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Have you ever heard that phrase: “What is not measured, is not managed”In the digital world, it's the law. In other words, there's no point investing in content, media, or SEO if you don't know what's working. And, especially, what's not. That's where web analytics tools come in: they reveal what's happening behind the scenes on your website, showing user behavior, page performance, and the real impact of your actions.
But you don't need to be a data scientist to use these tools. Today, they're more accessible, intuitive, and connected than ever. In this article, we'll dive into the 8 main web analytics tools that can transform the way you view your website—and your results. In addition to explaining what each one does, we'll provide practical examples of how to apply them in your daily life.
“Web analytics tools allow you to understand visitor behavior, identify bottlenecks, and improve website performance in terms of SEO, conversion, and user experience.”
1. Google Analytics 4 (GA4): the heart of your digital decisions
The Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is the brain behind any modern digital strategy. After all, it goes far beyond counting visits, analyzing user behavior based on events, journeys, and engagement.
Unlike the old version (Universal Analytics), GA4 works with an “events and parameters” logic, which makes it more flexible and accurate in reading the user experience.
How to use in practice
Imagine you have an e-commerce business and notice a drop in your conversion rate. In GA4, you can create a custom funnel, mapping each step: product view → add to cart → checkout → payment completed. Analyzing this funnel revealed that many customers abandon the shipping screen. That's it: you've found the real bottleneck. With this information, you can test free shipping above a certain price and measure the impact on conversion.
Expert Insight
Connect GA4 with the Google Ads and Search Console. This completes the cycle: you understand where the visitor came from (Search Console), what they did (GA4), and whether they converted after an ad (Ads). This integration is gold for inbound marketing strategies.
“GA4 reveals where visitors enter, what they do, and where they abandon — essential data for optimizing conversions and campaigns.”
2. Google Search Console: Your SEO Compass
If GA4 shows what the user does within the site, the Google Search Console (GSC) shows how it reaches you. In this sense, it's Google's main free tool for understanding your organic performance.
With GSC, you can find out which terms make your site appear in searches, how many impressions and clicks it receives, its average position, indexing errors, and performance issues (like Core Web Vitals).
How to use in practice
Suppose you have a page that appears well-ranked but has a low CTR (click-through rate). This means the title and meta description aren't attracting clicks.
So, with the "Performance → Queries" report, you can identify the keywords that generate impressions and rewrite your headline based on them. For example:
- Before: “Advanced SEO Guide”
- Next: “Advanced SEO: Real Strategies to Double Your Traffic in 30 Days”
This simple change can increase your CTR and bring in many more visitors — without changing your rankings.
Expert Insight
Follow the report of Core Web Vitals to understand if your pages are fast and stable. An LCP (Largest Contentful Paint) above 2.5s or a high CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift) could be dragging down your Google rankings.
“Search Console shows you how Google sees your site and what you need to adjust to show up and get more clicks.”
3. SEMrush: a strategic look at the market and competitors
A SEMrush is one of the most comprehensive SEO and digital marketing platforms in the world. After all, it allows you to analyze organic and paid performance, identify high-potential keywords, audit your website, and, most importantly, discover what your competitors are doing.
How to use in practice
Imagine your company operates in the education sector and wants to increase organic traffic. In SEMrush, you can use the Keyword Gap tool to compare your domain with those of direct competitors. It will show you the keywords they rank for that you don't.
This way, you find “content opportunities” (terms with good search results and moderate competition) and create new strategic articles to fill them.
Expert Insight
Using the Keyword Magic Tool, filter words with commercial or informational intent, depending on the funnel stage. Then, create content clusters and use Position Tracking to monitor your daily rankings.
“SEMrush shows you where you’re losing ground in Google and what you need to do to outpace your competitors.”
4. Ahrefs: An X-ray of Backlinks and Content
The Ahrefs is the king of backlinks. While Semrush shows the big picture, Ahrefs dives deep into the connections that support a website's SEO. It analyzes referring domains, broken links, organic keywords, and historical traffic trends.
How to use in practice
Suppose you want to strengthen the SEO of a page about “content marketing”. This way, Ahrefs → Site Explorer, enter a competitor's domain and go to Backlinks. This way, you'll discover sites that linked to their article, and you can reach out to them offering your content as a more up-to-date or complete alternative.
Another powerful feature is Content Gap: it compares your site to your competitors and shows you keywords they rank for that you don't.
This guides your keyword targeting and expansion strategy.
Expert Insight
Use Content Explorer to identify topics that generate a high volume of backlinks in your niche. This way, you'll create content with real potential to become a reference.
“Ahrefs reveals who’s powering your competitors — and how you can earn those same links.”
5. Moz Pro: SEO simplified to keep up with your progress
A Moz Pro It's perfect for those who want a clear and straightforward overview of SEO without diving into complex dashboards. It offers auditing, ranking tracking, and on-page optimization features.
How to use in practice
Let's say you want to improve the SEO of a landing page. With the Page Optimization tool, Moz analyzes whether the main term is well distributed, whether the title and meta are optimized, whether the headings are correct, and whether the images have alt text. Each item is then given a score, and you can adjust what's missing to achieve 100%.
Plus, with Link Explorer, you can compare your domain authority (DA) and page authority (PA) against your competitors—ideal for assessing your SEO strength.
