Data Tracking: What Is It and What Are the Best Tools

If information is surfaced and organized, then analyzed and utilized effectively, it can please more customers and increase your business’s bottom line. First, you have to get all of the relevant information.

A popular method of collecting information about the metrics you are most interested in, such as the conversion rate, churn engagement rate, activation rate, and average revenue per customer, is via data tracking.

Data Tracking

To gather meaningful information about your target market and customers and their behaviour, You must track the key metrics for your business. It can be done both precisely and safely.

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In this post, we’ll talk about what data tracking is, why it’s important, how it operates, and which tools will assist you in tracking and analyzing the metrics you’re interested in.

What exactly is data tracking?

Data tracking involves deciding on certain events and metrics to monitor, gather, organize, and analyze data. After you’ve analyzed the data, you can use the insights to improve your company’s performance, customer experience, and much more.

What is the significance of data tracking?

Data tracking is a great tool for businesses that want to know the user’s behaviour better. It offers businesses insights into how customers interact with their websites and landing pages, blogs, articles, and much more so that they can provide precise, personal, and memorable experiences for their customers.

How do you track data?

Data tracking and collection are usually done with cookies or Javascript libraries. It is how a company can collect information about user behaviour on different pages on your website (e.g., web page, landing page, blog article, product page, checkout page, etc.) and customer and user accounts.

Many tools on the market use cookies and Javascript to keep track of the data.

For example, Google uses Javascript to determine how visitors interact with your site, HubSpot makes use of cookies to track website traffic (on your blog pages, landing pages, and websites) and track visits, and Segment makes use of cookies as well as Javascript to study website traffic, provide targeted ads and enhance the user experience.

How to Choose the Metrics You’ll Track

The most important thing to do when tracking data is deciding on the appropriate metrics (a.k.a. what you’re going measure).

• Ask yourself questions regarding what you’d like to know. For instance, “Which version of my product page converts users most?”

   

• Turn your query into a metric. In the example of the previous step, your metric might be a page’s conversion rate based on the number of page views.

   

• Focus on your chosen metric and further highlight what the “events” within that metric are. In the above example, the event could be: 1.) when a person can land on a page for a product, 2.) when a customer clicks on the CTA on a page for a product, 3) when a user fills out an online form or makes an inquiry to speak to the rep on a specific page for a product, and 4) when a customer becomes a paid customer via a product page.

   

• The chosen metrics and events can help prove that the strategy works or doesn’t work for your customers. That is, you can utilize the results to demonstrate the impact of your strategy on the company’s revenue and profits.

Data Tracking Compliance

Once you’ve understood the basics of data tracking, you may wonder whether you are aware of General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), privacy policies and the laws in place to safeguard visitors, contacts, and clients.

How to abide by Data Tracking Laws and Policies

Today’s Businesses should share information with their customers and potential clients regarding how they comply with these laws.

For example, Here’s Segment’s data collection website conformity explanation:

On the website page, Segment lays out how they collect and utilize information and contact information that are tracked using cookies and Javascript libraries available on their site.

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If you’re concerned about the possible risks of being unable to cover all your needs in compliance, the good news is that various software tools to track data help in this endeavour.

Note: There’s no universal solution for legal compliance. It is why as well as using a tool to track data, it is highly recommended you talk to your legal department for advice on compliance. They can assist you in implementing the appropriate features of your tool for tracking data and establishing what compliance for your business looks like.

For example, HubSpot has a website that thoroughly explains how GDPR functions and how each HubSpot customer can rest assured that their site complies.

Here is an example of the ways HubSpot can help you ensure that your data tracking and the application are compliant:

Cookies

GDPR requires that you inform your visitors on your website that you’re using cookies in a language they can comprehend. Then, they must give their agreement to the tracking.

HubSpot lets you capture the entire visitors’ cookie tracking consent. You can distribute various banner versions to signify consent on your websites.

Lawful Basis

GDPR demands that you have an authorized reason to make use of the data of another. We classify lawful reasons for using someone’s data based on the intention to use it to 1) process it or 2) communicate.

We offer a default contact property that can keep a legal basis for processing and keep track of opt-ins and opt-outs to preserve a lawful basis for communicating.

Deletion

Under GDRP, Your contacts can request an exact copy of all your personal information concerning them. They may also request to change the information or completely erase it.

We will facilitate this by providing a “GDPR delete” function, which permanently removes a person’s contact information for you.

Data Tracking Software

Did you consider that Operations teams spend most of their time putting out information and fires in processes, and only 20% are involved in driving business strategy and enhancing the quality of the customer’s experience?

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With the proper tools, it hasn’t always been like this. Your team can be secure that their data is being monitored effectively, automatically, precisely, and safely.

HubSpot Operations Hub

The best data tracking tool using a complete operation platform and CRM that integrates all data about customers throughout your company.

