{"id":1039,"date":"2021-07-27T17:14:33","date_gmt":"2021-07-27T17:14:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.800.com\/blog\/?p=1039"},"modified":"2022-10-21T15:25:29","modified_gmt":"2022-10-21T15:25:29","slug":"why-you-shouldnt-rely-on-only-google-analytics-for-your-marketing-strategy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.800.com\/blog\/why-you-shouldnt-rely-on-only-google-analytics-for-your-marketing-strategy\/","title":{"rendered":"Why You Shouldn’t Rely on Only Google Analytics for Your Marketing Strategy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Google Analytics is a staple in the marketing world. We use it to analyze everything from organic traffic to how much e-commerce sales visitors from social media generated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But, even a tool as powerful and versatile as Google Analytics has its flaws. The system has a few holes and missed opportunities that leave marketers without pertinent data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet, so many marketing teams live and die by this platform. Every campaign-critical decision is made based on the data reported by Google Analytics<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your marketing team needs to stop relying solely on Google Analytics data for marketing strategy decisions<\/strong>. Here\u2019s why.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Incorrect, Unnecessary, & Missing Data<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Although Google Analytics provides reports on many website performance aspects, it still offers limited data to marketers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, all too often, marketers encounter the dreaded \u201cNot Provided\u201d results for search query keywords, URLs, and other criteria. How can marketers make an informed decision if they\u2019re only analyzing this data from Google Analytics?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, the majority of Internet users have some ad blockers set up. With this in place, their information will not appear on Google Analytics (at least accurately.<\/em>) A marketer\u2019s website could be receiving far more traction than is reported, and they\u2019d never know it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And that\u2019s all before tackling the referrer spam problem.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marketers are constantly filtering out unnecessary referral traffic spam from their Google Analytics reports. Marketers shouldn\u2019t need to filter unnecessary data out of their tracking tool to get actual results!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lastly, Google Analytics is programmed to estimate a lot of data. For instance, if a user lands on your homepage and keeps the tab open while interacting with another program, Google counts this as time on site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With so much inaccurate, missing, or unnecessary data, Google Analytics shouldn\u2019t be the end-all-be-all reporting tool for marketing teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Failure to Accommodate Businesses with Long Sales Funnels<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Google Analytics does not offer an ideal platform for businesses that have a long-term sales funnel. If your sales cycle takes 90+ days to convert<\/u><\/a>, you\u2019ll lose out as Google Analytics only tracks data for 90-day increments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That means the platform is fantastic for top-of-the-funnel activities such as driving website visits and tracking behavior. But once these leads begin on the journey to becoming a paying customer, you\u2019ll quickly lose the ability to track them accurately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If your industry requires a long-term sales cycle, relying on Google Analytics isn\u2019t giving you the in-depth data you need to make informed marketing decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Lack of Call Data<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Lastly, Google Analytics only includes call data from phone calls retrieved from platforms such as Google Maps and AdWords.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By not factoring in the data related to leads calling your business, you\u2019re making marketing decisions based on only half of the information you need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And, since the Google Call History feature only records call data associated with calls from their products, you\u2019re still<\/em> operating with a fraction of the information necessary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fortunately, a call tracking number can remedy this<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Combine Call Tracking with Google Analytics Reports for the Ultimate Marketing Strategy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Call tracking helps marketers gather a wealth of pertinent information about their phone leads. You can translate this data to other reporting tools such as Google Analytics to optimize decision-making, reporting, and necessary marketing strategy directions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Call tracking numbers<\/u><\/a> can provide insight into:<\/p>\n\n\n\n