What makes a great web analyst?

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What does a web analyst do?

A web analyst’s main responsibilities are to look closely at the data associated with a business’s website. That means making detailed analyses of data, behavioural patterns, visitor numbers and their responses to the website. It requires a certain amount of understanding and creativity. The perfect web analyst is led by a desire to, technically and analytically, make a website better.

A web analyst will preside over systems of varying complexity. They will manage requirements and conduct workability investigations for all the data and statistics of the website. Furthermore, they will need to have the technical knowhow necessary for the smooth running of sites. This includes maintenance of hardware, software, troubleshooting and making performance improvements. A web analyst is also responsible for managing a budget assigned to them that they have to sensibly distribute. 

They must also be very adept at deciphering web data and elucidating on their practical meaning. They must also have a great working knowledge of what people want from websites and how they use them. This is alongside a personal interest in the internet and how it intersects with the world of business.

What can a web analyst generate?

There are a number of important things a web analyst must do to ensure that a website receives positive reactions. These all have to be analysed in their own certain ways for the best usage to be elicited. 

Visits

A web analyst should look at the way visitor numbers have changed over time. Of course, a high visitor count is always good, but over time there should be a gradual increase. Early on in the website’s formation it is less of a problem for the visitor count to be low. However, If there has not been a steady increase later then it generally means there is a problem. 

Leads

Where are leads coming from? Directly from a search engine, from a shared link on social media or general word of mouth? Unless your business or website is well known, people rarely come to you by typing in the address bar. A web analyst needs to look at the visitor journey to find ways of monetising it and generating sales. 

Engagement

Any thorough web analysis looks at the ways visitors are engaging with the content on the website. Are they just opening the first page and closing it? Are they clicking through to further content or are they instead hovering over links? A web analyst can look at behaviour and find ways to meet the visitor at their level of engagement. For instance, if a visitor is hovering over links without clicking through, then small text boxes of content can automatically show, providing opportunities for further interest.

Page views and bounce rate

What are the statistics on each individual page view? How are visitors reaching each page and how long do they stay there? The bounce rate and the time someone spends on each page have constructive information to give a web analyst. The bounce rate is the amount of people who view a page and leave it without clicking on or interacting with anything else. A high bounce rate usually suggests there is a problem, that something is not working as it should. 

Speed / Responsiveness

Finally, it is important to look at the speed of the website. If something is not running as smoothly as it should then it is likely to be off-putting for visitors. 

How can these generate sales?

Looking closely at all of these aspects is the first step to generating more initial sales and repeat customers. The key is to know precisely what your customers are looking for, and tools such as Google Analytics can help with that. A better understanding of your market, improved call-to-action items and a reduction in your bounce rate are all proven measures to increase sales and secure a steady growth. 

Web analysts can employ the digital sales funnel, taking them through a process that concludes with a sale. This can be by discovering how to attract traffic, qualifying it through web forms and generating the right leads. These leads should represent both quality and quantity, as a large amount of leads that do not go on to purchase are not helpful. 

Web analyst takes a look at the bigger picture

Crucial in a good web analyst, however, is a deep understanding of a digital business’s web interfaces. A good web analyst is able to look at metrics and use them pertinently. A great web analyst instinctively knows how to interpret data and turn it into sales. An expert web analyst looks at every aspect of the visitor’s journey and comprehends the best and fastest way to turn it into sales. By looking at all of this raw data, they know what the visitor is looking for and can turn them from a lead into a customer.