media platforms contributed to conversions.

You can also click Goal Flow and see how visitors entered from social media and what path they took to arrive at the goal.

Now take a look at Multi-Channel Funnels.

This provides a holistic overview of  how they reached the goal.

You can then look at Assisted Conversions and see the monetary impact of  social media .

You can now calculate the ROI from social media. This is also a gut check. Google Analytics has no emotions so you are going to see what is really going on with your marketing. The winners and losers.  If your social media is not having the revenue generation impact you had hoped, maybe we should talk.

Schedule A Time To Talk

Social media doesn’t just belong to Marketing anymore. Actions that a social media manager take can seriously impact all other departments such as Sales and Support, and it’s something to keep in mind when monitoring.

According to research from Social Centered Selling and A Sales Guy, 72.6% of salespeople who incorporated social media into their process outperformed their colleagues. In addition, socially savvy reps beat their quotas 23% more often. We call this social selling.

72% of people who complain on Twitter expect a response within one hour. In the samestudy, 60% of respondents cited negative consequences to the brand if they didn’t receive timely Twitter responses. Twitter is the new phone for customer support, and these stats prove the importance of a quick response when someone has an issue with your brand.

A new study released by BRANDfog suggests that social CEOs are better leaders who can strengthen brands, build trust in products and services, demonstrate brand values, and communicate accountability -- all by simply being on a social network.

Download our FREE EbookHow To Monitor Social Media In 13 Minutes A Day

How To Monitor Social Media In 13 Minutes A Day

In anything you do, it’s important to set a goal for yourself, and monitoring social media should be no different.

That’s why it’s critical to set SMART goals.

Here’s what we mean by setting a SMART goal:

Specific -- Do set real numbers with real deadlines. Don’t say, “I want more visitors.”

Measurable -- Do make sure that you can track your goal. Don’t hide behind buzzwords like “brand engagement” or “social influence.”

Attainable -- Do work toward a goal that is challenging but possible. Don’t try to take over the world in one night.

Realistic -- Do be honest with yourself, because you know what you and your team are capable of. Don’t forget any hurdles you may have to overcome.

Time-bound -- Do give yourself a deadline. Don’t keep pushing towards a goal you  might hit “some day.”

If you’ve never set a goal for social media monitoring before, start by aligning your monitoring goals with your department’s goals. For example, if you’re monitoring from the Sales department, maybe you should set a goal for yourself to interact with 10 prospects per week on social media.

Download our FREE ebook: How to Monitor Social Media In 13 Minutes A Day.

In order to successfully monitor social media in just 13 minutes a day, you’ll need to have some things prepared in advance. Even visiting each social network’s URL and logging in could take up to 10 minutes a day. We’ll show you a way you can limit that as much as possible by creating a daily plan upfront to help you streamline your process.

If you are considering investing in a paid tool to help aid your monitoring, there are a handful that help with social media monitoring, interacting, and marketing strategy. For example, HubSpot software includes a social media monitoring tool as a part of its complete marketing software package.

For now, let’s talk about each social network assuming you don’t have any paid tools readily available. Some free social media monitoring tools you might want to check out include TweetDeck, Google Alerts, Topsy, and Social Mention.

TWITTER

Most likely (if you’re taking the free approach), you are looking for industry tweets, @replies, and mentions of your business. Go to twitter.com/search where you can conduct searches for your competitors, industry terms, executives’ names, and whatever else may be relevant to your business.

FACEBOOK

Your Facebook Business Page timeline is the ‘home’ where your business’ fans, friends,customers, and critics can all interact directly with your company. They can post questions, comments, feedback, or fan mail. Fellow fans of your business may interact with each other. Many individuals will interact with the content your business has posted itself.

LINKEDIN

If you’re monitoring for a brand, make sure to check comments on LinkedIn Company Page posts. You’ll likely find the volume here is much less than that of Twitter and Facebook, but you’ll still receive comments occasionally and you should be aware and on the lookout for those that need answers.

Google Alerts

If someone posts a question about your company and there is no representation from your company among a stream of answers, that is a lost opportunity to guide the message (or deflect negative sentiment).  Add your company’s name as a Google Alert to find these types of questions and inquiries.

Download Our FREE Ebook That includes a Daily Checklist.

Who doesn't want to know what content is bringing visitors to their website? Is the content  engaging  visitors? Am I missing any opportunities?

These questions are  frequently asked by business owners and marketing managers. Why? If you can understand what is bringing visitors to your website and what makes them stay you can easily grab opportunities to bring more people to your website. Great news! You do not have to be a marketing expert or SEO guru to figure this out. Google Analytics has done the analysis for you and provides it at no charge.

3 Ways To Use Google Analytics To Improve SEO

1. Connect Search Console in Google Analytics

Google Search Console used to be called Webmaster Tools. It is very easy to install and does not require a webmaster. In Google Analytics, click the gear at the bottom to open the Admin tab. Once there, Click All Products.

