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How to Track Who Visited My Website?
Did you know that 93 percent of American adults now use the internet? What started as a novelty has now become the main way that many companies find new business opportunities.
Specifically, they do this by tracking the visitors that come to their website. Unfortunately, if you’re a B2B site it can be hard to get the lead information you need from traditional tracking resources.
That’s why we made this article specifically for B2B sites that want to know how to track who visited my website. We’ll be going over popular methods, like Google Analytics, and ways to fill in the gaps that it doesn’t cover. That way you have the best possible odds of drumming up new business. Let’s get started!
What Are Website Cookies?
Before we start talking about website tracking methods it’s important to first understand cookies. Cookies are user information that’s given by the individual when they enter a website.
Then, the information is sent to the website’s computer or server. There are a lot of different uses for cookies. Typically, it’s used to improve user experience.
It collects information on your device, what pages you visit, and what activities you did. Then, that data can be used to provide you with customized content.
It’s also used to deliver targeted ads directly to people interested in them. If you spend a lot of time on a car website, then a car salesman knows you’re a lot more prone to buy a vehicle than the average person.
Finally, cookies are used to generate leads. This is especially useful for B2B businesses.
These types of specialized leads can be difficult to find on your own. But, if you use cookies on your website it can help you find specific businesses interested in your product or service.
What Are the Different Types of Website Cookies?
There are two types of cookies you will encounter online. The most common type is single-session cookies. These are designed to help you navigate a website.
It will record information about the user and then erase it when they quit the session. These types of cookies are typically on by default to provide the user with the smoothest website experience.
The other type is the persistent cookie. Instead of being erased this type of cookie remains on a hard drive. It will stay there until the user either manually delete it or it expires.
While it’s on the hard drive it will record certain information every time you visit certain websites. If you want to learn more about the different cookies you can check out this FTC guide.
What Is IP Tracking?
We’ve gone over the ways cookies can help track certain information about website visitors. But, it’s not the only method of tracking. The other type of method is IP tracking.
Every device that uses the internet is given a unique IP address number. When the user connects to a certain site the IP address is collected and stored.
IP addresses can provide important pieces of information that are left out of cookies. If you want to learn more about how IP tracking works, you can read our breakdown.
One of the most popular aggravators of IP tracking is Google. They even have their analytics app known as Google Analytics. Google Analytics won’t tell you the exact person visiting your site.
But, it will provide important demographic information. Here is some of the data that you can get from this app:
- Age
- Gender
- Race
- User Interests
- Location
- Language
- Behavior patterns
- Devices being used
- The websites they just came from
- Google Analytics is an incredibly important tool. It can provide insightful market information and it’s free to use.
However, it’s important to remember that the app is far from the only tool you should be using. Let’s take a look at how to fill in the gaps.
What Does Google Analytics Not Provided?
Google Analytics is a great aggregator of visitor information. But, it’s not perfect for businesses trying to get B2B leads. We’ve gone over some of the data that Google Analytics gives you.
But, what about the information that it keeps from you? Here are just some of the things that Google Analytics doesn’t provide:
- Companies and individuals that visit your websites
- Email integration
- Prospect alerts available in real-time
- Lead generation
- Lead scoring
The good news is that there are sales and marketing tools that can fill in the Google Analytics blindspots. Our CANDDi software provides all of the analytics from Google, as well as all of the information listed here.
This is vital for people in B2B sales and marketing. It gives you contact information to follow up on leads that are already interested in your products or services.
How to Track Who Visited My Website Most Efficiently
We’ve gone over two popular ways to track who visits your website: cookies and IP tracking. So, what is the best website tracking for B2B companies? The answer: both methods.
When it comes to tracking businesses, the IP address is usually the way to go. That’s because it accesses the location of the device which can reveal the business name.
Cookies, on the other hand, are much better at tracking individuals on your site. When you combine these two methods you’re able to reach people whether they’re at the office or home.
So, how do you combine them? Look no further than our very own advanced tracking tool. Whenever a device visits your site we place a first-party cookie on them.
That means you know exactly what they looked at and for how long. When you combine that with the identifying capabilities of an IP tracker it ensures that you never miss another sale opportunity.
Is Website Tracking Legal?
There are a lot of concerns about privacy rights when it comes to website tracking. So much so that the EU made the General Data Protection Regulation in 2016.
