HeroConf 2019 Using Google Analytics to Supercharge Audience Performance

www.CultivativeMarketing.com @hoffman8
How to Supercharge Your Audience
Performance with Google Analytics
Amy Bishop | Digital Media Consultant

Learner Outcomes
After this session, you will be able to:
● Identify audiences that have the highest user value.
● Analyze which channels and content are most successful at converting the
most lucrative audiences – and how to improve upon that performance.
● Analyze whether remarketing is adding value, or if it’s cannibalizing existing
traffic & what you can do about it.
● Triangulate funnel performance to identify and solve for breakdowns, monitor
growth and drive more revenue.
● Determine which audiences to exclude and what to watch out for with
audiences as exclusions.

• Owner, Cultivative, LLC.
• Travel Enthusiast
• Loves cat memes. Okay, any memes.
• Loves a good joke. Okay, any jokes.
• Let’s chat: @Hoffman8
Amy Bishop, Digital Marketing Consultant

Today’s Agenda
● Knowing Your Audience & Identifying Prospecting Targets
● Understanding the Journey
● Identifying High-Intent Remarketing Audiences
● Improve Conversion Rates

www.CultivativeMarketing.com @hoffman8www.cultivativemarketing.com
Knowing Your Audience

Communication Lessons We Can Learn From John Ralphio
• Spray ‘n’ pray is not your best bet
• Simply being louder is not effective
• Simply being visible and disruptive
is not effective
• Poor communication does more
harm than good

Communication Lessons We Can Learn From John Ralphio
• Spray ‘n’ pray is not your best bet
• Simply being louder is not effective
• Simply being visible and disruptive
is not effective
• Poor communication does more
harm than good
You need to know your audience.

Personas
In an ideal world:
• Every client has personas
• The personas are detailed
• The personas are accurate
• The personas are grounded in data
• The personas are validated
Need to build personas? Check
out these free questionnaires:
B2B: http://bit.ly/2HqnSaf
B2C: http://bit.ly/2FwxmV1

That is rarely the case.

Facebook Audience Insights

Create Targeting Profiles to Support
Personas
1. Identify top purchaser
demographics & zero in
2.
Further segment by
layering interests & other
demographics
3.
Identify interests to
target.
4.
Monitor performance to
flesh out & validate
personas.

Personas
Miranda, the Young Mom
• Female, 25-30 years old
• Lives in the Midwest
• Has young kids
• Education level: High School
• Married or in a Serious Relationship
• Works in a service role (cleaning, food service)
• Stores she likes: Debshops, Shoe Carnival, Charlotte Russe. Family Dollar, Dollar Tree
• Brands she likes: Mike’s hard lemonade, Covergirl, eos,
• Brands she likes pertaining to children: Fisher Price, Disney, Garanimals, Huggies,
Gerber, Carters
• Entertainment she likes: Teen Mom, Maury
• Restaurants: Applebee’s, KFC, Pizza Hut, Olive Garden, Dairy Queen
• Primarily uses mobile, below average desktop usage
• Avg 29 ads clicked in the past 30 days

PersonasPatty, the Young Professional
• Female, 25-30 years old
• Single or in a Relationship, not Engaged or Married
• Does not have kids
• Education level: college
• Works in an office
• Stores she likes: Old Navy
• Brands she likes: Ben & Jerry’s, Dove, Sharpie
• Brands she likes pertaining to children: N/A
• Entertainment she likes: Ellen DeGeneres, Boy Meets World, Girl Meets
World, Knocked Up, 21 Jump Street
• Restaurants: Cheesecake Factory
• Avg 38 ads clicked in the last 30 days
• Heavier desktop usage than avg. FB user, but uses mobile more

Leveraging Google for Prospecting Targets

Google Ads Audience Insights

Google Ads Audience Insights
1. All customers (not just Google Ads Converters)
2. Freemium Users vs. Paying Users
3. Purchasers of Specific Products
4. Loyalists / High Value Customers

Google Analytics Demographic Insights

Similar Audiences
1.
2.
Build audiences for high-value clients: high purchase value, subscribers,
loyalists, repeat purchasers, etc.
Leverage Google’s similar audiences to prospect for
more valuable folks.

