What Is User Behavior Analytics in Marketing and Why Do You Need It?

Mar 29, 2024 - Mike Hakob

User behavior analytics (UBA) provides deep insights into your users’ thoughts, behaviors, and motivations. The insights you gain through this strategy allow you to personalize your marketing strategies to better align with customer needs, improving user engagement and driving higher conversion rates.

What Is User Behavior Analytics (UBA)?

User behavior analytics (UBA) involves the tracking and collection of user activity information through the analysis of historical logs. Unlike other entities, user behavior analysis places a greater emphasis on the user. By analyzing historical data logs, user behavior analytics tools aim to identify patterns of activities caused by user behavior.

Why Is It Essential To Analyze User Behavior?

User behavior analysis refers to the actions and patterns individuals display when engaging with your product. User behavior tracking is important for assessing the aspects that users find valuable, facilitating enhancements to their overall experience.

Metrics associated with user behavior include signups, activation rates, feature utilization and impact, in-app purchase funnel drop-off, and retention rates. For instance, evaluating the impact of pricing changes on retention or assessing the popularity of a feature within a user cohort provides valuable insights.

With User Behavior Analytics (UBA), you can increase various aspects of your website or software, including its content and functionality, by leveraging the data you’ve gathered. Analytics data plays a vital role in helping you find out if your website is effectively providing value to your users. Analyzing user behavior you can also get valuable insights into technical issues like bugs and crashes, enabling you to address and prevent these problems in the future.

Beyond these benefits, user behavior analysis can help deliver personalized advertising to your visitors. HubSpot reports that 53% of marketers employ message personalization in their marketing strategies. With UBA you can provide your audience with more tailored and personalized experiences, as it allows you to understand their preferences, behaviors, and pain points. This tailored approach can significantly boost conversion rates and the chances of visitors making purchases or completing specific actions before exiting your website. Additionally, the insights gained from UBA can be applied to refine your products or services.

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Understand Your Visitors’ Activity and Motivation

If you want to conduct a detailed and comprehensive user behavior analysis a key aspect is understanding your visitors’ activities. This involves tracking the actions users take when interacting with your product/website and understanding the reasons behind their behavior.

When you closely observe visitor activity, you can gain insights into how users navigate through your platform, which features they engage with, and the paths they choose within your product.

Identify Which Content Type Your Visitors Interact With the Most

User behavior analytics will help you to determine which types of content generate the most engagement. Then you can use the data and adjust your content strategy based on user preferences.

User behavior analytics analysis involves examining metrics such as page views, click-through rates, time spent on specific pages, form interactions, and social media shares for various content types. Whether it’s blog posts, videos, infographics, or other formats, understanding what captures your audience’s attention provides a roadmap for optimizing your content strategy.

It allows for the crafting of a more tailored user experience, where content resonates more profoundly with individual preferences and behaviors. Identifying how users interact with different content types enables a deeper level of website personalization and customer segmentation. Having user behavior analysis data you can deliver personalized content that appeals directly to their interests, significantly increasing user satisfaction and loyalty. As users are presented with content that matches their specific needs and desires, website personalization not only boosts user engagement but also increases conversion.

Benefits of User Behavior Analytics for Your Business

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Increase in Conversion, Retention, and Revenue

User behavior analytics has the potential to increase conversion rates, retention, and revenue by offering valuable insights into user preferences and behaviors. When you have a clear understanding of how users engage with your product, you can optimize their experience, improve conversion rates, and encourage customer loyalty. By aligning your strategies with actual customer data, businesses can enhance engagement, and satisfaction, and ultimately drive growth in revenue.

Improving the Website Design and User Experience

In website UX-UI design, it’s important to analyze user behavior is essential for making interfaces that really connect with people.

Generally, the success of website design relies on focusing on what users intentionally do.
Users’ actions could include clicking a ‘Buy Now’ button, scrolling through product listings, or submitting a contact form. Designers can focus on these interactions and tailor the interface accordingly.

Spotting Friction in the User Journey and Fixing It

By analyzing user behavior on a website, designers and developers can have the ability to detect and tackle any hiccups that may occur during a user’s journey, ultimately improving the overall experience. By examining user engagement metrics such as click-through rates, bounce rates, and time spent on pages, problem areas can be identified with precision. Additionally, gathering user feedback through surveys or testing allows for valuable qualitative insights that can be used to make targeted enhancements based on user input.

