google_largeGoogle Analytics is a free and powerfully insightful tool into your digital marketing and website effectiveness.

Have you ever wondered who visits your site? What content do those users consume? How they find your website (it’s more complex than you think)? And whether they even stay or come back to your website?

Google Analytics can help answer these questions and more.

According to the Pew Research Center, about 84% of the U.S. adult population will use the Internet in 2015. Find out more here about Internet adoption in the last 15 years: American Internet Access 2000-2015.

People are turning to the Internet for information, to find business locations, their phone numbers, and to buy products online. Websites – businesses – are competing in an ever changing, competitive environment (in essentially an immaterial, expansive space). Google Analytics allows you as a business owner to be able to compete in this environment.

Google Analytics makes it easy to begin collecting data to be able to later gain valuable insight into your business and website.

How To Set up GA

Data on your website only begins to collect from the time the tracking code is placed, so do this today if you haven’t already. Here is a link to Analytics Help where Google explains how to implement the code: Set up the web tracking code. Use an existing Gmail or other email account, or create a specific one for your team to use.

You can either directly place the code or use Google Tag Manager.

I recommend using Google Tag Manager if at all possible because as your marketing channels are expanded, it will be easy going forward to manage tags as well as choreograph several tags in one place to better measure and engage with your audience.

One thing to note: if not using Google Tag Manager, add the code to every page of your website.

Once you have accessed your account and see that data is being collected (Checking your site Real-Time), GA will create one original reporting view. Don’t add filters to this view so you can have all of your raw data in one place. Consider adding additional views you can add filters to, and one view you can test data within.

To make sure your data is as accurate as possible, consider adding filters. If you or your team utilizes the site often, consider implementing a filter that removes your internal traffic from your reports: Creating filters in your GA.

Where to Begin

Google Analytics has four major groups of reports: Audience, Acquisition, Behavior, and Conversions. Audience reports provide insights into who your visitors are, Acquisition reports show you where your visitors come from (or in other words, how they found your website); Behavior reports show you what your visitors do on your site. Conversion reports allow you to measure goals and look at attribution models. You can even create custom reports.

One of the most common questions we receive from advertisers is where are people located?

Under the Audience reports, click on ‘Geo’, and then ‘Location.’ Filter the date range in the top right corner. Right below the map and above the reporting chart, you will find a primary dimension designation: ‘country,’ ‘city,’ and more. Many of our local SMB advertisers want to see what cities people are visiting from and this is where this information can be found.

The Audience ‘overview’ report is one of the first reports I visit once gaining access to an advertiser’s analytics because I want to get an overall sense of traffic and performance on their website. Hover over each dimension to find out what each one measures. I look at sessions, page depth, and bounce rate which shows me overall interest of the visitors in the website.

Another great report to look at is the ‘Channels’ report under Acquisition. The report breaks out traffic into the major channels (or ways in which visitors come through to the site): organic is through a search engine, direct is either by typing the website URL into the browser or using a bookmark, referral is traffic to your site from a user coming from another site, social is social media traffic, and more. If you were running paid campaigns, you would see paid search as well.

Under the Behavior reports, using the report ‘All Pages’ under ‘Site content’ can show you what pages visitors are visiting most often. Use the ‘Behavior Flow’ report to look at what pages visitors come through and what pages they visit there after.

Giving Access

By allowing access to your analytics, your digital campaigns can become even more effective. This is because reporting can be provided on what is actually happening on your website once visitors find you.

Under the Admin tab in your Google Analytics, you can add a user and specify the level of access. ‘Read and Analyze’ is all most digital consultants and strategists need to see your data (this doesn’t allow this user to make any changes). Here’s how to distinguish between the levels of access and grant access to others: User management.

Google Analytics has much more to offer than covered here. Contact a digital consultant today to gain new insight in your website and digital marketing effectiveness.

SEO keywords: Google Analytics, Google Analytics set up, basic Google Analytics reports

By MassLive Marketing Staff

 

Manufacturing Recruitment Strategy

Worker shortages in manufacturing industry is real. Highly skilled positions remain open as a significant portion of the manufacturing workforce is nearing retirement age. For manufacturers, building and maintaining a robust and skilled talent pool is key for both short-term and long-term hiring success.

Recruitment Marketing as a Relationship Builder, Not Just Candidate Sourcing

Don’t wait to be present until a position is open – consistently position your brand in front of both passive and active job seekers. Consistent branding creates a talent pool who is familiar with your company, benefits, culture and therefore more likely to consider you when looking to make a career change. Top of the funnel marketing tactics such as video and display make your brand presence known.

Build A Connection By Understanding Your Best Potential Candidates 

Develop personas, marketing strategies and campaigns specific to your common open positions. Different positions attract different types of candidates. Understanding the nuances allows you to more directly content with job seekers, to communicate your company story and to welcome them into your culture with a personalized approach. Seek out a recruitment marketing partner with a deep data bench, capable of developing audience segments, media placements and creative to speak directly to specific candidate audiences.

Enhance Your Job Board Presence with Display & Video

Placements on job boards are effective in reaching those actively seeking a position. However, other traditional marketing methods like targeted display and video allow companies to share their full story. More visual formats let prospective candidates see your benefits and experience your culture. Both elements that can cause them to choose you as their next employer – over your competition.

SUCCESS STORIES

Healthcare Recruitment Strategy

A growing aging population, pandemic burnout and a ramp up of traveling nurse opportunities have put a strain on healthcare recruitment. Nurses are in high demand – with an abundance of employment options to choose from. How does your healthcare facility standout in this mad dash for employment?

Invest in the Community You Serve

Healthcare is essential to the community. Consider supporting the community you serve by sponsoring local events, job fairs and awards to keep your organization top-of-mind. Not only will these positive associations bring your organization front and center, it will also generate positive word of mouth among the community – reaching friends and families connected to potential candidates.