Audiences Based Upon Social Demographics
1.
2.
Build audiences off of social campaigns, making use of demographics,
company details, and interests unavailable in the search engines.
Customize ads through Google and Bing based upon
the audience.

Example Use Case
● Client sells a product B2B
● His clients sell the product B2C
● Using social, we can identify the exact
audiences
● We can build audiences off of the visitors from
those campaigns and use them in search and
remarketing

Using Custom Reports to
Identify
High-Intent Audiences

Example: In-Market + Gender
Google Analytics Custom Reports

Dimensions:
• Average Session
Duration
• Page Depth
• Sessions to
transaction
• Session Count
Analyze:
• Transactions
• Revenue
• AOV
• Revenue per User
• Conversion Rates

Defining Audiences from the Journey

Optimizing the Path to Purchase
Awareness/Research
Consideration
Preference
Purchase
Cross-Sell / Upsell

Soccer-Mom Sally’s Problem Path
START
FINISH
2019
Vehicle
Options
Safety
Ratings
Price,
Trade-in
Value &
Financing
Gas
Mileage
Seating
Options
Storage
Space
Colors &
Options
Current vehicle has maintenance issues. It doesn’t feel reliable
and she wants to trade it in.
Has 3 young teens but often carpools with more kids for sports.
Puts in a lot of mileage: safety and gas mileage are high
priorities.
Car is
becoming
less
reliable

The Path - Visualized
Beginning to
Gather
Information
Zeroing in
on a Make &
Model
2019 Vehicle Options
Seating Options
Safety Ratings
Gas Mileage
Storage Space
Pricing
Trade-in Value
Financing
Deciding
Where to
Buy

Creating Audiences to Drive the Purchase
Path
Psst: Want this worksheet?
B2B: http://bit.ly/2HqnSaf
B2C: http://bit.ly/2FwxmV1

Creating Audiences to Drive the Purchase Path
Step Persona Buyer Stage
Information
Needed
Device Usage
Action or
Resource
Tracking
1 Soccer Mom
Research: car
comparisons
Unbiased car
comparisons
Desktop
Vehicle
comparison tool
Track Usage
2 Soccer Mom
Research: car
comparisons
Unbiased car
comparisons
Mobile Video Video Views
3 Soccer Mom
Consideration:
Choosing a car
Gas mileage, Safety
ratings, Seating
info
Desktop and
Mobile
Video or Guide
Video or Guide
Views
4 Soccer Mom
Consideration:
Financing &
Expenses
Financing Options
Desktop and
Mobile
Financing
Estimator
Track Usage
5 Soccer Mom Decision
Dealership
Information
Mobile
Dealer Locator /
Appt Set
Track Usage
6 Soccer Mom Decision
Dealership
Information
Mobile Phone Call Track Usage

Choosing the Highest Value Audiences

So, we’ve built some audiences. Now we need to:
1. Determine which audiences have the
highest propensity to transact.
2. Zero in on how to best convert these
audiences.

Leverage the Audience Reports

Leveraging Google Analytics to Drive Performance

Activate the Audience Reports
• Can only enable 20 Audiences for GA Reports
• Data takes 24 Hours to Populate
• Data is not retroactive

Audience Report... Within the Audience
Report
Audience 1
Audience 2
Audience 3
Audience 4
Audience 5
Audience 6
Audience 7
Audience 8
Audience 9
Audience 10

Audience Report... Within the Audience
Report
Audience 1
Audience 2
Audience 3
Audience 4
Audience 5
Audience 6
Audience 7
Audience 8
Audience 9
Audience 10
Thanks for
that,
Google!

Which Audiences Have the Highest Propensity
to Drive More Revenue if Promoted Further?
Audience 1
Audience 2
Audience 3
Audience 4
Audience 5
Audience 6
Audience 7
Audience 8
Audience 9
Audience 10

Which Audiences Have the Highest Propensity
to Drive More Revenue if Promoted Further?
Audience 1
Audience 2
Audience 3
Audience 4
Audience 5
Audience 6
Audience 7
Audience 8
Audience 9
Audience 10
1. Which audiences are of the highest value?
2. Which audiences should we spend more
money promoting?
3. Which audiences should we spend more
money to build up?

