If you have a commercial product, whether it is physical or a virtual download, selling it online can be a great source of income. A well designed website combined with ongoing Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) or other digital marketing efforts can lead to great online sales.However, there is little point in having an online store if it is not tracked correctly. You must be able to compare the money you input to maintain and market the site to the amount of revenue it is creating.
A key benefit of using online sales over tradition sales is that Google Analytics (GA) allows detailed tracking of your sales. You can track everything including the number of visitors who visit each page of your site and how long they spend on it. You can set up “ goals” which enables you to track enquiries. A goal might be every time someone reaches a “ thank you “ page as a result of sending in an enquiry.
Google Analytics also enables you to track the entire sales process from the user selecting a product, adding it to their basket, entering their delivery & payment details to the final confirmation page. They also provide some nifty visualisation charts of the process which really help convey the full process even to the least technical people.It is advisable for every website to have basic Google Analytics tracking installed, which involves adding tracking code to your website. For websites with an online sales option tracking the purchasing process can be done by editing your Google Analytics settings and adjusting your website code accordingly. Often website owners prefer to have web developers like ourselves to do this as the coding and where to place the code can be quite daunting if not experienced in html.E-commerce tracking allows you to determine at what stage in the process customers are dropping out and what sources the purchases are coming from, for example, organic, direct, referral, Social Media or email marketing. This is very valuable information for allocating future online marketing budgets and can identify issues with the online sales process. For more information on E-Commerce tracking call us on 089 328 7000 or send us an email !