Showcase Company Culture

Give a glimpse of what its like to work at your organization on any given day. Show the people who work there, the halls to be walked and the benefits to be had. Video succinctly communicates positive culture through virtual tours, testimonials and more. Written testimonials and other content featuring current employees lend authenticity to your showcase.

Replenish Talent Pools with New Grads

New graduates are critical in helping to fill staffing gaps and to replenish talent pools. Utilize highly targeted strategies to reach new graduates, while still on campus, where they are spending their time. Hyper local mobile targeting puts your organization front and center among soon-to-be-graduating adding you to their consideration set for post-graduation employment.

SUCCESS STORIES

Education Recruitment Strategy

Like most categories of business, education providers are facing faculty and staff shortages. Finding experienced and passionate educators and faculty continues to be a challenge. Education institutions should look beyond salary and benefits to larger strategies to drive interest and applications for the upcoming school year ahead.

Build Your Talent Pool with Year-Round Strategy

Primary education recruitment season begins at the end of the previous school year, with many schools starting from scratch every year. Establishing a year-round recruitment marketing strategy, allows you
to reach faculty and staff considering a change throughout the school year, adding them to your talent pool as the year progresses. Having a year-round plan also puts your institution front and center, outside of the more cluttered traditional recruitment period.

Utilize Your Community As A Recruitment Tool

Your community has the potential to be a unique selling point for your institution. Consider highlighting the quality of life – showing prospective employees the community you serve. Community events, local activities, cost of living and more can have pull over prospective employees looking to make a move or to enjoy a way of life your community offers. Partner with local events, local organizations and even your convention and visitors bureau to generate content about your community.

Job Fairs Help Build Awareness of Your Institution

Passive and Active job seekers join job fairs to learn more about prospective districts and institutions. By merely being present, among your competition, you can ensure that your district or institution is in the consideration set for educators looking to make a career move. Both in-person and virtual career fairs provide additional visibility and awareness for your institution.

SUCCESS STORIES

Warehouse Recruitment Strategy

Warehouses are experiencing unprecedented growth thanks to a shift towards online shopping. As growth continues and timely shipping remains critical, warehouses face a continual shortage of workers.

Tout the Benefits That Make You Stand Out

Warehousing jobs are not historically known for good benefits and upward mobility. With changing demand and increased competition, more warehouse companies are adding long-term benefits and job training to their offerings. As an employer, tout benefits like 401Ks, employer matching and paid training as part of new hire packages. Talk about your openings more as long-term careers vs. short- term or holiday employment for additional appeal.

Get Connected In the Community

Grassroots community efforts and word of mouth tactics still hold strong in warehousing recruitment. Sponsoring local community events and job fairs raises brand awareness in the community, spreads positive sentiment about your organization and jump starts word of mouth. This simple activation makes your organization more likely to be noticed by potential job seekers and considered as a stable, future local employer in a future job search.

Local Jobs, Local Placements

Warehousing recruitment pulls most applicants and new hires locally. Very rarely to companies hire outside of their immediate market. Tap into the local job seeker scene through local job boards, job fairs and other local job posting opportunities. Local job seekers continually use these outlets to find new employment opportunities.

SUCCESS STORIES

Trucking Recruitment Strategy

Facing an aging workforce and increased competition for new talent, the trucking industry struggles to keep recruitment pipelines full and trucking routes staffed. Trucking industries should look to implement full-funnel marketing strategies to not only attract active job seekers but it keep talent pools fresh with new prospects.

Address Trucking Industry Myths

Increase top-of-the-funnel prospects by introducing the benefits of a trucking industry careers to passive job seekers. Address potential concerns head-on, including hours, mileage goals and living conditions while highlighting employment benefits such as 401K matching, healthcare and time off. Video and written content are both great vehicles to communicate this information.

Stay in Touch with Prospects

Deciding to change careers can be a lengthy process for passive job seekers. Keep your talent pool active with periodic communication about your business, job openings and career benefits. Set up an email calendar, reaching out to a list of emails from those who you met at job fairs, submitted an inquiry or sent a full resume. Frequently post about your culture, the trucking industry and openings to keep your followers engaged.

Job Boards Are Important

Trucking applicants remain tapped in to local and regional job boards. A presence on local job boards and job aggregator sites provide you business with bottom of the funnel presence – reaching those interested in the truck industry and actively applying now.

SUCCESS STORIES

Professional Recruitment Strategy

Finding outstanding talent that fits your culture is a concern for any business. Make the most of your time and resources by attracting qualified candidates that can hit the ground running and succeed within your organization. Identify quality talent and cultivate your talent pool with leading recruitment marketing strategies perfect for professional businesses.

Showcase Your Company Culture

Tell the story of your business, your history, your employees and more. The more a prospective employee knows about your operations and culture the more they are able to determine whether they are a match for your organization. Office tour videos, employee testimonials and other visuals can help to show daily life within your company.

Tailor Communications to Open Positions

Instead of deploying blanket recruitment ads for all positions in your company, consider developing custom creative and campaigns for each position. Messaging should focus on key benefits and operations of that role, showcase photos and videos of that segment of your business and speak directly to those candidates. Specific communication, drives more qualified applications – increasing your odds of finding a match while building up your talent pool - than general recruitment ads.

Use Job Boards to Reach Active Job Seekers

Job Fairs, local job boards and job board aggregators remain critical bottom-of-the-funnel tactics in securing applications for open positions. While other flashier tactics will fill the top of your funnel, these more nitty-gritty media elements provide a place for active job seekers to seamlessly apply for the positions they want – now.

SUCCESS STORIES