Google Analytics is an enterprise level analytics program that measures visitor behavior. In short, Google Analytics gives you reliable information to help improve the performance of your website.

With the wealth of information you get from Google Analytics, you might be surprised to learn it’s a free service. If you have a website, you should be putting Google Analytics to work for your business to learn:

a. How many people are visiting your site: new vs returning visitors behavior, where they accessed your website from; how they got to your website; that is, where they came from (search engine, blog, directory, another website). If you use paid search Google Analytics integrates easily with your AdWords account to accurately measure the performance of your purchased words.

b. How visitors explore your site: total number of page views your site gets; numbers of pages visitors go to each time they visit; how much time they spent there; “bounce” rate ( the percentage of visitors who leave after viewing the first page); top content – seeing where people are going; what visitors are looking for on your site; navigation summary – the pages they came from and went to on your site; and historical trending data comparing what visitors are looking for now vs. what thy were looking for 10 days or three months ago.

Now, what do you do with all this information?

“Knowledge is power” – so what can you do with all of your new-found knowledge from Google Analytics?

1. Knowing your conversion rate — how many people performed an action (made a purchase, called for a quote, inquired about your services) or where they drop off –- lets you identify problem areas on your site and measure the success of the changes you make.

2. Improve your site’s design and layout by learning what links your visitors are clicking on by using the site overlay feature.

3. You can test different content and images to see what works best to optimize your “findability” on search engines.

4. Make it easier for people to find what they are looking for within your site by knowing what the top searched keywords are, and then creating content or providing easier access to the information your visitors are seeking content.

In essence, Google Analytics lets you “hear” what your visitors are telling you. Listen to them -– and use the power of that knowledge to improve your site, your business, and your profits.