Reduction of Operational Costs

User behavior analytics assists organizations in making data-driven decisions that optimize resources, improve efficiency, and proactively address issues, contributing to the reduction of operational costs. For instance, by understanding how users interact with your systems, applications, or platforms, you can optimize resource allocation. This means directing resources where they are most needed and avoiding unnecessary expenditures on underutilized features or services.

What is the Difference Between User and Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA) and UBA?

User Behavior Analytics (UBA) and User and Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA) are similar in many ways, but there is one key difference. UEBA includes an additional “E” in its acronym, which stands for entities such as devices and applications. This means that UEBA offers a more comprehensive approach than UBA because it not only monitors human behavior but also nonhuman processes and machine entities like routers, servers, and endpoints or devices.

Unlike user behavior analytics, which relies solely on log data, user entity behavior analytics incorporates information from various sources, including packet capture data, flow records, and other datasets. While UBA is limited to tracking user behavior and detecting threats involving human actors, UEBA can identify not only human behavior anomalies but also threats involving machine actorsUser and entity behavior analytics (UEBA) is a cybersecurity solution that employs AI and machine learning to identify irregularities in the user behavior of not just the users within a corporate network, but also the routers, servers, and endpoints connected to that network.

The purpose of UEBA is to detect any unusual or suspicious activity that deviates from normal patterns or usage. For instance, if a specific user typically downloads 50 MB files every day but suddenly starts downloading 5 GB files, the user and entity behavior analytics system will flag this as an anomaly.

According to a recent study, globally over 34% of businesses are affected annually by insider threats by insider threats. Most recent statistics on cybersecurity reveal an average of 2,200 cyber attacks occurring daily, translating to a cyber attack occurring approximately every 39 seconds.

UEBA helps to identify any uncommon patterns or deviations from typical user behavior, which aids in the early identification of possible security risks. This way it helps to address and reduce the chances of cyberattacks and insider threats.

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What Types of Data Can Be Monitored With User Behavior Analytics?

“Errors using inadequate data are much less than those using no data at all.”  Charles Babbage, Mathematician.

User behavior analytics data is king, but you should know what data to use and how to use it properly.

User Activity Data

Prioritize analyzing how individuals interact with a website, application, or platform. It provides valuable information on user behavior, which can help businesses and organizations understand user preferences, improve the user experience, and make informed decisions. Specifically, looking at data related to logins and logouts, session durations, page views, and interactions can provide deeper insights into user engagement.

  • Logins and Logouts – Based on the analysis of login and logout activities, it is possible to gain insights into user authentication patterns. Examining the frequency and timing of logins can provide valuable information about peak usage periods, revealing when the platform is at its most popular.
  • Session Durations – You can examine session durations and get valuable information about how long users are actively using a platform during one visit. If sessions are longer, it suggests that users are highly engaged. On the other hand, shorter sessions may indicate that improvements are needed in terms of content or usability. By analyzing session durations, we can also gain very important user behavioral data insights into the bounce rate. If the bounce rate is high, it could mean that users are not finding what they need, and adjustments to the content or navigation may be necessary.
  • Page Views and Interactions – If you track the number of page views you will determine which content is popular. This data is important for content creators and marketers as it helps them understand user preferences and customize content accordingly. For e-commerce platforms, analyzing page views and interactions is essential to track conversion funnels. By understanding where users abandon the conversion process, targeted enhancements can be made to improve conversion rates.
  • Clicks and Taps – By tracking user behavior through clicks (on desktops) and taps (on smartphones and tablets), businesses can gain valuable insights into the aspects that attract users’ attention. Areas with high engagement levels indicate user interest, enabling businesses to identify popular features or content.
  • Navigation and UX – The analysis of navigation and UX data greatly assists businesses in optimizing their websites or apps for more engagement and conversion. For instance, by tracking user behavior on what pages users visit, businesses can identify popular navigation paths. This data can be used to improve the structure of websites or apps and enhance user flow.
  • Exit Pages – Identifying the exit pages is extremely important to understanding user behavior. If certain pages have high exit rates, it may indicate issues with usability or content that doesn’t meet user expectations. By analyzing exit pages to conversion goals, businesses can improve their strategies and make targeted improvements to reduce user abandonment.

