The Christmas campaigns are behind you. What did you learn from the pre-Christmas machinery, and what can you use next year? The real value of the Christmas season lies in the data you collected. If you evaluate it properly, it will help you optimise future campaigns and increase your return on investment.
Summary for Those Who Don’t Have Time to Read the Whole Article
- Analysing data after a campaign shows you what works and what to improve. It is the foundation for success in the next season.
- Track traffic, conversions, website speed and advertising spend. You will find out whether the campaign paid off.
- Compare the numbers with last year. You will see straight away whether you are heading in the right direction.
- Stored data can save you up to 30% of your time when planning. You can build on what you already know.
- A good report is not just a table of numbers, it is a basis for marketing decisions for the whole year.
Data analysis is our daily bread. We will help you not only to evaluate your Christmas campaigns, but also to set up measurement so that you know exactly where to invest.
Why Is Post-Campaign Analysis So Important?
Christmas campaigns are like a stress test for websites – they show what works and what needs to be improved. Planning the next campaign without looking back at the previous one is like shooting blindly. You lose information that would save you both money and time.
Build on Last Year’s Data: Continuity Is the Foundation
First, look at the results of last year’s Christmas campaigns. Find out what worked and which products attracted the most interest.
You will find historical data in Google Analytics (GA4), in your e-shop administration and on advertising platforms. A year-on-year comparison of key indicators will reveal trends. When you compare this November’s and December’s traffic with last year’s, you will see whether you are growing.
A baseline, or starting point, is important for any measurement. When you know what last year’s numbers were, you can objectively judge whether you have succeeded.
Metrics You Should Track
When evaluating campaigns, you should focus on several metrics. Let’s go through them one by one.
Traffic and SEO Performance
Track visits from organic search. In Google Search Console, go through the search queries related to Christmas, page positions and click-through rate. Identify which keywords brought the most visits.
A well-optimised seasonal page can generate traffic for several months after Christmas.
Conversions and Sales Performance
Pay attention to the conversion rate and the total number of conversions. In Google Analytics 4 you can see how many visitors made a purchase.
Track conversions separately on desktop versus mobile (you will uncover problems with the mobile version). Identify the best-performing landing pages or products that led to a purchase.
Website Speed and Stability
The Christmas peak tests the technical readiness of your e-shop. Use PageSpeed Insights to find out whether the website coped with the rush of visitors. If loading speed dropped during the busiest days, it is a signal to optimise performance.
If basic analysis with PageSpeed Insights is not enough for you, we offer a comprehensive solution for UX specialists, where we prepare clear tables of the loading speed of all pages together. Or we can audit your website.
ROI and Advertising Metrics
Return on investment is crucial. Calculate how much your Christmas campaign paid off. Evaluate the performance of each advertising channel (Google Ads, Facebook, Sklik). Compare costs versus revenue from the given channel.
Which channel had the best cost-to-revenue ratio? Which one fell short of expectations? This analysis will show where to invest more next year and where to cut back.
User Behaviour on the Website
Analyse user behaviour during the campaign. Look at the customer journey: which pages they saw first and how they fared.
Heatmaps and session recordings (Hotjar, Microsoft Clarity) will show where people clicked and why they left. If many users dropped out in a form, simplify it. If a certain piece of content attracted above-average interest, use it further.
How to Work with Post-Campaign Reporting?
Correct processing and presentation of the data is important. After the campaign, set aside time for a team debrief and create a document with the following information:
- Overview of traffic and sales – total number of visits, orders, revenue, year-on-year comparison.
- Marketing channel performance – visits and conversions from individual channels, advertising costs and revenue.
- SEO and content – results from Google Search Console, the most successful keywords and pages.
- Web analytics – user behaviour, where they drop off, A/B test results.
- Technical performance – speed reports during the campaign.
- Summary and recommendations – what went well, what didn’t, recommendations for next year.
Use charts and dashboards (Google Looker Studio), where trends are visible at first glance.
TIP: Reporting in Looker Studio: How to keep your Christmas campaign results under control
Why Keep the Data for Next Year?
Anyone who analyses data straight after the season gains a huge advantage for next year (easily up to a 30% head start in planning efficiency).
Keeping the data allows you to:
- Compare performance year on year – you will see whether campaigns are growing.
- Identify trends – you will find that interest in a category has been growing year after year since October.
- Plan stock – you will prevent the situation where your best-selling goods run out in the middle of the season.
- Lay the foundation for a strategy – properly processed data will save dozens of hours of work in planning.
Export key data from GA4 and from advertising platforms. Save the ad copy and banners used, along with notes on them.
Do you feel you can’t get the most out of your data on your own?
Conclusion
You can learn from every campaign and achieve significantly better results next time. Data will also help you retain customers and plan your marketing for the whole of next year.
Frequently Asked Questions
When should I start evaluating Christmas campaigns?
Ideally right after the season ends, that is, at the beginning of January. The sooner you analyse the data, the sooner you can start planning further activities and use the findings for optimisation.
What tools do I need for data analysis?
The basics are Google Analytics 4 and Google Search Console. In addition, advertising platforms (Google Ads, Facebook), heatmap tools (Hotjar, Microsoft Clarity) and data visualisation tools such as Google Looker Studio.
How long should I keep campaign data?
At least until the next Christmas season, but ideally for several years. A year-on-year comparison over a longer period will reveal trends you would otherwise not see. Export key data from platforms that do not retain it long term.
Sources
Google, 2024. Google Analytics 4 – documentation. Available at: https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/10089681
Google, 2024. Google Search Console – performance reports. Available at: https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/7576553
Microsoft, 2023. Microsoft Clarity documentation. Available at: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/clarity/
Google, 2024. Looker Studio – marketing dashboards. Available at: https://lookerstudio.google.com/overview