The entire GDPR document is quite extensive. But it covers three important areas of data protection: personal privacy, personal data, and consent. So, how do sales tools like CANDDi get around these types of regulations?
It’s pretty simple. The GDPR protects the personal data of individuals. But, it doesn’t apply to business entities. And, since software like CANDDi only tracks business-related data, there are no problems in this department.
Now, there is some information that CANDDi tracks about individuals. This includes things like their name, job position, employer, and possible LinkedIn. Is this illegal?
Not if you have a legitimate business interest in tracking it. Legitimate interest can be something as simple as drumming up new business for your company. CANDDi takes great lengths to make sure that all of our clients are compliant with GDPR standards.
How Does This Help With Sales?
It’s the responsibility of the sales team to find more leads. And not just random leads, but quality ones that lead to sales. Website tracking is vital for this. First off, you can improve your lead prospecting method.
When someone visits your page you learn a lot of information about them. Things like who they are, what websites they came from, and how long they’re spending on your page are invaluable for a sales team.
It allows them to create a buyer persona that they can more closely target. Website trackers can also help you sort through the different types of leads you have.
For example, your sales team might be trying to focus on leads coming from a particular city. A quick filter can help them isolate these options. The same goes for marketing small businesses or large corporations.
Finally, a website tracker gives you the ability to contact leads. The right type of website tracker will match the IP address with a database of contact information.
So, you don’t have to spend all day tracking down the email address of the B2B website you want to target.
It’s available to you in an instance. Make sure to check out this resource to learn more about the different ways website tracking can improve sales.
How Does This Help With Marketing?
Shows like Mad Men might have you believe that marketing is driven by instinct and emotion. But, these days that simply isn’t the case. If you want a successful marketing campaign, you’re going to need data.
Not any old regular data either, but specific data sets that can aid your marketing team. There’s a reason why eCommerce shipments bring in a staggering $3,887.6 billion each year.
It’s because digital marketing companies have perfected the art of using user information for lead generation.
So, if you’re not taking advantage of this website tracking for B2B companies you’re losing out on valuable business. But, what are the specific ways that website tracking can help with marketing?
First, it can reveal new opportunities to your company. Let’s say your website tracker is revealing that a lot of people in Japan are visiting your website.
By revealing this new demographic it can help you craft campaigns geared toward these specific markets. You can also improve your website by providing a Japanese landing page.
Website trackers can also reveal what specific companies are visiting your website. This allows you to create account-based campaigns geared toward landing these clients.
Finally, website tracking allows you to track how well your campaigns are performing. For example, you can see how many leads a specific PPC campaign might bring you.
If the campaign doesn’t seem to be working, this allows you to adjust and update in real-time. So, less wasted money on failed marketing campaigns.
How Does This Help With UX?
Website trackers can also be used to improve the usability of your website. This is important because if your website isn’t easy to use, clean and attractive people aren’t going to stick around.
The reality is that we make our judgment of websites in a split second. One study found that participants were able to determine the visual appeal of a website within fifty milliseconds of seeing it.
So, if your website isn’t properly designed, people are going to leave. Luckily, B2B visitor tracking can help you see your blindspots when it comes to UX or user experience.
For example, let’s say that your tracker says people are only visiting your home page, then leaving. Odds are there’s something wrong with it that needs fixing. Maybe it isn’t mobile-friendly.
Or, maybe its organization needs fixing. Regardless of the reason, your website tracker can inform you where a redesign is needed. It can also help you think about the general flow of your website.
Another example, maybe you notice that people land on your home page, visit another page, and then leave. This bit of insight could reveal that you don’t have a clear enough pipeline to get your client to a sale.
Of course, these insights aren’t much help if you don’t act on them. So, you will need to bring in a website designer to help you think it out further.
Try CANDDi and See What It Can Do for You
We hope this article helped you answer the question, How to track who visited my website? AS you can see, most of the website trackers out there will tell you important information about your visitor demographics.
Sadly, this information by itself doesn’t translate to leads. But, that all changes when you use a sales and marketing tool like CANDDi.
Our product doesn’t just tell you who was on your website, but also what they looked at, any action they might have taken and what marketing source led them to you.
But, don’t take our word for it. See for yourself by registering for a free trial today.