Week 7: Analytics, Optimization & Capstone Project
Week 7 Overview: Analytics, Optimization & Capstone
Welcome to the final week! This is where we bring everything together. You'll learn how to analyze your performance, optimize your campaigns, and apply all your new skills in a final project.
Google Analytics 4 (GA4) Fundamentals
GA4 is the latest version of Google Analytics. It's an event-based analytics service that enables customer-centric measurement for both websites and apps, helping you understand the customer journey.
Key Concepts in GA4
- Event-Based Model: Almost every interaction is captured as an "event," from a `page_view` to a `purchase`. This is more flexible than the session-based model of older versions.
- User & Engagement Reports: These reports help you understand who your users are (demographics) and how they interact with your site (e.g., average engagement time).
- Acquisition Reports: This shows you where your users are coming from (e.g., Google Organic Search, Social Media, Email).
Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO)
CRO is the systematic process of increasing the percentage of website visitors who take a desired action — be that filling out a form, becoming customers, or otherwise. It's about getting more value from your existing traffic.
The CRO Process
- Analyze Data: Use tools like Google Analytics and heatmaps to identify pages where users are dropping off.
- Form a Hypothesis: Based on the data, create a hypothesis. For example, "Changing the button color from blue to orange will increase clicks because it will stand out more."
- Test Your Hypothesis: Use A/B testing to test your change.
- Implement the Winner: If the new version performs better, make it the permanent version.
A/B Testing
Also known as split testing, A/B testing is a method of comparing two versions of a webpage, ad, or email against each other to determine which one performs better.
You show the two variants (A, the control, and B, the variation) to similar visitors at the same time. The one that achieves a better conversion rate with statistical significance is the winner.
Reporting & Insights
Reporting is the process of organizing data into informational summaries to monitor performance. But data is just data. The real goal is to find actionable "insights" that can inform your future strategy.
Data vs. Insight:
Data: "The bounce rate on the pricing page is 80%."
Insight: "Our pricing is confusing users on mobile devices, causing them to leave. We should simplify the layout for smaller screens."
Capstone Project
Time to put it all together! For your final project, you will develop a complete digital marketing strategy for a mock business of your choice. This should combine all the elements you've learned.
Your Strategy Should Include:
- A clear definition of a primary buyer persona.
- A list of 5-10 target keywords based on research and a content strategy outline.
- A 1-week social media calendar for one platform.
- A mock Google Ads campaign structure (Campaign > Ad Group > Keywords > Ad Copy).
- The outline for a 3-part automated email welcome series.
- A list of the main KPIs you would track to measure the success of your overall strategy.