Behavioral Patterns

Through user behavior analytics you can examine the main behavioral patterns to get valuable insights into how users interact with a website or product.

  • Frequency of Interactions – When you examine the frequency of interactions, valuable insights can be gained regarding popular features or content, user engagement, and potential areas for improvement. For example, monitoring the frequency at which users click on a specific button or visit a particular page can provide developers and designers with valuable information about user preferences.
  • Mouse Movement – Mouse movement analysis offers valuable insights into user engagement and interest. Users typically navigate their mouse towards screen areas that grab their attention. Heatmaps can be created to visually represent the regions where users concentrate the most, assisting designers in enhancing page layouts for improved user experience.
  • Scrolling – A Nielsen Norman Group usability expert states that people scroll once the content is properly organized, relevant, and formatted for ease of scanning. According to the expert, When the content on a page addresses the relevant questions, individuals tend to favor scrolling. So, Having a grasp on how scrolling works can assist in determining the best positioning for content on a webpage, enabling enhancements to user engagement and retention.
  • User Activity Times – It is essential to understand when users are most active in order to optimize the timing of marketing initiatives, updates, and important communications. By analyzing behavioral patterns associated with time, businesses can tailor their strategies to align with peak periods of user activity.
  • Search Behavior – According to the fresh statistics, around 18% of searches result in a modification to the initial search query. Essentially, this means that when people don’t find the desired results, they tend to adjust and alter their search terms accordingly. Hence, improving the overall user experience and increasing the likelihood of user satisfaction is possible by understanding search behavior, which in turn improves the relevance of search results.

Web Form Data

It’s very important for your business to analyze user behavior data and feedback through web form data as it allows you to gather valuable insights. Here, form analytics tools come for help. Form analysis and tracking provide insights that can help businesses understand user behavior, and improve form design. Whether you’re running a large e-commerce site or a small blog. You can have detailed reports about user behavior and make data-driven recommendations for improvements.

  • Form Submissions – Form submissions, which include user information, preferences, and demographics, offer valuable insights into user behavior. Successful submissions allow you to measure the effectiveness of marketing efforts and website changes.
  • Form Input Errors – If you identify common issues that users encounter during interactions it will be much easier for you to detect specific error types such as incorrect formats or missing fields. Form tracking tools can spot common issues, such as incorrect formats or missing fields. Analysing user behavior insights you can pinpoint the specific types of errors users encounter during form interactions. This not only aids in understanding the errors but also sheds light on the frequency and patterns of these mistakes, offering insights into the level of frustration users might experience. This data helps to optimize form design, leading to a smoother user experience and potentially increased form completion rates.
  • Form Abandonment – Form abandonment patterns can help identify instances where users start filling out a form but don’t finish it, indicating areas that may be causing issues or slowing down the process. Additionally, they guide adjustments to form length, simplification, and clarity to enhance your website UX. Form abandonment tracking not only clarifies user behavior but also serves as a key metric for evaluating the effectiveness of online forms. You can detect specific fields on your form that cause hesitation or confusion, leading to higher drop-off rates.

Methods and Tools To Perform User Behavior Analytics

User behavior analysis involves tracking and monitoring how users interact with digital platforms such as websites, applications, online forms, services, etc. Multiple techniques and tools are used to gather and interpret user data.

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Web Analytics Tools

Web analytics tools are specifically created to analyze user behavior on websites. These tools offer valuable information on different measurements such as page views, bounce rates, session duration, and user demographics. Some well-known user behavior analytics tools include Google Analytics, Hotjar, Ahrefs, etc.

Form Tracking Tools

Form tracking and monitoring tools play a big role in understanding user interactions with online forms. They are designed to track and monitor forms giving data on where users typically abandon the form or which fields require the most time to complete, etc. Tools in this category, like FormStory, are beneficial for businesses as they can provide essential insights about potential leads that are coming to their website. This tool not only tracks every form submission, bounce, and conversion but also has a unique capability to collect and store every form submission even in instances where the form may encounter issues or not work as intended. FormStory ensures that no critical data is lost, providing businesses with invaluable insights into the customer journey.