Improving Conversion Rates

What We Want to Understand
Topics of Interest Current Funnel Stage Content Consumption

What We Want to Understand
Multi-Touch Influence
Channel Drivers
Number of Touches
Topics of Interest Current Funnel Stage Content Consumption

Lag Time

Lag Time
20%+ of transactions require multiple days

Analyzing Path Length
45%+ of transactions require multiple sessions

Lag Time – By Source
Digging in Deeper

Lag Time – By Source
~40% of transactions require multiple days when Facebook is the
first interaction.

Leveraging Audiences in Custom Views
Once Enabled, Audiences are
Accessible for:
1. Custom Views
2. Segment Dimensions
3. Custom Reports
4. Custom Funnels (Analytics 360)

Understand Which Channels Do Best at Converting
Different Audiences

View How Repeat Visitors from Prospecting Campaigns
Engage with Content

Identify High-Value Content
Which pages drive the most value?
Use this to inform landing page strategy &
as a source for audiences!

Improve Conversion: Which Content Pieces
Convert Best for Each Audience?
Once Enabled, Audiences are
Accessible for:
1. Custom Views
2. Segment Dimensions
3. Custom Reports
4. Custom Funnels (Analytics 360)

Site Search – What’s Missing?
59

Find Ways to Replicate Top-Performing
Audiences
Revisit the demographics we used for prospecting…

Analyze the Composition of Your Audience

Compare Audience Composition

Compare Audience Composition
Takeaways
• Know how to
target buyers
• Know what
products are likely
to sell best into
each market

Relevance and Timeliness

“One person’s annoying is
another person’s inspiring and
heroic”
LESLIE KNOPE

Things no one
has ever said,
or will ever
say, about
remarketing
“One person’s annoying is
another person’s inspiring and
heroic”
LESLIE KNOPE

Audiences around Recency

Recency-Based Audiences
Cookie lengths will
vary by business.
Recency alone is
helpful for re-
engaging TOF.
Recency can be
paired with micro—
conversions further
in the funnel

Sessions Between Micro-Conversions
Micro Conv 2Micro Conv 2

Sessions Between Micro-Conversions
Micro Conv 2Micro Conv 2
Some of the timing/recency
reports between funnel steps will
be testing and learning.

Coordinating Cross-Channel &
Reporting Results

Audience Targeted Buyer Stage
Information They
Need
Action or Resource Tracking
Lookalikes & 3rd Party
Audiences
Research: car comparisons Car Comparisons Vehicle comparison tool Track Usage
Comparison Tool Users Research: car comparisons Car Comparisons Video Video Views
Video Viewers
Consideration: Choosing a
car
Gas mileage, Safety ratings,
Seating info
Video or Guide
Video or Guide
Views
Video Viewers
Consideration: Financing &
Expenses
Financing Options Financing Estimator Track Usage
Financing Estimators Preference Dealership Information
Dealer Locator / Appt
Set
Track Usage
Dealer Locators /
Appointment Setters
Preference
Reviews, Price
Comparisons
Vehicle Ratings &
Supporting Content
Track Visits
Dealer Locators /
Appointment Setters /
Vehicle Ratings Viewers
Purchase Contact Information Phone Call / Directions Track Calls / Locates

Audience
Targeted
Buyer Stage
Information They
Need
Action or
Resource
Tracking
Audiences
Research: car
comparisons
Car Comparisons
Vehicle comparison
tool
Track Usage
Comparison Tool
Users
Research: car
comparisons
Car Comparisons Video Video Views
Video Viewers
Consideration:
Choosing a car
Gas mileage, Safety
ratings, Seating info
Video or Guide
Video or Guide
Views
Video Viewers
Consideration:
Financing & Expenses
Set
Track Usage
Dealer Locators /
Appointment Setters
Preference
Reviews, Price
Comparisons
Vehicle Ratings &
Supporting Content
Track Visits
Dealer Locators /
Vehicle Ratings
Viewers
Purchase Contact Information
Phone Call /
Directions
Track Calls /
Locates
AnyChannelor
Campaign

Audience Performance
by Channel
Dig into which channels
are best at propelling each
audience.

