Data Without Overwhelm
Google Analytics can show you 500 different reports. Most business owners need about 5.
Let's focus on what actually matters.
The Essential Metrics
1. Users vs Sessions
Users: Individual people visiting your site Sessions: Total visits (one user can have multiple sessions)
Why it matters: Growing users = growing reach. High sessions/user = strong engagement.
2. Bounce Rate
Percentage of visitors who leave without interacting.
Good: Under 40% for service pages Concerning: Over 60% for key pages Expected: Higher for blog posts (people read and leave)
What to do: High bounce? Check page speed, content relevance, and mobile experience.
3. Average Session Duration
How long people spend on your site.
Good: 2-3+ minutes for service businesses Poor: Under 30 seconds
What to do: Low duration? Content might not match search intent, or pages load too slowly.
4. Traffic Sources
Where your visitors come from:
- Organic Search: Google results
- Direct: Typed URL or bookmarks
- Referral: Links from other sites
- Social: Social media platforms
- Paid: Google Ads, etc.
Why it matters: Know what's working to do more of it.
5. Top Pages
Which pages get the most traffic.
Use this to:
- Understand what content resonates
- Prioritize optimization efforts
- Identify conversion opportunities
Conversion Tracking
The most important metric: are visitors taking action?
Set up goals for:
- Contact form submissions
- Phone number clicks
- Email link clicks
- Button clicks on key CTAs
- Quote requests
Without conversion tracking, you're flying blind.
The Attribution Question
A customer might:
- Find you via Google search
- Leave and return via direct
- Convert after clicking an email
Who gets credit? Attribution models vary, but "last click" is the default.
For most small businesses: don't overthink this. Focus on trends, not perfect attribution.
Monthly Reporting Framework
Keep it simple with a monthly check:
| Metric | This Month | Last Month | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|
| Users | |||
| Sessions | |||
| Bounce Rate | |||
| Avg Duration | |||
| Top Traffic Source | |||
| Conversions |
Watch trends over time rather than obsessing over individual data points.
Common Analytics Mistakes
Checking daily: Weekly or monthly is enough for most Ignoring mobile: Check mobile metrics separately No conversion tracking: Vanity metrics without goals Not filtering internal traffic: Exclude your own visits Reacting to small samples: 100 visitors isn't statistically meaningful
Privacy Considerations
With privacy laws evolving:
- Cookie consent is increasingly required
- Some users block analytics entirely
- Consider privacy-focused alternatives (Plausible, Fathom)
Your analytics will always be incomplete. That's okay-directional data is still valuable.
Getting Started
- Install Google Analytics (or alternative)
- Set up basic conversion goals
- Filter out internal traffic
- Create a monthly review habit
- Make one improvement each month based on data