With these insights, companies can take targeted actions to refine their forms, making them more efficient and user-friendly. It’s about moving beyond mere data collection; form data is very important for data-driven marketing and sales decisions. They can open a wide potential for business strategies capturing every lead.

Conversion Funnel Analysis Tools

Conversion funnel analysis refers to the process of monitoring the various steps that users go through to accomplish a specific action, such as buying a product or submitting a form. Tools like Mixpanel, Countly, and others provide functionalities specifically designed for conducting conversion funnel analysis.

User Surveys and On-Site Feedback Forms

User surveys and on-site feedback forms provide businesses with direct ways to gather user opinions and preferences. Tools like SurveyMonkey and Typeform enable companies to collect qualitative data about user experiences.

Social Media Analysis Tools

Social media analysis refers to the monitoring and analysis of user interactions on social media platforms. Tools such as Manychat, Hootsuite, and others help businesses track and analyze their social media presence.

How to Build a Business Strategy With User Behavior Analytics?

To create a business strategy using User Behavior Analytics (UBA) it is important to take several essential steps to fully understand the process.

Define Business Goals

Make it crystal clear what you want to achieve with your business, like making more money, getting people more interested, or reaching new markets.

Prepare a Map of Critical Paths

Critical paths refer to events that are vital for users to accomplish their objectives. User behavior analytics will discover any obstacles or inefficiencies that your users may encounter and make necessary adjustments to improve the processes. After determining the specific events you wish to monitor, you can categorize them separately for better organization and easier access to relevant data. Instead of having to scroll through a long list of events, you can simply search for a particular category and find the desired event.

Identify Users and Their Behavior Patterns

Create data-driven buyer personas that accurately portray various segments of your desired audience. Take into account demographics, behaviors, and preferences when developing these personas. Examine patterns in user behavior using analytics tools to study data collected and identify common user paths, entry points, and areas where users tend to lose interest or leave.

Build a Solid Tracking Plan

Build a clear outline of the goals for the user behavior tracking plan. These goals may involve enhancing user experience, optimizing conversion funnels, or gaining insights into user engagement.

Collect User Feedback

Incorporate web forms into your platform to collect user feedback. Consistently track and monitor your web forms. Analyze the insights from user behavior analytics and the feedback you receive. Use the data to make improvements to your platform. Take note of any areas of concern and apply user suggestions to improve overall user satisfaction.

How Successful Businesses Apply User Behavior Analytics in Marketing

Most business giants apply user behavior analytics in their marketing for both acquisition and retention strategies. It helps them refine their business platforms by offering hyper-personalized experiences to their customers.

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Amazon

Amazon, the well-known eCommerce leader, applies user behavior analytics as the foundation for its marketing strategy. They not only use user behavior data to suggest appropriate products to the targeted customers but also to streamline the entire shopping experience.

Sephora

Sephora, the French beauty giant, is known as a pioneer in applying user behavior data such as purchase history, customer reviews, and feedback data for crafting sales and marketing strategies. By consolidating both in-store and online customer data, they have streamlined the purchasing process and personalized product recommendations for each customer.

Netflix

Netflix applies user behavior analytics to create personalized viewing recommendations. By analyzing the content users watch and their preferences, they recommend movies and TV shows that are personalized to each user’s requirements.

To Sum Up

User behavior analytics goes beyond merely tracking user behavior and activities. You can use it as an invaluable tool to make more data-driven decisions, craft personalized marketing campaigns, and provide better customer experience. Ultimately, the proper and systematic implementation of user behavior analytics will result in higher conversion rates, increased retention rates with a loyal customer base, higher website traffic, and top positioning within your market.

Mike Hakob

Mike Hakob is a seasoned digital marketing maven with over 15 years of mastery, and the visionary Co-Founder of FormStory. As the driving force behind Andava Digital, he has dedicated his expertise to empowering small to medium-sized businesses, crafting tailor-made websites and pioneering innovative marketing strategies. With a graduate degree in Management of Information Systems, Mike seamlessly blends the realms of technology and marketing, consistently setting new industry benchmarks and championing transformative digital narratives.