What Type of Websites Use Google Analytics?

Almost every kind of website benefits from Google Analytics, but what they measure and why can be wildly different. While a shoe store obsessively tracks every step of the checkout process, a blogger is more interested in which articles keep readers hooked the longest. This guide breaks down exactly how different types of websites use Google Analytics to learn about their audience and grow their business.

So, what's the short answer?

Just about every website imaginable uses Google Analytics. From massive ecommerce empires and global news outlets to the portfolio site of a freelance designer, GA has become the default tool for understanding website traffic. The real question isn't if a site uses Google Analytics, but how they use it to achieve their specific goals.

Its universal adoption comes down to a few factors:

• It's free: For the vast majority of businesses, the standard version of Google Analytics provides more than enough data without costing a dime.
• It's powerful: It tracks an incredible amount of information, from where your visitors are located to what device they're using and how they found your site.
• It's an industry standard: Most marketers, agencies, and web developers know how to use it, making collaboration and reporting seamless.

Now, let's look at how specific website types leverage this powerful tool to make smarter decisions.

1. Ecommerce Websites

For an online store, Google Analytics isn't just a diagnostics tool - it's the cash register, an in-store camera, and a customer feedback form all rolled into one. The primary goal is simple: drive sales. Anything that doesn't contribute to that goal is a distraction. They turn on Enhanced Ecommerce tracking and focus on metrics directly tied to revenue.

What they track and why:

• Conversion Rate: This is the holy grail metric for ecommerce. It's the percentage of visitors who make a purchase. They obsessively analyze this, slicing it by traffic source (do Facebook visitors buy more than Google Search visitors?), by device (is the mobile checkout process broken?), and by landing page (which product pages turn browsers into buyers?).
• Transaction and Revenue Data: How many orders came through yesterday? What was the total revenue? What was the average order value? These numbers are the heartbeat of the business, checked daily to monitor performance and spot trends. An unexpected dip in revenue is an immediate red flag.
• Shopping Behavior Analysis: GA lets store owners see the entire customer journey. How many people added a product to their cart? How many started the checkout process? And most importantly, where did they drop off? A high drop-off rate between adding to cart and starting checkout might point to unexpected shipping costs or a required account creation that's scaring people away.
• Product Performance: Which products are the bestsellers? Which ones are viewed a lot but rarely purchased? This data informs inventory decisions (stock up on what sells), merchandising strategies (feature popular items on the homepage), and marketing efforts (create ads for underperforming but high-margin products).

An ecommerce manager will use GA to answer questions like: "Which ad campaign is bringing in the most profitable customers?" or "Why did we see a 30% drop in mobile cart completions last week?"

2. SaaS & Lead Generation Websites

For Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) companies and other lead-gen businesses (like financial advisors, insurance agencies, or B2B consultants), the website's job is to turn anonymous visitors into known leads. A "conversion" here isn't a sale, but an action that moves someone into the sales funnel - like booking a demo, signing up for a free trial, or downloading an ebook.

What they track and why:

• Goal Completions: They set up specific "Goals" in Google Analytics to track key actions. Every time a user fills out a "Request a Demo" form, a Goal is triggered. This lets them measure the effectiveness of their marketing efforts. For example, they can see which blog post drives the most newsletter sign-ups or which paid ad campaign results in the highest number of free trial creations.
• Conversion Funnels: Similar to ecommerce, they build funnels to see where users drop off. If they have a multi-step sign-up process, they want to know exactly which step is causing friction. Do users see the pricing page but then fail to click "Start Free Trial"? That might indicate pricing is confusing or misaligned with visitor expectations.
• Content Engagement: For B2B lead generation, education is a huge part of the sales process. They use GA to see which case studies, whitepapers, and guides are being read the most. Tracking metrics like scroll depth and time on page for these key pages tells them if their content is engaging potential leads or falling flat.
• Traffic Source Quality: It's not just about getting traffic, it's about getting the right traffic. A SaaS company will look at the conversion rate by channel. If they get 10,000 visitors from Organic Search and 100 of them sign up (a 1% conversion rate), but only get 1,000 visitors from LinkedIn ads where 50 sign up (a 5% conversion rate), they'll know LinkedIn ads are bringing in a much more qualified audience and can adjust their budget accordingly.