After you have clicked All Products, look to see if search console is connected. If not, follow the directions to connect.

You are now ready to rock it like Davy Crockett.

2. Use Landing Pages in Search Console

In Google Analytics click Acquisition and then click Search Console.

The first place we like to look is  Landing Pages. Add the secondary dimension of  Source/Medium to find out which organic content is getting the best traction. It will look like this.

As you can see from the image, Google has done the work for you.

A favorite place to start for us is Low Bounce Rate and poor Average Position. A low bounce rate means the content is engaging and moving buyers through the website. Improving SEO for these landing pages is low hanging fruit.

If you click the Landing Page in Google Analytics it will provide you with the actual queries  people used that made your content appear in their search results. Now get to work and improve the content and meta description and this will improve your ranking in search.

3. Use Queries in Search Console

How much would you pay to know what search terms made you show up in search results?Google provides this free of charge in Search Console. Could you improve SEO if you could build content around these terms? Yes!

All this information is provided in Queries in Google Search Console. We like the add in from KeywordKeg that  provides Monthly Volume, CPC and Competition.

 High Monthly Volume and low Competition ( the bigger the number the greater the competition) are great opportunities to focus on improving SEO.  Remember, search engines like Google hate keyword stuffing. Keyword stuffing is just throwing the word on page as many times as possible without context.  Take your time and write content that incorporates the keyword or phrase in a natural context that is beneficial to the reader. While it is important to write for SEO, a human being is actually going to read it. Readers bounce off your website, not search engines.

Connecting Search Console in Google Analytics provides a wealth of information to help you improve SEO. We highlighted these 3 Ways To Use Google Analytics To Improve SEO. There are more. Ready to talk about them?

Schedule A Time To Talk

5 Ways To Improve B2B Marketing On Mobile

Mobile is no longer a "channel" for B2B marketing.                                                                  It is the way most B2B researchers look for new vendors.                                                Here is the latest research from Google on B2B marketing on mobile:

The user experience with your B2B marketing on mobile can no                                        longer be ignored.  A poor experience on mobile does adversely                                      affect your brand and will cause you to lose potential business.

Source: Google

Click Here To Find Out How Your Website Performs On Mobile Devices

 

Here Are 5 Ways To Improve B2B Marketing 

On Mobile .

AMP - Accelerated Mobile Pages

Accelerated Mobile Pages are "skinny" versions of your website                                  designed to load quickly on mobile devices.  

Current research has revealed the average website page takes                                             15 seconds to load.

The problem is your conversion rate decreases dramatically as                                        page load time increases.

Source: Google

We recommend that you integrate Google Search Console                                        (formerly webmaster tools) with Google Analytics.                                                            Look at Acquisition, then Search Console.   

Click on Devices.  You will see desktop, mobile and tablet.                                            Compare bounce rate across devices.  A high bounce rate on mobile                         compared  to desktop indicates a problem.  

Now click on Mobile. 

You will see Landing Page Impressions, Clicks, Average Position and                         Bounce rate.     

If you see a high bounce and no conversions e.g.                                                          Request Quote, Download Offer, etc. you have identified an area                                          of improvement in B2B marketing on mobile. 

Next look at Behavior you have a drop down for Site Speed.                                                      Under Site Speed you will find Speed Suggestions.                                                                 Google has done the work for you. 

Click on the suggestions and get to work. 

Optimize Images

"Images often account for most of the downloaded bytes on a page.                                      As a result, optimizing images can often yield some of the largest                                             byte savings and performance improvements: the fewer bytes the                              browser has to download, the less competition there is for the client's                             bandwidth and the faster the browser can download and render                                   content on the screen."-Google 

This is low hanging fruit! We really like tiny.jpg and tiny.png for image                      compression. They provide a very simple drag and drop interface.  

It is common to see up to 70% reduction in file size. 

This will dramatically improve page load speed.                                                             Another option is a CDN- Content Delivery Network.                                                        They speed up content delivery by allowing websites to cache content                                on a network of servers spread out geographically instead of retrieving                                 it from a single location server every time . 

Use Forms Optimized For Mobile

It is often difficult to fill out a bunch of fields when on a smart phone. 

Your website needs to be mobile responsive in order to fit the device in                            use.

 In addition,  use smart forms that automatically adjust for the device in                               use.

 Make Phone Numbers Clickable

This may seem a bit obvious, but have you ever tried to click on a                                  phone number when viewing a website on a mobile device and nothing                  happened? Frustrating and annoying. 

Don't forget to position the phone number so it is easy to click. 

White space is your friend here. 

To  do this you simply use the hyperlink function and use                                                    tel: then the phone number.

859-653-1759

 View Your Website On A Smart phone/Mobile Device

Even better than you looking at your website on mobile, have your                            customers tell you what they like and dislike about your B2B marketing                               on mobile.   Every time you hear "It would be nice if...", you have an                        opportunity for improvement. 

Pro Tip- Consider an APP for your business.

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