Understanding which reports indicate how traffic arrived at a website is a key step in helping you unlock vital information about how to close your prospects. Using this information can then help you make the right decisions to grow your business. In this article, we cover how different reports help you evaluate which marketing strategies are improving your lead generation funnels.

Before we get into different ways to improve your website traffic, we want to start by talking about the lead generation funnel. According to HubSpot, you have three different phases before a prospect buys your services:

• Attract
• Convert
• Close

As any experienced business will tell you, your work is not done once you close the deal. Now, you need to delight them, so that they stay happy customers. By exploring your website traffic, you can then get an idea of how these clients find you, so you find more happy clients in the future.

Source: HubSpot

Understanding Website Audiences

By using the lead generation funnel, you create a profile of your ideal prospect who will be visiting your website. Since you will find many of these prospective customers are not alone, you can use this information for different website audiences.

While every visitor to your site is different, you will find some commonalities. For example, visitors who act or visit specific pages on your site share certain traits that allow us to group them.

Many of the strategies we share in this article show you how to leverage these groups by engaging them to take additional actions on your website. When you do that, you can target your communications to your different niches on your website.

Seven Strategies to know which reports indicate how traffic arrived at a website

1. Analytic Software

All strategies start with understanding your website traffic. To do that, you need to have the right analytics software in place.

You can check out the web analytics strategy for a more in-depth look at how to use analytics tools. For this article, we will focus on Google Analytics.

Google’s software helps you:

• Segment audiences
• Identify top landing pages
• Track website conversions/goals

The key to getting the most out of Google Analytics is to start with the end in mind by setting up site goals. For example, every website should have lead magnets (free eBooks, checklists, white papers, etc.) that entice visitors to sign up to your list.

You have two options to track those who subscribe to your list on your site: goals or events. An event is an action that allows users on a specific page to like, comment on your blog, or fill out a form. Usually, in these cases, users stay on the page longer.

If you have a custom ‘thank you page’ for your lead magnet, then you can create a goal. The goal, in this case, would be to get as many users as possible to this ‘thank you page.’

Google Analytics tracks the people who got to this part of your site. You can then send these people targeted ads (check #4 Sequential Re-marketing) that moves them forward in your lead generation funnel.

2. UTM Tags

Once you set your goals, it is time to connect your website with other services through the Google Campaign URL Builder. For example, when you advertise on Facebook and Google, you can use UTM tags to track the effectiveness of your campaigns.

UTM tags like the ones below show how visitors found your website. You can then compare this information with the goals you set to see how they affect your conversions.

If you want to use UTM tag best practices, start with the Google Campaign URL Builder. The form they created allows you to easily add UTM tags onto specific pages to your website.

Once you fill out the fields, you can copy the link to whatever advertising tool you choose. The great thing about using this tool is that it connects with your Bit.ly account, which you can use to create ‘Short Links.’ Otherwise, the URLs you share will look like:

Instead, use a ‘Short Link’ from Bit.ly. This will look something like:

to

3. Segmentation

As you continue to learn more about your website traffic, it is important to segment the information. That way you can deliver relevant content to your prospects as discussed previously in the Website Audiences section.

Many companies find segmenting their audiences allows them to focus on the most profitable niches for their business, increase their competitive advantage among competitors, and increased profitability.

The adage that companies need to focus on connecting with everyone is long gone. If you don’t have a clear way to segment your audience, you will not be able to have an effective conversation with them.

Here are a few ways you can segment your website traffic.

First, segment your traffic by location. For example, your developer can set up simple rules to show the weather or the results from a local sports team based on the location of your prospect’s IP address. If you have multiple stores, this could be a great way to connect with your prospects whether they are in Sydney or Melbourne.

Additionally, if you own an e-commerce store that only ships to certain locations in Australia, you should have a pop-up message letting visitors outside that area know you cannot serve them at this time.

Set up an email list specifically for this population. Then you can track requests for your services, so you can build out your business based on need versus hopes and dreams.

