I know, I know. . . This is considered blasphemous to many of you die hard Google Analytics fans out there. This post will certainly get me more enemies than fans, but that’s ok because it’s true – Google Analytics is not a good tool for inbound marketing. Many of you who find this post offensive have probably never even consistently used a different analytics package. Moreover, if Google Analytics is your analytics package of choice you probably aren’t even doing inbound marketing, but rather Internet marketing. (See Internet Marketing or Inbound Marketing – Is There a Difference?)
Admittedly, I use Google Analytics a few times per week. However, I use it sparingly and to double check trending data. It's always nice to have a second opinion. Instead, I use HubSpot for all of my analytics in lieu of Google. If I just used Google Analytics I’d be forced to manage multiple online sales funnels (i.e. website, social media, email, microsites, PPC, etc.). With Hubspot the data seamlessly flows together, is identifiable, labeled and tracked through a CRM. Besides, you can brag all day to a CEO about how many visitors you got to their website, but what they really want to know is how many leads did you produce, are these leads actionable, and how many leads turned into customers? Google Analytics doesn’t tell you that. . .
If you don't use Google Analytics for inbound marketing let us know what you do use and why. We're always interested in checking out new technology.
Photo Credit: Thomas Hawk
Monday, December 13, 2010 @ 12PM EST
Two of our experts will review two user-submitted websites for design, usability, message and inbound marketing readiness. We will point out the strengths and weaknesses of each site and make recommendations for improvement.