Audience Shaping
Audience
Targeted
Buyer Stage
Information They
Need
Action or
Resource
Tracking
Audiences
Research: car
comparisons
Car Comparisons
Vehicle comparison
tool
Track Usage
Comparison Tool
Users
Research: car
comparisons
Car Comparisons Video Video Views
Video Viewers
Consideration:
Choosing a car
Gas mileage, Safety
ratings, Seating info
Video or Guide
Video or Guide
Views
Video Viewers
Consideration:
Financing & Expenses
Set
Track Usage
Dealer Locators /
Appointment Setters
Preference
Reviews, Price
Comparisons
Vehicle Ratings &
Supporting Content
Track Visits
Dealer Locators /
Vehicle Ratings
Viewers
Purchase Contact Information
Phone Call /
Directions
Track Calls /
Locates
Target
Exclude

Measuring Each Campaign
Multi-channel
Attribution &
Lifetime Value
3
Contribution to
subsequent stage
2
Micro Conversion
Goal Volume
1

Measuring Each Campaign
Multi-channel
Attribution &
Lifetime Value
3
Contribution to
subsequent stage
2
Micro Conversion
Goal Volume
1
Triangulate where issues lie.
Low micro-conversion goal? Could be the
goal, or the campaign.
High micro conversion, low funnel
progression? Could be a flaw with the next
stage or lead quality issue.

Are Your TOF Efforts Paying Off?
Audience 1
Audience 2
Audience 3
Audience 4
Audience 5
Audience 6
Audience 7
Audience 8
Audience 9
Audience 10

Set Up Custom Channel Groupings
Review How Traffic Flows Across Campaign Types and Channels
As you begin to intentionally influence & sculpt these exchanges, it is really valuable to dig in on a more granular level than the default
channel groupings.

Reporting on Audience Performance

When Layering in ANY Remarketing, Watch for
Incremental Value

Custom Reports to Analyze Audience
Performance
Typically, you would have several choices for dimensions and secondary dimensions in a custom report.
You can use audiences, but it seriously limits the secondary dimensions you can use.

Custom Reports to Analyze Audience
Performance
Typically, you would have several choices for dimensions and secondary dimensions in a custom report.
You can use audiences, but it seriously limits the secondary dimensions you can use.
Typical
Options
Options
with
Audiences

Pro Tip: Instead, Build the Report You Want and
Use Audience as a View Segment

Custom
Dashboards
by Audience

Common Remarketing Pitfalls to Avoid

Common Remarketing Mistakes
Don’t Do
Target only “All Visitors”
Create multiple lists based upon different engagement metrics and audiences to see
what performs best
Just target the audiences that some blog
somewhere claimed were most valuable.
Analyze your performance data to determine which audiences have the greatest
potential.
Blanket exclude audiences based upon
time-on-site
Remember that bounces are counted as 0s on site, so single-page landers may have a
lot of visitors with 0s session duration. Considering using scroll data or other indicators
in these cases.
Forget to connect the dots between
campaigns
Use micro-conversions and audiences to ensure you aren’t accidentally sending people
backward in the path to purchase.
Fragmenting audiences too far if there
isn’t a big enough cookie pool.
Determine the right amount of audiences based upon your traffic volume.
Treat all audiences the same
Remember where they are in the funnel and help them find the content that they need.
Also consider the difference in net new vs. repeat purchasers.
Unintentionally cannibalize other
campaigns
Monitor the impact of remarketing campaigns on other campaigns.

Steal These Ideas
● Build Custom Reports to Identify High Intent Audiences
● Set up the Audience Report and use audiences as custom views and
secondary dimensions to:
● Identify highest value audiences
● Review behavior and identify opportunities to improve conversion rates
● Analyze audience composition to identify better prospecting audiences
● Triangulate cross-channel performance to identify strengths and weaknesses

Amy Bishop
amy@cultivativemarketing.com
www.CultivativeMarketing.com
www.linkedin.com/amybishopmarketing
Keep in Touch!

HeroConf 2019 Using Google Analytics to Supercharge Audience Performance

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HeroConf 2019 Using Google Analytics to Supercharge Audience Performance