{"id":1538,"date":"2018-05-29T16:07:40","date_gmt":"2018-05-29T14:07:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.growcode.com\/?p=1538"},"modified":"2023-12-13T11:52:19","modified_gmt":"2023-12-13T10:52:19","slug":"google-analytics-reports-ecommerce-optimization","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.growcode.com\/blog\/google-analytics-reports-ecommerce-optimization\/","title":{"rendered":"8 Must-Have Google Analytics Reports for Ecommerce Optimization"},"content":{"rendered":"

As a growth-focused ecommerce merchant the traffic you get to your store is precious. You’ve spent a lot of time and resources growing your ecommerce business<\/a>. When you’re putting together a plan to improve conversions it’s imperative you identify the problem and make data-driven decisions.<\/p>\n

But… you don’t want to waste that hard-won traffic on a battery of multivariate tests that won’t contribute to lifts in conversion.<\/p>\n

Before you start the process of optimization and testing you should turn to the data you have in Google Analytics. Use your analytics tools to identify the pages with the best opportunity for lifting conversions while also identifying specific page issues.<\/p>\n

Keep in mind Google Analytics and other tools for heuristic<\/a> evaluation, user testing, and customer feedback <\/a>channels won’t lay the problem out in front of you.<\/p>\n

It’s never that easy, right?<\/p>\n

However, interpreting the data you have readily available in key reports can lead you to pinpoint trouble areas. Digging deeper will reveal the most likely problems, narrowing down the changes and improvements you can make as part of your ecommerce optimization<\/a> strategy.<\/p>\n

Here are the key reports you should start reviewing as part of your optimization efforts.<\/p>\n

(For the purpose of this piece I’ll assume you have a working knowledge of goal tracking in Google Analytics<\/a> and have ecommerce tracking configured<\/a>)<\/p>\n

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Growcode also recommends this eBook:
\nEcommerce Optimization Checklist of a 7+ Figure Online Store<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

get the free ebook<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Here’s a quick list of 8 must-have Google Analytics reports for Ecommerce Optimization:<\/h2>\n
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  1. Demographics Reports<\/a><\/li>\n
  2. Screen Resolution and Browser Reports<\/a><\/li>\n
  3. Mobile Overview Reports<\/a><\/li>\n
  4. Mobile Device Reports<\/a><\/li>\n
  5. Site Speed Page Timings Reports<\/a><\/li>\n
  6. Funnel Visualization Report<\/a><\/li>\n
  7. Goal Flow Report<\/a><\/li>\n
  8. Time Lag + Path Length Reports<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Find them all out!<\/p>\n

    Wait, before diving into the ecommerce reports…<\/h2>\n

    You may already know this but I want to stress that you should never analyze the traffic to your store as a whole. Those are average numbers. You don’t want to calculate based on averages because your customers aren’t average.<\/p>\n

    They don’t think or act the same way consistently.<\/p>\n

    You know from your marketing initiatives that you need to segment your audiences to improve success. That segmentation is necessary here as well, because works in one audience segment may not work in another. When you compare new vs. returning visitors, different devices and browsers, and buyers vs. non-buyers you’ll see a notable difference in performance.<\/p>\n

    At the very least, segment your traffic into desktop vs. mobile users.<\/p>\n

    \"Desktop<\/a>Add a segmentation to your audience to better understand diferences between then.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Go to Audience > Overview and add a new segment<\/strong>, or edit the “all users”\u00a0segment to begin choosing the segments you want to target, then click “apply”.<\/p>\n

    Whatever segments you choose to analyze, make sure you run every Google Analytics report for all of your segments.<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Now we can start running those reports.<\/p>\n

    1. Demographics Reports<\/h3>\n

    While general demographics aren’t the most reliable data primarily because your tracking code doesn’t really know who is visiting the site. It’s logging the user information it has available. In some cases you might have a college age son searching and visiting using the device his 55+ year old mother.<\/p>\n

    Still, part of any successful ecommerce optimization strategy is knowing who your audience is and how it (your content and message) appeals to them, how they interact with your site, and how those interactions contribute to your revenue.<\/p>\n

    You can access this report by navigating to Audience > Demographics > Age<\/strong>
    \n    \"Demographics<\/a>Review both age and gender when running demographic reports.<\/span>
    \nThis Google Analytics report provides insight into how traffic and engagement metrics vary among age groups. The data will also be split per the segments you have established. Once you’ve reviewed the Age data click to Gender to see opportunities to improve engagement and how Gender engagement varies from engagement by Age.<\/strong><\/p>\n

    2. Screen Resolution and Browser Reports<\/h3>\n

    Conversion issues are very often related to usability issues. A site doesn’t necessarily have to be broken to have a usability issue. In fact, a seemingly innocent or random design bug can seriously impact your conversion rates according to a study from Baymard<\/a>:<\/p>\n

    “During testing we observe how seemingly innocent layout bugs and quirky interactive features cause the test subjects to doubt the security of the site. In fact, some subjects even believed the site had been hacked or wasn’t currently working properly, causing them to abandon their purchase<\/a> due to a lack of trust in the site.”<\/p>\n

    Given the variety of devices, browsers, and screen sizes you may encounter engagement and usability problems that threaten conversions on just one type of mobile device.<\/p>\nGiven the variety of devices, #browsers, and screen sizes you may encounter engagement and usability problems that threaten #conversions on just one type of #mobile device. <\/a><\/span>Click To Tweet<\/a><\/span>\n

    Check this data by going to Audience > Technology > Browser & OS<\/strong>
    \n    \"Browser<\/a>Isolate browsers and resolutions that create friction and usability issues for customers (instead of using segments it’s a good idea to add a secondary dimension: Device Category)<\/span><\/p>\n

    Once there, look at the data for “Browser”\u00a0and “Screen Resolutions” and Primary Dimension.<\/p>\n

    If you discover a less-than-ideal conversion rate you can run tests on your own to check for usability issues. Things to watch for include:<\/p>\n