According to a recent study from a San Francisco, California-based B2B marketing and technology company, most companies are unaware of how to properly use website analytics.

In a survey of 100 businesses, researchers for Step By Step Marketing found that while websites rank as the No. 1 online source of new B2B leads, 80 percent of respondents said their company sites aren't performing to their lead-generating potential.

Using analytics software can help determine return on investment and understand what potential customers are doing while on a company site. It can detail not only what's working, but also what's not – as 45 percent of those surveyed said they didn't know where visitors were most likely to abandon their sites.

Even companies that do partake in analytics reviews had a trouble defining the next step, as 50 percent of companies "lack the ability to act on data."

The study found that typically, visitors leave sites the most (17 percent) when they reach a blog, whitepaper or other resource portion. In addition, 15 percent drop out during the registration stage, 13 percent after reaching a homepage and 3 percent after getting to a product page.

A similar study by the company found that referrals were overwhelmingly the most popular overall source for leads (41 percent), followed by company websites (23 percent).

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