Expert Insight
Moz is great for tracking local keyword growth, especially when targeting regional businesses or franchises.
“Moz simplifies SEO with intuitive reporting and analytics that show you exactly what to improve on each page.”
6. Hotjar: a human perspective on data
Not everything that matters can be measured in numbers. Hotjar It goes beyond cold reports and shows real visitor behavior through heat maps, recordings, and surveys. In short, it's essential for understanding user experience (UX).
How to use in practice
Imagine your landing page has a lot of traffic but low conversions. Using heatmaps, you notice that people are clicking on a non-clickable image or that the main button is below the fold. So, you adjust the layout and reposition the CTA, leading to an increase in conversion rates.
Additionally, with recordings, you can watch real user sessions, seeing where they pause, scroll, or abandon. And with surveys, you can understand why they make certain decisions.
Expert Insight
Combine Hotjar + GA4: Use GA4 to find out which page is experiencing a drop-off and Hotjar to understand why. This combination is unbeatable for UX.
“Hotjar translates user behavior into images and actions, revealing what numbers alone cannot reveal.”
7. Crazy Egg: Testing What Really Works
The Crazy Egg is an alternative (or complement) to Hotjar. It also offers heatmaps and recordings, but with a powerful twist: visual A/B tests that let you test different versions of a page in minutes.
How to use in practice
Suppose you want to know if your CTA button phrasing impacts conversions.
With Crazy Egg, you create one variation with "Subscribe Now" and another with "I Want Immediate Access." The tool automatically splits traffic between the two versions and shows which one had more clicks and conversions.
Another useful feature is the confetti map, which shows where clicks came from—separated by traffic source (organic, social, email, etc.). This helps you understand whether your Instagram audience behaves differently than your Google audience.
Expert Insight
Use Crazy Egg to validate design hypotheses without relying on major changes. Small visual tweaks can yield big gains.
“Crazy Egg turns hypotheses into tests and tests into real conversion results.”
8. WebPageTest: technical diagnosis that impacts SEO and UX
The WebPageTest is your website's performance "doctor." It goes beyond a speed score and shows you in detail what's slowing down loading. This way, you can simulate a page opening on different devices, connections, and locations, obtaining metrics such as LCP, CLS, FID, and TTFB.
How to use in practice
Imagine your website has good content, but it takes 6 seconds to load on mobile. When you run the test, WebPageTest shows that the main culprit is a chat script loaded before the main content. You can then move it to the bottom of the page or use asynchronous loading and see the improvement in LCP in real time.
Expert Insight
Combine WebPageTest with Search Console's Core Web Vitals report. This allows you to cross-reference lab data (test data) with real user data (field data).
“Improving performance isn't just a technical issue—it's an SEO and conversion strategy.”
How to integrate tools for complete analysis
None of these tools alone tells the whole story. The secret lies in combining them.
Think of it this way:
- Discovery and SEO: Semrush, Ahrefs, Moz and Search Console
- Behavior and conversion: GA4, Hotjar, Crazy Egg
- Technical performance: WebPageTest
- Continuous monitoring: GA4 + Search Console
A real example:
You publish an article and notice a drop in traffic.
- The Search Console shows a drop in impressions.
- The SEMrush reveals that competitors have created similar content with more backlinks.
- The Ahrefs shows where these links come from.
- The Hotjar indicates that users leave the page early.
- You optimize content, improve UX and links.
- Three weeks later, GA4 shows increased engagement and conversions.
“When tools work together, you transform siloed data into strategic intelligence.”
Conclusion
Using web analytics tools is like having a dashboard for your digital business. After all, they show you what's working, where the problems lie, and where there's hidden potential. More than just numbers, they're decision-making tools.
Whether you're a marketer, business owner, or content creator, start with the free ones (GA4, Search Console, WebPageTest) and, as your strategy matures, invest in the advanced ones (Semrush, Ahrefs, Hotjar, Crazy Egg).
The important thing is don't fly in the dark.
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FAQ – Questions and answers about web analytics tools
1. What is the best tool to start with?
Start with Google Analytics 4 e Search ConsoleBoth are free, powerful, and essential for understanding organic traffic and performance.
2. What is the difference between Hotjar and Crazy Egg?
Both analyze behavior, but Hotjar is more focused on UX and user feedback, while Crazy Egg focuses on A/B testing and click visualization by traffic source.
3. Does GA4 replace Search Console?
No. GA4 shows on-site behavior; Search Console shows how the site is viewed by Google. Together, they complement each other.
4. Do I need to use all these tools at the same time?
Not necessarily. Build a minimal stack with GA4 + Search Console + an SEO tool (Semrush or Ahrefs) and a UX tool (Hotjar or Crazy Egg). The rest is complementary.
5. How do I measure whether my improvements are working?
Set goals in GA4 (such as CTA clicks, form submissions, or purchases) and track them week by week. If traffic, engagement, and conversions increase together, you're on the right track.
Image: Freepik
Article originally published on 06/24/2023 and updated on that date.
Sarah Leite She is a writer and avid reader. He has articles published in international scientific journals and first place in area 9 of the 36th SBPqO meeting. Researcher, master and passionate about science and knowledge construction.
