Big Data has become one of the biggest buzz phrases in digital marketing in recent years. However, the number crunching required to extrapolate and analyse big data is often perceived as being beyond the reach of small businesses. Many large corporations now have entire teams dedicated to understanding and using big data to help advance their business. This field is developing rapidly and already universities are churning out data scientists who are finding that their skills are in high demand.
But, don’t let this put you off – any business can benefit from some number crunching. Today, we’ll explain why big data is for small business, and provide some tips on how to make use of the big data revolution to improve your SEO and marketing campaigns.
Small Business Is Better At Big Data
Small businesses actually have an advantage over large corporations – agility. Whereas a large company may be forced to wait as much as a year after identifying a new market trend through data analysis before they can take action, smaller companies can change tactics rapidly, practically overnight. Big data is very beneficial to small businesses, and many entrepreneurs make good use of it to steer their business plan.
Big Data On A Small Budget
Fortunately, you do not need a team of data scientists to make use of big data. Any business with a website has access to big data. A combination of using Google Analytics on your own website, and using web analytics tools such as SEMRush to analyse competitors’ websites, means that you can gather huge amounts of data and analyse it on a small budget.
If you do have the budget for a more powerful solution, bespoke applications built on platforms such as Microsoft Azure or Amazon AWS provide an affordable solution for small businesses with a larger budget.
Access To Data
Many small businesses believe that they won’t have access to big data. But as mentioned already, you have access to some big data through web analytics tools, along with third-party data that can be obtained easily online.
Simple Solutions For Small Businesses
Small businesses must focus on making the data they already have work harder. Few people realise how much information is gathered within Google Analytics. Although some data scientists may feel that Google Analytics is not strictly a “big data” platform, for the purposes of small businesses, it provides more than enough market information. Here are some reports that you can run in Google Analytics.
Customer Acquisition Report
The Customer Acquisition report shows you how customers are discovering your website and which channels are delivering the most revenue. Once you have been gathering data for a while, you will then be able to determine which channels provide the best ROI. Use this information to focus your marketing.
Organic Traffic Landing Page
If you have a medium-large website, this report will allow you to see which pages are performing best for organic traffic (Google searches). As well as seeing which pages are most popular, you can also see which pages are the most profitable. This report will highlight products that are low on traffic but generate a good income – optimisation will result in increased sales.
Time of Day / Day of Week Transaction Report
Google Analytics will tell you what time of the day, and which day of the week, most of your transactions take place. This information can be used for SEM by increasing the budget of display adverts at this time – target your market at the time when they are most likely to order.
These are just a few examples of what you can achieve. With the help of big data, you can further enhance your marketing campaign and have a competitive advantage over rival businesses.
Speak to our Google Analytics consultant today to learn how FSE Digital can help you to develop a data driven marketing campaign.
