Setting Up Web Analytics That Actually Help You Make Decisions

Most analytics setups track everything and answer nothing. Here's how to set up tracking that drives actual decisions.

Every website has analytics installed. Almost none of them are set up to answer the questions that actually matter. The default Google Analytics dashboard tells you how many people visited your site. It doesn't tell you why they left, what they were looking for, or whether your changes are working.

Start with questions, not metrics

Before you configure anything, write down three questions you want analytics to answer. "Are people finding our pricing page?" "What percentage of visitors contact us?" "Which blog posts drive the most conversions?" These questions determine what you track.

Track events, not just pageviews

• Button clicks: "Start a project," "Get in touch," "Download"
• Form submissions: contact forms, newsletter signups, demo requests
• Scroll depth: how far do people read on key pages?
• Outbound link clicks: where do people go when they leave?
• Search queries: what are people looking for on your site?

Build a conversion funnel

Define the path from visitor to customer and measure each step. For a services business: landing page > services page > contact page > form submission. For SaaS: landing page > signup > onboarding complete > first core action. Knowing where people drop off tells you what to fix.

Ben Arledge

CEO & CTO, CloudOwl