With regard to the tracking and reporting of online and offline marketing, advertising and business initiatives, analytics refers to the available softwares and online applications used to gather, sort, and report on activity and results. Analytics are used for statistical analysis, a means of understanding the past so that goals and initiatives can be planned and implemented to affect a positive outcome in the future.
Google Analytics is an example of a robust online analytics application. By implementing special code on your web pages and web creative you are able to track visitor activity. For example, you can infer what your site visitors are interested in by what they click on, how long they interact with the information, and whether or not they complete the ‘call to action’ you included on the web page (known as ‘conversion’: if they complete the ‘call to action’ then they have ‘converted’).
With search engine optimization and marketing initiatives, analytics are used to track goals and make recommendations for changes that may enhance results and overall return on investment (ROI).