Second, track new visitors versus repeat visitors. This is similar to having a different featured video or playlist for subscribers versus new visitors on your YouTube channel.

Third, you can segment your site traffic by referral source. For example, if you drive traffic from PPC ads, then you want to know which site drives the highest quality traffic.

You can combine your traffic source with your goals (See #1 Analytics) to get a bigger picture of the best lead generation funnel for your business.

4. Sequential Re-marketing

We spoke earlier about the importance of tracking those who take specific actions on your website. You can use these actions as triggers to move prospects in your lead generation funnel from attract to convert to close.

Sequential re-marketing works well for companies with longer sales processes because it allows your company the opportunity to speak with the same prospects who previously showed interest in your firm’s services.

For example, web agencies often use sequential re-marketing to land larger clients who require multiple touchpoints before closing.

Instead, different industries see a range between seven to 18 touchpoints to connect with prospects. Your website helps organize these touchpoints online, since the tracking codes you install on your site allow you to personalize (see #6 below) your marketing to your customers and create a sequential re-marketing campaign on digital ad platforms.

To understand how sequential marketing works, look back at the lead generation funnel we discussed at the beginning of this article.

Most customers do not come to your site with a fully formed decision to purchase your goods. Instead, they are researching different options.

A good sequential re-marketing campaign tracks the visitors to your site, so you can then send them ads on Facebook, Google, and other platforms with additional information they can use to move forward with your services.

Having a series of ads based on the specific actions they take on your website allows prospects to view your company as the primary source of information for the services they require.

5. Re-marketing Lists

The best way to create a sequential retargeting campaign is by creating custom audiences based on website visits.

Google’s Remarketing Lists for Search Ads (RLSA) feature offers a great way to build your re-marketing lists.

By inserting a snippet of code on your website (either on every page or specific pages), you can then create ads for previous website visitors based on their actions.

On the flip side, you can also add negative remarketing lists based on these audiences. For example, if you decide to do a sale for new customers of a specific product on your website, then you need to block current customers from seeing this deal.

Often, they will not like the fact that you lowered the price. Also, you want to focus on growing your business. You could have a separate promotion for current customers, so they can buy add-on products.

Another benefit of this approach is that you can replicate it on Facebook with a Facebook Pixel.

6. Aligning CRM Data with Custom Audiences

As you grow your website traffic and list, you want to start integrating your website and advertising campaigns with your CRM.

The adage goes, the money is in the list. With today’s hyper-data centric approach to digital marketing, the adage should be the money in how you leverage your list.

That is where integrating a great CRM comes into play. Whether you use HubSpot, Zoho, or Salesforce, you need a central CRM to organize your prospects.

The great thing about Facebook Custom Audiences is that you can download your CRM lists. This allows you to create a Customer List that you can use to make targets for specific campaigns.

7. Personalization

The farther you get into the lead generation funnel, the more information you should have about your target customers. Fortunately, you have several different trends in personalization to help you create the best experience for your target market.

Common website customizations include:

• Personalized landing pages
• Targeted content
• Content Recommendation
• Website search features

Using the data that you have from your analytics software, you can create a website that works for many customers but feels personalized to each customer’s preferences.

The more personalized the experience, the bigger your opportunity to grow your business. According to SalesForce, 53% of consumers will share personal data in exchange for “personalized shopping experiences.

This information bears truth in sales numbers where HubSpot analyzed the results of 330,000 CTA’s over six months. During that period, they discovered that personalized CTAs did 202% better than the default versions.

Final Thoughts on which reports indicate how traffic arrived at a website

Understanding your website traffic is an essential component to generating more leads and sales for your business. The more you can know which reports indicate how traffic arrived at a website, the more you can use this tracking information to create a customized lead generation funnel that works based on your prospects needs.

When your prospect is happy, then you have all the elements in place to grow your business. Let us know below what the biggest change you plan to make in the next six-months to leverage your website traffic for greater sales.