3 months ago I wrote a blog on installing analytics on your blog, you can find it here.  I was amazed at the response I received from this blog, and today I want to dig a little deeper.  I want to help you read the story your analytics is telling you, and if you listen closely, that story can improve your on-line presence. 

What's my story?

Your story will be different from my story, but if you listen to my story, maybe you can develop your own story. Here's how it goes:

I installed my analytics program 4 months ago today.  Since then, my blog traffic has been increasing steadily, and I have been showing up in more Google searches.

 I am no expert in Analytics, but I have my own way of reading my data. Once I started looking at the people coming to my blog from search engines, I was able to create a game plan to make them more satisfied with the results they were getting. 

For Example: I use blogging for my real estate business. I want to show up when people search for my town real estate, homes for sale, property, listings, mls, and so on. So, in my blogs, I would add my keywords when I felt it was natural, and I hoped I would show up in the Google results for those keywords.  I had a list of keywords I had defined, and used them when I could.

The keywords I was using were highly competitive keywords.  I wasn't ranking high for those keywords, and I was getting frustrated.  I was putting a lot of effort into my blogging, and I wasn't seeing the desired results.  That is, until I decided to study my analytics.  

My analytics were trying to tell me a story, and I finally started listening.  My data was telling me, I don't need to rank #1 for the most competitive keywords. All I needed to do was come up with a long tail strategy. That is, go after the odd keywords, or the keywords that I wouldn't have known existed unless I looked at my analytics data. 

Turns out, the longtail  keywords I would show up for, would bring me a cash buyer for agricultural land in Cache Valley Utah.  The reason I got this buyer was because of my analytics data. I hadn't planned on using this keyword in my SEO gameplan, but because I showed up in Google for the keyword, I decided I should blog some more on that particular niche.

I wrote a detailed blog on some agriculture here in my little town. This buyer searched a long tail key phrase, came across my blog, went to my website, and sent me an email. Which said this:

I need some land, 40-80 acres of agricultural land with water shares. I want to farm, and I want to farm now. I responded, sent him a list of properties, and looks like we may be getting to the closing table here soon.  

My analytics was telling me a story. It was telling me what keywords I could turn up #1 for, and what keywords would bring me highly targeted searchers.  My farmer knew exactly what he wanted, searched a very specific keyword phrase, and found me.  

If you look at your analytics data, and you find people are coming to your blog with completely different keywords then what you expected. Maybe you should re-think your SEO gameplan. Maybe you should take your data, and feed it with lucious content.  Something that will fulfill the want of the next searcher of that key phrase, and will leave them feeling satisfied. Because if you satisfy their needs, you have a pretty good chance of getting your needs satisfied. 

So, the next time you're having a hard time coming up with something to write on your blog. Listen to your analytics story, and write what you hear. It worked for me!

P.S. I added a key phrase in this blog, that may just help me get another agricultural buyer. Can you find it? :)