OVERVIEW GOOGLE ANALYTICS
What is Google Analytics? Google Analytic identifies a website s target audience members for desktop and mobile [aka the users ], articulates what success means to a site s visitor, and tells a story about user behavior [constructs a narrative about why they are there]. It identifies information about a website that metrics can t reveal and the types of tools companies can use to fill in the gaps. Note: There are many web analytics tools on the market all with their own solid features and tools. For a relatively comprehensive list of web analytics tools, visit AdPushup.com and their Top 31 Best Web Analytics Tools from 2015.
What does it do? It measures Each page on a site and how users navigate through them How the user got there [keyword v. search engine v. link] When they last came and how often they come back Where they came from [geographically] Whether they achieved the goals you set for them
Why is it important? Without it, an organization is Guessing Making assumptions Working blindly Missing opportunities Not maximizing visibility on search engines Unable to tell the story about user behavior when they visit your site Unable to give any metrics about how your site is performing
web analytics can identify a host of issues with usability, marketing, technology, information architecture, etc., and fixing these things leads to improvement in volume of visits, exposure to new visitors, increased conversion rates, increased revenue, increased profits, and on and on. These are wonderful, almost magical things. But they all completely pale in comparison to what small improvements in operational efficiency can mean to an organization. In simple terms, it is stupendous to know what your business needs to do next, but it is so much more important to take notes when your company tries (and sometimes struggles) to get it done. Evan LaPointe, contributing author at SearchEngineLand.com
What is Measured
Site Performance Metrics Who is visiting the site geography and basic demographics Top pages visited Pages most visitors land on Pages most where visitors exited site Browsers most used (Internet Explorer vs. Chrome vs. Firefox) Types of devices used (mobile vs. desktop) Length of time spent on site Length of time spent on individual pages Keywords searched Social media effectiveness Paid advertising effectiveness
Campaign Setup Highlights AUDIENCE ACQUISITION CONVERSIONS BEHAVIOR Who came to the site? What did they look at? Did they convert? What browser did they use? Did they use a desktop or mobile device? What path did visitors follow with each click? How did they get to the site? What campaigns are generating traffic? What key words did they use in organic and paid searches? How are my Adwords performing How is social media driving traffic? Goals measure how well your site fulfills objectives. Here individual goals are set up for specific actions like visits to at thanks for registering! page, a download completed screen, minimum visit duration, or a specific purchase amount. What pages were visited? What were the top landing pages? What key words were searched? Where did users come into the site vs. exit? How long did visitors stay on the site vs. individual pages?
Role of the Practitioner
What is my role? BIG PICTURE As Pratictioners, it is our role to Understand what is important [and what isn t] Put data in context Segment and analyze data Find actionable insights [what is happening in the data]
What does that mean? As a practitioner, you will define & create KPI s [key performance indicators] OR goals for the website (what = success?) SEO items key words, key phrases, positioning statements, consistency in message throughout EVERY page Reports for your boss [monthly, quarterly] Presentations and progress reports for your boss New [re-framed] messages throughout site and materials based on analytics
Where do I start? PREPARATION PHASE before digging into the analytics setup Key words and phrases Consistency in brand, theme, visuals, message Define campaign objectives Campaign timeline, metrics, implementation strategy Leadership buy-in Set up system for managing response [CRM, infrastructure] Set up SEO on every page of the site
What am I evaluating? OUR FRIST STEP IN ANALYTICS is to define metrics for our campaign What are the measureable points of success? Conversion rate [how many made purchases OR how many people completed the form] Length of time spent on site Return visitors Did they view the page(s) we wanted them to view? Did they come in to the site from the internet marketing campaign email, ads or landing page?
Google Analytics Reports
Google Analytics Reports Source: The Absolute Beginner s Guide to Google Analytics by Kristi Hines at Moz.com 1 When you log in to Google Analytics you will be taken to the Audience Overview report off the Reporting tab (note that Google Analytics offers more than 50 reports) 2 On the top-right, indicate the reporting time frame you want to see 3 In Audience Overview, for example, you can hover over the various areas of the report to see additional information about sessions, users, page views, etc. Underneath the top metrics more information is available on demographics, systems used and mobile use. You can see as much or as little information as you want by selecting various tracking areas or click the full report link for more details. 4 A standard Google Analytics report provides tracking information for: Audience: Visitor info including demographics, location, language, behavior, technology used, mobile use Acquisition: What drove visitors to the site channels, source, medium, social channels, Adwords, SEO results Behavior: Information about activities on select pages top entry vs. exit pages, top pages viewed, length of time spent on pages, search results within pages Conversions: Tells you how your goals are performing, path users took while on the site (pages visited, links click on, etc.), conversions by audience type and location, landing pages report, etc.
Glossary & References
Key Terms Source: Glossary of Web Analytic Terms from Harper House Bounce Rate Cookies Crawler Spider Bots Hit Impressions Log Files Page Duration Page Tags Page Views Session Stickiness Visitors enter a site, and exit a site from the same page without navigating to other pages or clicking on links Text file placed on a visitor s computer while browsing a site that store information about their actions from one page to the next. Cookies also track returning visitors. Utilized by search engines bots gather information about individual web pages through review and index every few days. Term used for every time a page is accessed by a visitor. Can be a misleading stat because a hit count reflects various components on a page including stylesheets, programming language, images and documents. Hits results can be greatly inflated based on the number of components accounted for in tracking. Term attached to number of views of online ads Log files are the primary source of data in web metrics creating a text file that is attached to all website activity Reflects time spent by a single visitor on a given page Javascript codes embedded in the web page and executed by the browser. Page tags are used to generate log files in web metrics tools. Provides accurate statistic on the number of times a page is viewed by visitors. Session provides a snapshot of a visitor s entry page, navigation during the visit and exit page Measures a website s success in retaining visitors (keeping them on the site for extended periods) and is measured by the number of pages visited in a single session, as well as how much time is spent on the website overall.
References Google Analytics Quick Reference Google Analytics Overview from Google Analytics Features of Google Analytics from Google Analytics Google Analytics Academy free online courses with access to certifications Google Analytics YouTube page Web Analytics & Metrics References 5 Cool Web Analytics Tools to spy on Your Website Visitors by Pratik Dholaklya at JeffBullas.com (April 1, 2015) Building Your Marketing Funnel with Google Analytics by John Doherty at Moz.com (Sept. 23, 2013) Digital Analytics Trends for 2016 from BrianClifton.com Must-Track Website Metrics for 2016 by Per Pettersson at StateofDigital.com (Jan. 12, 2016)