One common reason why web marketers are not getting good results from their search engine optimisation campaign is that they fail to provide a good experience for users. To accomplish the latter, one should be collecting and analyzing user data.

User data is perhaps the most precious commodity for businesses marketing on the web. It is the reason why web marketing services go to length for gathering consumer data that will allow them to connect and engage customers in useful and meaningful ways.

How to use user data to create a good user experience and grow your business

There is no one way to create the best possible user experience for customers as the process will vary from one business to another. That said, companies can figure out exactly what they need to do by leveraging user data. Running a successful business online relies heavily on one’s ability to innovate and adapt. Obtaining a good understanding of your consumer base is the first and all-important step towards keeping your business profitable and relevant.

Yes, your business should be collecting user data but what you do with the information is what matters. Companies need to capitalise on data collation and analysis tools to manage and organise any data collected. Such data will help you figure out things that your business would otherwise be clueless about — how much time people spend on your website, the most popular web pages on your site, at which point do users often abandon their shopping cart or clicks, move away from your site and the like.

Indeed it is essential to leverage user data if one is to build a better user experience for customers and you can do just that in many ways:

Use user data to create customer profiles

One of the best things that you can do to create a better experience for your website users is to take a good look at your customer profiles. Any respectable business intent on catering to the needs of consumers will have consumer profiles. You can think of them as personifications that represent the type of people who will likely be attracted to the products or services that you offer.

Online marketing agencies use customer profile to come up with strategies on how to reach out to potential consumers. The data can also be used to build accurate profiles based on emerging trends and customer behavior.

You can then categorise users into more specific groups by considering the following questions:

How do particular groups of users perceive the product or services that you offer?

The opportunity to assess how various kinds of customers interact with your website and which products or services they purchase can give you a good idea of how to best reach out to more people with a similar disposition. While you cannot expect your business to be of interest to all potential customers, it is possible to create much interest by fine-tuning methods to wrest the attention of your most profitable leads.

What do people find most valuable about your product or service?

Product reviews and other feedback from your clients are essential. Customers generally don’t pull any punches when it comes to stating their opinion about the offerings of a particular brand. Surges in social media activity following the launch of a new product or services will tell you where people are talking about your brand, what they think of your product or service and what requires improvement.

How do your product or services resolve your client’s problems?

Today’s market requires a laser-like focus when it comes to responding to customer’s problem. Customers want very particular and reliable solutions to their issues or concerns. User data reveals precisely what people think is most valuable about your brand and how they believe it fits into their lives.

Where do you need to improve?

Is a specific section of your site seeing hardly any traffic, or has a current post generated much more negative feedback than usual? User traffic is going to show you exactly what is drawing the attention of users, and what creates reactions. Of course, you want to produce favourable, and for your products to be well-received, however, when you don’t do so, your data can tell you why so you do not risk making the same mistakes again.

When it comes to producing more robust client profiles and user groups, you can also presume as to ask your users the same questions mentioned above. You can even seize the day to ask relevant questions about your user experience and cut back on profits to generation promotions. For example, you can give users a voucher or discount coupons for their next purchase in exchange for participating in a brief survey that delves into their recent experience of using your website. You can also do similar studies on social media which is a good way of generating engagement and acquiring a large volume of user data.

Keep in mind that research on user data is an excellent way of gauging which part of your web marketing strategy requires the most work. As soon as you have identified key areas of improvement, you can them implement changes that will result in better user experience.

Pairing design with user data

Your web designers and data experts might be playing for the same team, but they can take an entirely different approach and perspective when it comes to designing and developing a website. The design is, of course, weighted on visual appeal while data is more of a science that depends on quantitative analysis and engineering.

The problem is that extensive quantitative information is something that most people do not find visually appealing. In the past, websites were usually of the static variety and do not offer much regarding user interaction. Fortunately, that is no longer the case today, and people now have more control over their online experience. Creating a good user experience will go a long way towards making users perceive your brand as one which is useful and appealing.

As soon as you find the patterns and elements of your data that impacts ser experience, you can produce a more user-focused and data-driven website that is going to create a lot more meaningful interactions with users. The latter is a continuous process, and as your business and client base grows, you can expect to deal with many changes all of which can become a lot more manageable with access to valuable user data.