Web Analytics for Small Businesses: Getting Started

You Do Not Need to Be a Data Scientist

Small businesses need simple, actionable analytics. Focus on a handful of metrics that drive business decisions.

Setting Up Google Analytics 4

Basic Setup

Install GA4 tracking code on your website

Set up goals for form submissions and phone clicks

Enable enhanced measurement for automatic event tracking

Link to Google Ads if running paid campaigns

Essential Reports

Acquisition: where your visitors come from

Engagement: what they do on your site

Conversions: which visitors become leads

Five Metrics That Matter

1. Website Visits

Total sessions and trend over time. Are you growing?

2. Traffic Sources

Which channels drive visits? Organic search, paid ads, social media, direct, or referral?

3. Top Pages

Which pages get the most views? Are they the right pages?

4. Conversion Rate

What percentage of visitors take the desired action? Industry average is 2-5%.

5. Cost Per Lead

For paid channels: how much are you spending per inquiry?

Common Mistakes

Tracking too many metrics

Not setting up conversion tracking

Ignoring mobile vs. desktop performance

Making decisions on too little data

Not filtering out internal traffic

Monthly Review Process

Spend 30 minutes monthly reviewing these five metrics. Look for trends, not single data points. Make one improvement based on what you find.