Google Analytics in e-commerce. How to use it?

Google Analytics, which we have already written about in the article, is the absolute basis for all activities on the Internet. In fact, thanks to its versatility, this tool is widely used, whether it is generating sales or page views. Unfortunately, due to its versatility, novice e-sellers can be troublesome. So what to look for when using Google Analytics in e-commerce?

Google Analytics in e-commerce

On the one hand, it presents every necessary information almost at its fingertips, on the other – it is easy to get drowned in the sea of unnecessary ones, without drawing any binding conclusions from them. It must also be said at the outset – data analysis that does not translate into business improvement is worth little more than mindless scrolling through Facebook. So how not to waste your time on it? The answer is simple: before logging into the tool, you need to ask yourself some of the most important questions that you want to know the answer to. And so – e-shop owners – will pay attention to completely different metrics than, for example, bloggers. For what? Details are presented below.

What statistics in Google Analytics will help increase sales?

Google Analytics provides us with detailed knowledge about the source we “deliver” to our website, but in the case of e-commerce, when we earn money by generating sales, this is just an introduction to our analytics. E-shop owners need to go deeper to know what activities affect sales, what revenues are generated, how many transactions are closed, and… more.

In Google Analytics, e-commerce and transaction data are available in the navigation bar on the left (” Conversions”> “E-commerce”).

From the “e-commerce” tab in Google Analytics you can learn a lot about:

• transaction rates and coupons used,
• new and returning users,
• a user behavior “at the checkout” (which will help determine the cause of abandoned shopping carts),
• revenues generated by individual products,
• individual product orders,
• the popularity of individual products.

So we can learn a lot with Google Analytics for e-commerce, but first, we need to configure the report to support transaction tracking.

How do I set up e-commerce tracking?

First, you need to install Google Analytics.

After implementing the tracking code, go to the bottom of the navigation bar, to the “E-commerce Settings ” tab in the “All Website Data” section. Then you just need to set it to “On” to enable e-commerce tracking.

After enabling this module in Google Analytics, you need to add a code snippet to the pixel already installed on your website. After you’ve set up tracking, check that everything is working by performing a test transaction.

If you are familiar with the basics, you may also be tempted to incorporate more advanced analytics such as “Related Products” or “Enhanced Ecommerce Reporting“. A great advantage of the extended reports is the possibility of dividing user groups into particular segments, which enables the analysis of the behavior of users who, for example, came to the website only thanks to one specific campaign.