Intuition is not enough to make good decisions. We need to measure, analyze and optimize. I want to share 5 fundamental tools to make the best decisions.
Analytical Stack
1. Google Analytics 4 (GA4)
It is the basis of everything. Although the transition from Universal Analytics was challenging for the industry, GA4's event-based model offers tremendous flexibility. I mainly use it to analyze user behavior, measure key conversions (leads, downloads) and understand which acquisition channels are working best.
2. Google Search Console
If GA4 tells me what users do inside from the web, Search Console tells me how they arrive from Google. It is essential for any SEO strategy. I use it to spot keyword opportunities, keep an eye on page CTR, and make sure there are no indexing errors that are holding back traffic.
3. Microsoft Clarity (or Hotjar)
GA4's numbers are cold; heat maps and session recordings put a face to that data. When I see that a page has a high bounce rate, I turn to CRO tools like Clarity to see if users are getting stuck on a form or if a button is unclear. Qualitative data is gold!
4. Excel/Google Sheets
It may sound basic, but it's the truth: no visualization tool beats a good spreadsheet when you need to clean data quickly, cross-tab pivot tables, or do ad-hoc analysis. He is the best friend of any junior (and senior) analyst.
5. Looker Studio (Data Studio)
Clients or managers do not like to enter the complex interface of GA4. Looker Studio allows me to connect all the previous sources (GA4, Search Console, Google Ads) and create interactive, clean and easy to understand dashboards to present the results at the end of the month.
Mastering these tools is only the first step; the true value is in knowing how to ask the right questions of data. It is useless to have a beautiful dashboard if we do not extract actionable *insights* that improve the business strategy.