Don't Make These Ten Digital Marketing Data Analysis Mistakes
A new article on Search Engine Journal reports that even experienced digital marketers can make mistakes when looking at data and making decisions, but there are ten errors you can watch out for.
Reporting and data analysis inevitably encompass a significant amount of our time as digital marketers, but even experienced marketers can make a few common mistakes when looking at data and making decisions. In this article, you'll learn about ten common mistakes digital marketers make when analyzing data:
Reporting and data analysis inevitably encompass a significant amount of our time as digital marketers, but even experienced marketers can make a few common mistakes when looking at data and making decisions. In this article, you'll learn about ten common mistakes digital marketers make when analyzing data:
- Not Looking at a Statistically Significant Timeframe: Many businesses see ebb and flow in lead volume over the course of a week or month, and looking at data for just a few days generally does not yield an accurate reflection of long-term ROI. If your goal is to generate an average of 100 qualified leads a month, you could accomplish that goal by receiving 10 leads one week and 30 leads for each of the next three weeks.
- Not Factoring in Seasonality: Another part of considering timeframes is to keep seasonality factors in mind. An ecommerce business will likely see its biggest sales period around Black Friday, while a B2B business may see lead volume slump around the holidays. Data from past years can be helpful in order to factor in which months tend to have the highest and lowest volume. You should factor in data directly from Google Analytics and ad platforms, as well as overall backend sales/lead data.
- Ignoring the Impact of Offline Activity: Unfortunately, we're probably all familiar with "unprecedented events" that can impact businesses globally. Graphs for the vast majority of businesses don't follow "normal" patterns when looking back at 2020. Outside of the events of 2020, many companies see their business ebb and flow based on outside factors. An HVAC business will likely see inquiries pick up when weather trends toward extreme heat or cold, for example. A SaaS business may see an uptick in interest when its biggest competitor raises prices. Keep tabs on any news and events that may indicate the potential for either increased business interest or reduced inquiries. Unfortunately, a business may also encounter negative press, which may adversely affect the overall likelihood of people wanting to purchase.
- Not Accounting for Multi-Channel Engagement: Marketers can become extremely tied to watching a particular channel -- whether that's organic search, paid search, Facebook advertising, or LinkedIn advertising -- and obsessing over getting that channel to work. However, no channel operates entirely in a silo, because no web user strictly utilizes a single channel. Unfortunately, analytics and ad platforms that default to last-click attribution often exacerbate this problem. Marketers look strictly at the final source and campaign that drove a lead, without factoring in that a user may have conducted a non-branded search, clicked a Facebook ad, and then conducted a brand search before finally converting. To make a move away from a purely last-click mindset, pay attention to assisted conversions and conversion paths in the Multi-Channel Funnels section of Google Analytics. In addition, use the Attribution section of Google Ads to compare different attribution models.
