Most small business owners have Google Analytics on their website. Most never look at it. And honestly? I don't blame them—it's overwhelming.
But buried in all that data are a few numbers that can actually help you make better decisions. Here's what to focus on and what to ignore.
What Google Analytics Actually Tells You
At its core, Google Analytics answers these questions:
- How many people visit your website?
- Where do they come from?
- What do they do on your site?
- Are they becoming customers?
That's it. Everything else is details.
The Only 5 Metrics You Need to Check
1. Sessions (Traffic)
What it is: How many times people visited your site
Why it matters: More visitors = more potential customers. Track this monthly to see if you're growing.
Where to find it: Reports > Acquisition > Traffic acquisition
What's good: Depends on your industry, but you want to see steady growth over time, not absolute numbers.
2. Traffic Sources
What it is: Where your visitors come from (Google, social media, direct, referrals)
Why it matters: Tells you what's working. If 80% comes from Google, SEO is your priority. If social drives traffic, keep posting.
Where to find it: Reports > Acquisition > Traffic acquisition
**What to look for:**
- Organic Search = Google/Bing searches
- Direct = People typing your URL
- Referral = Links from other sites
- Social = Facebook, Instagram, etc.
3. Top Pages
What it is: Which pages get the most visits
Why it matters: Shows what people actually care about. These pages deserve the most attention and optimization.
Where to find it: Reports > Engagement > Pages and screens
What to do: Make sure your top pages have clear calls-to-action and contact info.
4. Conversions (Goals)
What it is: Actions you want visitors to take—form submissions, calls, purchases
Why it matters: This is the whole point. Traffic means nothing if nobody's contacting you.
Where to find it: Reports > Engagement > Conversions (requires setup)
Important: You need to set up conversion tracking. If you haven't, you're flying blind.
5. Bounce Rate & Engagement Time
What it is: How quickly people leave and how long they stay
Why it matters: High bounce rate on important pages = something's wrong. Low engagement = content isn't connecting.
Where to find it: Reports > Engagement > Pages and screens
What's normal: 40-60% bounce rate is typical. Under 40% is great. Over 70% is a problem.
What to Ignore (For Now)
GA4 has dozens of reports. Most aren't useful for small businesses:
- Real-time reports — Fun to watch, not actionable
- Demographic details — Interesting, rarely changes your strategy
- Technology reports — Unless your site is broken on certain browsers
- Most "Advanced" features — Built for enterprises with dedicated analytics teams
A Simple Monthly Routine
Set a calendar reminder. Once a month, spend 15 minutes on this:
- 1**Check sessions** — Up or down from last month?
- 2**Review traffic sources** — Where's growth coming from?
- 3**Look at top pages** — Anything surprising?
- 4**Check conversions** — Getting enough leads/calls/sales?
- 5**Spot problems** — Any pages with unusually high bounce rates?
That's it. 15 minutes, once a month. You'll know more about your website than 90% of small business owners.
The Conversion Tracking Problem
Here's the thing: most small business websites don't have conversion tracking set up properly. That means you can see visitors but not whether they're becoming customers.
**You should track:**
- Contact form submissions
- Phone calls (if using a trackable number)
- Email link clicks
- Appointment bookings
- Purchases (e-commerce)
Setting this up properly requires some technical work, but it's essential. Without it, you're guessing.
When to Get Help
DIY analytics is fine for basic insights. But consider professional help if:
- You're making significant marketing investments and need to prove ROI
- Your conversion tracking isn't set up
- You want custom dashboards that show exactly what matters to your business
- You need to connect analytics to advertising campaigns
For Yamhill County Business Owners
If you're local and want a quick analytics audit—what's working, what's not, what you should actually be looking at—reach out. We'll look at your setup and give you honest feedback.
No charge for the initial conversation. That's how we do things around here.
