Analyzing the Analytics Tools on the Market

No matter what industry you are in, the value of modern analytics tools cannot be overstated. Being able to slice and dice data in so many ways can give you a beneficial vantage point to make changes to your company. According to a recent report from the Aberdeen Group, “An ever-increasing number of industries and job roles struggle mightily to drink from the proverbial fire hose of data to produce something meaningful and useful for the business. Best-in-Class companies successfully bridge the gap between their expanding sources of data and the analytical processes and systems they use to transform that data into timely business insight.”

While you’ll be able to make improvements and streamline processes with the insight that analytics tools give you, the new knowledge will likely also add more work to your plate. Following are a few tools that will give you valuable insight into your business, and provide some level of guidance for improving exposure and profitability.

Analytics App

Google analytics is an extremely powerful tool used to check site statistics, but up to now, accessing that information on the go was not particularly simple. Analytics App, by developer Inblosam, allows easy access to all Google Analytics data through an optimized mobile interface. It is possible to break down views by day, week, or month, and offer numerous reports that can be tailored to ecommerce, events, and numerous other criteria. For digital marketers of all disciplines, this level of insight into the direct effect that activities have on site visitors can be extremely powerful. From simple views into who is viewing which pages most often to more complex split-test strategies and ease-of-use studies, this app can deliver. It even allows users to set goals from within the app and determine the efficacy relative to those settings.

Sprout Social

Sprout Social is a social media analytics aggregator that allows users to view and report on all of their social activities through one central dashboard. In addition, users can schedule, publish, and promote messages to appropriate audiences. The strength of this tool becomes clear when you consider that by viewing and scheduling social media interactions based on analytics that tell you precisely which ones gain the most response, you can target audiences that will be receptive to your messages. Further, you can do so without resorting to a spammy “scattershot” approach that can isolate a core audience. The ease of reporting and the fact that Sprout Social incorporates sharing features and a mobile app means that your marketing team will also be able to gain intelligence about customers.

Website SEO Checks

For better or worse, search engine optimization (SEO) determines who will find your site through organic searches. For that reason, marketers must be constantly aware of their rank, and just as importantly, the rank of their competitors. Website SEO Checks by Mike Irving allows users to instantly access SEO statistics for any website by simply entering the address into a search bar. In addition to showing Google Pagerank and other search-related data, it provides information on issues with redirects, RSS feeds, and other important diagnostic information. As a bonus, users looking to invest in web domains will be able to see information about any site with just one click. It is a powerful tool that lets any user determine the visibility of their site.

The value of these tools is that they put the power of analytics into the hands of multiple employees, include marketers, social media specialists, etc. These applications are readily available and geared for simplicity, which lets companies distribute ownership of analytics across the company. These are just a taste of the analytics tools available but will certainly get you headed in the right direction.