3. Content & Media Websites (Blogs, News Sites)

If you're a publisher, your website's success is defined by how engaged your audience is. Eyeballs are the currency, as they directly translate into advertising revenue and subscriber growth. Your goals are to attract readers, keep them on the site for as long as possible, and get them to come back for more.

What they track and why:

• Users and Sessions: These are the foundational metrics. How many unique people visited the site? How many times did they visit? Bloggers and news editors monitor these numbers closely to gauge overall audience growth.
• Pages / Session & Average Session Duration: These metrics measure "stickiness." Is a visitor reading just one article and leaving, or are they clicking through to read two or three related posts? A high pages-per-session rate means the content is compelling and the internal linking strategy is working. A long session duration suggests the content is high-quality and holding people's attention.
• Traffic Acquisition Channels: Where are readers coming from? A large portion of traffic typically comes from SEO (Organic Search), social media (Social), and direct links (Direct). Media sites analyze these channels to understand what's working. A sudden spike from Twitter means a story went viral, while steady growth from search means their SEO strategy is paying off.
• Top Performing Content: By looking at the Behavior > Site Content report, editors can quickly see which articles are getting the most pageviews. This information is pure gold. It helps them understand their audience's interests, generate ideas for follow-up content, and strategically promote their most popular articles to new visitors.

For a content site, GA helps answer questions like: "Are our readers from Facebook more engaged than our readers from search engines?" or "What topics should we write about next month to keep our audience growing?"

4. Small Business & Service-Based Websites

Think about your local plumber, dentist, or financial consultant. Their website likely isn't closing a sale online. Its primary job is to generate leads by convincing local visitors that they are the right choice and making it easy for them to get in touch. The focus is on offline conversions and building trust.

What they track and why:

• Contact Form Submissions: This is the most common and critical conversion point. Using Goal tracking, they can see exactly how many people filled a "get a quote" form and which page they were on before they did it.
• Phone Call Clicks: On mobile, many visitors will prefer to call directly. By setting up event tracking on clickable phone numbers (using a tel: link), a small business owner can see how many potential customers initiated a call directly from their website.
• Location and Geographic Data: The Audience > Geo > Location report is incredibly important. If a plumber in Brooklyn sees they're getting a lot of traffic from Queens but very few calls, they might need to update their website's copy to clarify their service area or run targeted ads in that borough.
• Referral Traffic: Local businesses often rely on directories like Yelp, Google Maps/Google Business Profile, and industry-specific listings. The Acquisition > All Traffic > Referrals report will show them which of these directories are sending them valuable, ready-to-convert traffic, helping them decide where to focus their marketing efforts.

5. Portfolio & Personal Websites

Don't small sites get lost in the noise? Not at all. For freelancers, creators, artists, and job seekers, a personal site is a dynamic resume. Google Analytics provides valuable feedback on how their personal brand is being received and who is paying attention.

What they track and why:

• Traffic sources: A freelance writer can see if a guest post they wrote for a popular blog is driving traffic back to their portfolio. A job seeker can see if someone from the HR department of a company they applied to is looking at their "About Me" page.
• Popular Content: Which case studies or portfolio pieces get the most views? This feedback can help a designer understand which type of work resonates most, influencing which projects they feature more prominently.
• User Flow: They can use the Behavior Flow report to see the path visitors take. It might reveal that many visitors go from the homepage to a specific portfolio piece and then to the contact page - a buying signal that can be optimized.

Using GA transforms a portfolio from a static digital billboard into a living tool for career growth, providing concrete data on what resonates with potential employers and clients.

Final Thoughts

In the end, nearly every website can and should use Google Analytics. The trick isn't in the collection of data, but in the focus of your analysis. By setting up goals that align with your specific objectives - whether it's selling a product, capturing a lead, or keeping a reader engaged - you can filter out the noise and find actionable insights that help you grow.

Of course, getting your data into Google Analytics is just the beginning. The real bottleneck is often translating all those charts and numbers into clear answers. That's why we built Graphed. We wanted to make it incredibly simple to connect not just Google Analytics, but all your other data sources like Shopify, Salesforce, and Facebook Ads. Instead of learning a complex dashboard tool, you can just ask questions in plain English - like "Show me which traffic sources from GA led to the most sales in Shopify last month" - and instantly get a live, shareable dashboard that answers your question in seconds.