Websites have been a standard extension of businesses now for nearly two decades. Web analytics, on the other hand, has a much younger tenure.

Within the past five years, the rise of simple free tools like Google Analytics and more complex reporting solutions such as ClearSaleing means that business small and large now have access to vast amounts of data that was previously unavailable.

But how to make sense of it all? Whether your business has an entire department devoted to web analytics, or if you’re a one-person operation, keeping these ten principles in mind will ensure that your precious time and efforts produce insightful, actionable reports:

1. Measure What Matters:

Can you track sales directly related to your online efforts? If not, can you at least track leads generated online? The closer your data can speak to your company’s bottom line the better!

2. Create Goals:

Google Analytics and nearly every other web analytics platform enables you to track and place special importance on certain web events. To make the most of your analytics, set up goal tracking around your site’s most important things (i.e. shopping cart checkouts or form completions).

3. Establish a Baseline:If you haven’t already, pick a month and record the data for the following core metrics to establish a baseline:

o    Visits

o    Visitors

o    Referrers

Use this data as a baseline for your site’s traffic.  Then compare those numbers with site data 3, 6, or 12 months down the road. Are these metrics growing or decreasing over time? Establishing a baseline provides insight into your site’s overall health and a point of reference from which to judge its performance.

4. Visits Are The New “Hits”:

“Hits” are soooo 2000. Visits-- which are a far more accurate measure of traffic-- should be your primary metric of choice. Pageviews, time on site and bounce rate are also important metrics to keep track of, but visits are the quickest way to assess your site’s health and summarize its performance.

5. Know Thy Referrers:

Know where your traffic is coming from. How much of it is coming from search engines? Direct traffic? Knowing the sources of your traffic can help inform every part of your site’s strategy, from content to layout.

6. Keep Your Finger On The Pulse:

Take the time each month to review your analytics. Remember-- analytics are the pulse of your site’s health, which is more often than not an indicator of the overall health of your business, so take a few minutes each month to monitor how you’re doing.

7. Keep Your Own Reports:

It’s a little more time-intensive up front, but exporting monthly data to your own spreadsheet and keeping a trend will give you the flexibility to display it a number of ways. It can also be very valuable to have on hand when upper management asks to “see the numbers”.

8. Don’t Just Read- React!:

Don’t think of your analytics as simply reporting on things that have happened--- use it as a tool for improving your site. For example a quick glance at your site’s top exit pages should help you determine whether or not to adjust your messaging or other elements to keep users from bailing.

9. Got Social? Get Measuring!:

Your analytics efforts shouldn’t end with your site, especially if you’re active in social media. Analytics platforms like Facebook Insights can provide extremely valuable data (i.e. demographics) that can cross-inform your site’s strategy.

10. Keep It Simple:

With the amount of reports available even in simple solutions like Google Analytics, it’s easy to get caught up in measuring the minutiae. Keep your eyes on the big things (like goal tracking) and the basics and you’ll be making the most efficient use of your time.