How to Use Website Analytics to Grow Your Small Business
Most small business owners treat their website analytics like their junk drawer. They know it exists, they occasionally peek at it, but they have no idea what half of it means or what they’re supposed to do with the information.
Your website analytics aren’t just random numbers. They’re telling you exactly what’s working in your business and what’s not. The problem is that nobody teaches you how to read them.
What's in this post: Hide
What Your Analytics Are Telling You
Your website is collecting data about every single person who visits. Where they came from, what pages they looked at, how long they stayed, and whether they did what you wanted them to do (like fill out a contact form or buy something).
That’s valuable information. It tells you:
What’s bringing people to your website If most of your traffic comes from Instagram but you’re spending all your time on Facebook, that’s useful to know. If nobody is finding you through Google search, that’s a sign your SEO needs work.
Which pages people care about You might think your services page is your most important page, but if everyone’s spending time on your blog posts instead, you’re learning what resonates with your audience.
Where people are leaving If everyone clicks on your “Work With Me” page and then immediately bounces, something’s not working. Maybe your pricing is unclear, maybe the page takes forever to load, or maybe it just doesn’t answer their questions.
Whether your website is doing its job Your website should be answering customer questions and generating leads while you’re doing your real work. If people are still emailing you asking questions that are clearly answered on your FAQ page, your website isn’t working as hard as it should.
Why Squarespace Analytics Doesn’t Require a PhD
If you’ve ever opened Google Analytics and immediately wanted to cry, you’re not alone. It’s incredibly powerful, but it’s also overwhelming if you’re not a data person.
This is why I love Squarespace’s built-in analytics.
Squarespace shows you the information you need without drowning you in options. You can see:
How many people visited your site
Where they came from (social media, Google search, direct traffic)
Which pages they looked at
How long they stayed
What devices they used (mobile vs desktop)
All of this is presented in simple graphs and charts that make sense. You don’t need to configure anything or learn a new system. You just log into your Squarespace dashboard and click on Analytics.
Want to know if that Instagram post drove traffic to your website? Check your traffic sources. Curious if anyone’s reading your blog? Look at your top pages. Wondering if your new service page is getting attention? The data’s right there.
Google Analytics vs Squarespace: Why I Set Up Both
Squarespace analytics is great for the basics, but it has limitations.
Squarespace only keeps your data for two years. Google Analytics keeps it forever. Squarespace gives you a solid overview. Google Analytics lets you dig into the weeds if you want to track very specific user behavior.
I always set up both for my clients because:
Squarespace is for regular check-ins You can pop in, see your numbers, spot any obvious trends, and get on with your day. It’s your quick health check.
Google Analytics is for deeper questions When you want to understand exactly how people move through your site, which blog posts lead to contact form submissions, or how your traffic has changed over the past three years, Google Analytics has that information.
Squarespace analytics is your regular doctor’s appointment. Google Analytics is the specialist you see when you need to investigate something specific.
You don’t have to become an analytics expert. But having both set up means you have options. You can stick with the simple view most of the time and dig deeper when you need to.
What to Look At (Without Losing Your Mind)
You don’t need to analyze every metric. Start with these:
Total sessions tells you how many visits your website got. Is this number growing over time? If not, you might need to work on your marketing or SEO.
Traffic sources shows where people found you. Are you getting the results you expected from your marketing efforts? If you’re posting on social media every day but social traffic is basically zero, something’s not working.
Top pages reveals what content resonates with people. These are your winners. Make more content like this.
Bounce rate (the percentage of people who land on a page and immediately leave) tells you if your pages are meeting expectations. A high bounce rate isn’t always bad, but it can signal a problem if it’s happening on important pages.
Mobile vs desktop traffic matters because if most of your visitors are on phones but your site looks terrible on mobile, you’re losing business.
Pick one day a month (or week, if you’re ambitious) to check these numbers. Screenshot them or write them down so you can compare month to month.
Turning Data Into Business Decisions
Numbers are useless unless you do something with them.
If your blog posts about a specific topic are getting tons of traffic, that’s your audience telling you what they care about. Write more about that topic. Create a service around it. Feature it more prominently on your homepage.
If your contact form page has a high bounce rate, something’s broken. Maybe the form is too long. Maybe you’re not explaining what happens after someone submits it. Maybe the page is confusing. Fix it.
If most of your traffic comes from one source, don’t put all your eggs in that basket. What happens if Instagram changes its algorithm tomorrow? Diversify.
If nobody’s visiting your services page, either people can’t find it or they’re not interested. Check your navigation. Make sure you’re linking to it from your homepage. Talk about your services in your blog posts.
Your analytics show you where to spend your energy. Stop guessing what your audience wants and look at what they’re doing.
The Bottom Line
Your website analytics aren’t about vanity metrics or comparing yourself to other businesses. They’re about understanding whether your website is working for you.
A well-functioning website should handle the basics. Answer common questions. Explain what you do and how people can work with you. Generate leads while you’re sleeping.
If your website isn’t doing that, your analytics will tell you why. You just have to look.
Not sure what you’re seeing in your analytics or what to do about it? That’s exactly what we help with. We can do a quick audit of your website data and tell you what’s worth paying attention to.
Want someone to look at your analytics and tell you what matters? Send us a message and we’ll figure it out together.
