What is Digital Analytics?

The world is being transformed a lot to digitalize all the things in every field as the data is been freely flowing on the internet and it helps in making things easier. Data has now become a hot cake which helped many companies to get through and make use of huge data to improve their businesses. In this article, let’s see the importance of data and how can we collect data by using tag management tools.

Digital Transformation, the term itself explains that “migrating from general instance to Digital World”. To understand this we have to know some simple transformations that are usually seen in daily life.

• From filling paper applications by hand to online registrations.
• Going to the bank for opening an account to open an account within a few minutes
• Collecting books in the library to reading e-books in Kindle or internet articles
• Asking a person about the route for a particular place to asking Google Map to get a route map
• Reading newspapers to listening to Podcasts

Everything is been moving to the digital world and to understand how to make use of this data, first, we have to collect data and then we have to extract some insights by doing some analysis. And thereby using smart strategies we can thrive our business.

Collecting User Behaviour From Websites

Say for instance when we go through some products in an e-commerce platform for a while and when we are scrolling in Social Media like YouTube / Facebook / Instagram etc we can see some recommendations of the products that we have previously gone through in the e-commerce site. This is one of the best examples to say that we are retargeted to buy the products thereby increasing the conversion rate (from a user to actual customer).

Here, in this article, we are primarily going to discuss the collection of data from websites. To gather data from websites the first thing we have to get known of our customers, that helps in increasing the revenue of a company, is the behavior of our customer whether he/she is going to buy a product in an e-commerce website, Subscribing to a newsletter, Reading the Article/Post in a blog, etc. To get all this data, we have some tools that we can make use of to get to know our customers and thereby increase our business by targeting only particular customers.

There are a lot of market leaders in providing data collection tools from websites but Google Tag Manager, Adobe Launch, Tealium IQ are leading the chart. So we will get a crux of these tools in this article:

JS Script:

So when we are into a website, all the actions are been tracked by JavaScript code which is a snippet (called Tags) that is injected into the website by the developer to track the user behavior. Based on the tool which we use the JS snippet differs and also we have to inject N no. of snippets for N no. of tools that we use for a website. This script will help in collecting the user behavior in the website like whether the user watched the complete video, clicked on the submitted button, downloaded a file, subscribed to a newsletter, scroll to the bottom of the page, the user is on the page for some time, etc. 

When we have too many tags on the website there is a problem of loading the website which has to initiate every tag so to reduce this burden and to manage the tags we can make use of these Tag Management Tools:

1. Google Tag Manager

GTM is a Tag Management tool which is provided by Google that helps in managing all the Tags in a website by injecting a small JS snippet called container script into the website that controls and configure all the tags. It’s been coupled to the Google Analytics Platform where all the data is been gathered which is integrated by using GA tracking ID provided by Google Analytics.

Here we are having ‘Accounts’ which includes at least one Container for each website domain. Though you can use the single container for cross-domain tracking. A Container includes the tags and triggers that determine which tag should fire and collect the data.

2. Adobe Launch

Launch is a Tag Management System, developed by Adobe, which is designed to unify all the data from multiple sources. Like Containers in GTM here we have Properties for each website in which we can create rules (Triggers when to fire a tag) and provide more control on tags in the website. Here we can use the Extension called Adobe Analytics which helps in storing all the data that is been collected by the Adobe Launch.

3. Tealium IQ

Tealium IQ is a Tag Management Tool that is designed not to use for a particular platform, it can be integrated with the type of platform, it is Vendor Specific. It works on Multi CDN architecture which is a Multi Content Delivery Network that provides speed and reliable factors which increase the tool’s performance. It provides a lot of Predefined tags compared to various other Tag Management Tools. 

Each tool has its own pros and cons and based on the requirement one can choose which tool is best for them. From the above-mentioned tools, only GTM is the open-source tool that can be used for Free and Adobe Launch & Tealium IQ are premium service tools.

Advantages of Digital Analytics

The process of gathering, gauging, analyzing, and interpreting data from digital sources like websites, mobile apps, social media, and other digital platforms is known as “digital analytics.” The following are a few benefits of digital analytics:

1. Improved Understanding of Customer Behavior: A deeper insight into client behavior can be gained from digital analytics, which can show how users engage with digital platforms. Businesses may learn what customers are looking for, what they like, and what they don’t like by monitoring user activity and interaction. Businesses can utilize this data to make data-driven decisions that will enhance user experience and raise engagement.
2. Optimization of Digital Marketing Campaigns: Digital analytics can shed light on how to improve digital marketing strategies by revealing their efficacy. Businesses may improve the performance of their marketing campaigns by examining indicators like click-through rates, conversion rates, and engagement.
3. Identification of Trends and Opportunities: Digital analytics can assist companies in identifying emerging trends and opportunities. Businesses can detect new trends, client requirements, and market gaps by evaluating data from a variety of sources. The creation of new goods, services, or advertising campaigns may benefit from the information provided.
4. Cost-effectiveness: Digital analytics are frequently more affordable than conventional market research techniques. Businesses can make decisions more quickly and affordably because to the swift collection and analysis of data.
5. Real-Time Insights: Digital analytics offers real-time insights into user activity, enabling companies to react swiftly to shifting consumer demands and trends.
6. Competitive Advantage: By using data-driven decisions to improve user experiences, customer satisfaction, and revenue, businesses that embrace digital analytics can acquire a competitive advantage.

Disadvantages of Digital Analytics

While digital analytics has many benefits, there are also some possible drawbacks. The following are some drawbacks:

1. Data that is insufficient: Digital analytics rely on data gathered from digital platforms. Incomplete or erroneous data can result in incorrect analysis and judgment. Ad-blocking software, user privacy settings, or device restrictions can all have an influence on data.
2. Complexity: Digital analytics can be complicated, and understanding and using them successfully requires knowledge. Utilizing the tools and technology to collect and analyze data can call for particular skills, and data analysis involves an understanding of statistical analysis and data modeling.
3. Data Overload: Digital analytics can produce a lot of data, which is known as data overload. This data can become overwhelming and challenging to analyze if not properly maintained. The overwhelming amount of data available can also result in confusion and decision paralysis when organizations find it difficult to make judgments.
4. Privacy Concerns: Digital analytics rely on gathering and analyzing user data, which raises privacy concerns. Both privacy issues and ethical questions can be raised by this. Businesses must make sure that they are gathering and using data in an ethical and responsible manner.
5. Bias: Human bias can affect data analysis, resulting in inaccurate judgments or decisions. For instance, if a company just looks at data from a certain area of the world, it can draw the wrong conclusions about a bigger population.
6. Cost: The tools and technologies used in digital analytics can be pricey. Businesses may need to invest in specialist software, technology, or staff in order to use digital analytics efficiently because data collection and analysis can be expensive.