Sample Analytic and Results
In Google Analytics, the "New Users" metric offers helpful insights into the traffic sources of the website's new visitors. This information is extremely useful for gaining insights into the effectiveness of marketing strategies and the specific channels that are contributing to user acquisition. Here's the sample of data from the business I work for:
Period 1: January 1–June 30, 2023
Period 2: July 1-December 31, 2023
January to June 2023:
Paid Search: This channel seems to have been the most effective in driving new users during this period, indicating that the paid search campaigns were successful in attracting users to the website.
Organic Search: Organic search is the second most effective channel, which suggests that the website's SEO performance is generating a significant amount of new user traffic.
Direct: Direct traffic could indicate users who directly typed your website's URL or accessed it through bookmarks, showing a level of brand familiarity or existing customer engagement.
Organic Social: This channel indicates that your social media efforts were effective in driving organic traffic to your website.
Referral: Links or backlinks directing new visitors to the website are shown by referral traffic.
Paid Other: This category covers various forms of paid advertising activities that grow beyond search, such as display advertising or sponsored content.
Organic Video: This suggests that the video content, most likely on platforms such as YouTube, is effective in attracting new user traffic.
July to December 2023:
Organic Search: The fact that organic search is now at the top suggests that either user search behaviour has changed, or the SEO performance has become better.
Organic Social: Organic social media continues to be an effective channel for drawing new users, showing the ongoing effectiveness of social media content.
Cross Network: This category shows that the traffic comes from different online networks and platforms, indicating a wide range of sources that bring in new users.
Direct: Direct traffic remains significant, suggesting ongoing awareness of the brand and user engagement.
Paid Shopping: This category shows that the paid shopping campaigns, potentially on platforms like Google Shopping, have shown better results in attracting new users.
Paid Search: The drop in paid search ranks indicates that the paid search campaigns are no longer as effective as they once were when compared to organic search.
Organic Shopping: During this period, the least efficient strategy for generating new users is the organic shopping channel, most likely derived from organic listings in shopping platforms.
Analysis
A shift from paid search to organic search as the primary source of traffic shows an improvement in the website's organic visibility and search engine rankings.
The fact that organic search now generates more traffic than paid search indicates the website's organic visibility and search engine rankings may have improved.
The ongoing significance of organic social and direct traffic indicates that business awareness and customer engagement initiatives are effective in attracting new users.
The growth of new channels such as cross-network and paid shopping indicates an increasing number of traffic sources.
Through careful analysis of these shifts in traffic sources, valuable insights can be obtained regarding the performance of different marketing channels. This information can then be used to make well-informed decisions on how to optimise digital marketing strategy.