Price: $0/month (Free), $45/month (Starter), $720/month (Professional)

Based on HubSpot’s Chief Marketing Manager Ari Plaut, “Operation Hub’s key differentiator is that HubSpot is also a CRM.” Today, numerous tools for tracking data let users analyze and track data. However, they don’t allow you to use the data.

For instance, you can track your clients using almost any available tool for tracking data to help determine the activation rate.

But, if you wish to mail an email to customers who aren’t activated to tell them how to start, you won’t be capable of doing this with the majority of tools for data tracking. However, With Operations Hub, you are.

Operations Hub enhances the capabilities of HubSpot by making it easier for customers to join, clean and manage customer data across all business units.

Unique features:

• Data sync without the need for code (e.g., bidirectional sync custom field mappings, bidirectional sync, filtering historical sync).
• Automate data cleaning and execute actions based on code using Advanced Workflow Automation.
• Create fully-integrated custom applications using Custom Objects.
• Set up the HubSpot tracking code to monitor visitors to your blogs, landing pages, and websites.
• Manage and track your data following local laws with an eye on local regulations (e.g., deletion of GDPR Cookies, consent, and lawful basis processing).
• Secure your data using SSL, SSO, two-factor authentication, and more.

Google Analytics

The best tool for data tracking to assist in monitoring website engagement and audience behaviour along with digital campaigns at no cost.

Cost: Free (for less than 10 million or less than a month’s worth of hits).

When you add your Google Analytics JavaScript tracking code to your website pages, you’ll gain the information needed to improve the customer experience and determine the appropriate channels, messages, and content to reach the people you want to reach on your app and website.

There are numerous custom-built metrics that you can track using Google Analytics, such as sessions, engagement, exit and entry pages, events, retention, conversions, and many more.

For specific reporting and tracking, keep track of custom events, attributions, user paths, and user activity in real-time on a single dashboard.

Unique features:

• Get user session and ad campaign information from pages by enabling and reading first-party cookies from your browsers for users.
• Learn about understanding DoubleClick cookies to gather data regarding the display options.
• Utilize Google’s Events to collect information (such as downloads and link submissions, clicks, etc.) regarding interactions with your content.
• Utilize the Google Event Goals to define a particular event as an event that converts.
• Please choose how you’d like to set up the Google Analytics tracker code to ensure it’s customized to your particular website.
• Create Custom reports or dashboards that keep track of your Events.
• Get user-specific data when you’re on your site, like the language they speak, their location, and activities.

Segment

It is the best tool to track data for implementing an effective CDP to track, collect, align, and transfer your customer’s information into any system.

Price: Free, $120+/month (Team), request a custom demo (Business)

The Segment is a management, data collection, and analytics platform. It is a platform that powers and integrates with various tools for tracking data in and out of Segment to ensure your teams stay in sync.

Additionally, the GDPR and CCPA, along with other privacy regulations, can ensure that you comply with data protection laws.

Segment utilizes its API to collect data from any aspect of your solution (e.g., mobile web, mobile server) using open-source libraries compatible with all platforms.

Unique features:

• Integrate your data into more than 300 applications in just a few minutes.
• Utilize the event tracking API to track user activity and the actions users perform across any device.
• Data queries can be made in SQL and gain access to data at any moment through Segment’s APIs.
• Save all the analytics information in a warehouse of your choice (e.g., Google BigQuery, Snowflake, etc. ).
• Back up your data automatically and download your data at any time you want to.
• Log in to your user profiles in real-time.
• Utilize this API Segment Profile API to look over the account and user-level customer information.

Emarsys

The most effective tool for gathering data on behaviour and product and making it available to all users of the Emarsys platform.

Price: Request a demo and pricing.

Emarsys Web Extend, a website tool for collecting data, Web Extend, establishes individual personalization capabilities across multiple channels. It utilizes cookies and JavaScript API to track your site’s visitors and their actions.

Emarsys monitors visitor interactions and behaviour across your site, including product catalogues to your online store, and integrates that data with sales history (if they exist) to provide an overview of your customers.

The tool will then connect your information to the different Emarsys systems part of the platform, like the Revenue Attribution and Automation Center systems. It allows you to transfer your data across teams and departments and use it in every business decision.

Unique features:

• Find out what kind of customer data you require to provide personalized experiences across all your channels.
• Utilize cross-device identification of users and campaign tracking.
• Keep track of your interactions with contacts on your website and synchronize those interactions to the Emarsys database of contacts (which is automatically done every few hours).
• Access your information through any of the system’s parts of the Emarsys platform, so there is no need to integrate it.
• Use the revenue Attribution system to track the money earned from your email campaigns.
• Create campaigns based on contact behaviour with Automations System. 
• Utilize your catalogue and purchase information to segment customers and their lifecycles by using Smart Insight System.

Choose Your Metrics and Tool, and Begin Data Tracking

Data tracking is a powerful and reliable method to determine and monitor the most crucial indicators for your business and then use the results and data to improve customer satisfaction and your bottom line.