I have heard around the block that many of you (okay, most of you) aren’t exactly best friends with your Google Analytics. It’s ugly, confusing, and there seems to be no proof that this tool can make any real impact in your business.

Although I beg to differ on the importance of integrating web analytics in your business strategy, I think the following case study is another example of how a tool like Google Analytics can shift, tilt, or rock the new year’s planning you might be doing this month.

Let’s get into it!

Business Name:Hillary Nicole Roberts - Copywriter and Editor (http://www.hillarynicoleroberts.com/)

Who is Hillary and what is her business about?

Hillary is a Copywriter and Editor who has been in business for almost a year. She works with creative entrepreneurs to create unstoppable copy.

Hillary asked for the Take Action! Report to focus on her incoming traffic channels coming to her site, specifically social users:

She was spending a lot of time “networking” on different social sites but had no idea which one was really bringing her quality traffic. Also, she had a feeling she had to make changes to her profiles but was paralyzed on where to start.

What were her short term goals at the time of reading the report?

To be as active as possible on all social media. However, when Hillary read her Take Action! Report, she realized that there was only one channel she really had to focus on to start with.

So, what insights did we uncover?

First of all, even though social traffic coming to her site was the lowest traffic source, it had the best rate of keeping users on her site longer (low bounce rate). This meant that users coming from Facebook or Twitter were being targeted better and were finding the content Hillary was sharing more interesting and relevant to their needs. My recommendation here was to put together a solid social media strategy, starting with just Facebook. From the traffic we analyzed, Facebook was a the strongest and it was a great place to start for targeting potential clients.

Apart from attracting site visits from Facebook and Twitter, Hillary was completely unaware of the fact that her LinkedIn profile was also bringing in some visits. Not only should she put together a structure plan for Facebook, but also make sure all her social profiles were up to date, with her basic bio and website information.

To get her started on her content strategy, we identified which posts were attracting the most social visits and I also pointed out that her Kiss Ass Sales Page PDF Newsletter had a high opt-in rate..

In conclusion, what did my recommendations lead Hillary to do?

Hillary knew social was important but after reading the report, she realized that she was tackling it at the wrong angle. She decided to only focus on Facebook and make sure she was dedicating the time and energy to attracting and connecting with people who were really attracted in her writing.

As a result of her focused efforts, Hillary has landed three new clients from Facebook and one through LinkedIn (wow!). She also feels more confident about her time in social media and what will eventually lead her to paying clients.

Are you ready to stop guessing and start to make decisions off real data in Google Analytics? Here are just some of many ways you can use the Take Action! Report:

• 2016 year planning and goal setting

• Blog post brainstorming

• Repurposing old blog content

• Content upgrades brainstorming

• Site Redesign

• Any type of launch

• Just feeling lost on what to focus next? This is perfect in this case as well!

The Take Action! Report delivers this insight and action! My objective for this report was simply to jumpstart inspiration in anyone who was feeling a bit confused or overwhelmed. Please let me know if you have any questions in the comments section below.