Google Analytics - A basic knowledge
What is the best part of Online Marketing?
Being able to track, measure and analyse the effectiveness of your marketing campaign.
When you set up your marketing campaign, you want to know how productive it is and make immediate changes if the result isn't flowing in.
This is where analytics comes in. As a digital marketing expert, you want to know how effective your marketing campaigns are, who your target audience is, what is driving people to buy from you and what product is the hot cake.
While many tools such as social media, email marketing tools and others come with their own embedded analytics, There are however more advanced analytics tools, that gives us more info about our marketing campaigns.
Most of this tools are paid but this article focuses on a freemium one, Google Analytics.
In this article, we will learn how to install google analytics and take a look at what the various section of analytics means and does. This just a simple Guide to Google analytic.
Google analytics extract data, such as traffic, audience demography and technology and projects them in metrics which marketers use in measuring their campaign activities and taking decisions on their campaign plans.
When the site comes up the first thing you see on your screen are the three steps that will be your guide to setting up your GA accounts, they read thus;
Sign Up for Google Analytics
Add Tracking Code
And lastly, Learn about your audience
After these three steps at the extreme right-hand corner, you will see the sign in button. Click it and use your Google primary account you have created to log in.
When logged in, a form comes up for you to fill. You will see such details as;
What do you like to track?
Options for either a website or a mobile app is provided. Click on the website for tracking your website. If for mobile app click on the mobile app.
After selecting your choice, you scroll down to fill in other data such as your account name, website name, website URL, industry category which your website falls into and the time zone to which you want Google analytic to report.
When you scroll down further you will see options for you to check for data sharing. I advise you leave all checked.
After checking everything click on the Get Tracking ID
One thing you should know however is that you can have up to 100 Google analytics account under one Google primary account - separate them with their names, you can have up to 50 websites under one Google analytic account and up to 25 views under one website account.
Under the tracking code is a Javascript HTML code which contains the tracking code which you will install on every page of your website. The code will be install after the <head> tag or before the </head> tag through your website HTML editor.
For Wordpress user, you can add the tracking code using Genesis Framework through the header or footer area or you can use the Yoast plugin to install the tracking ID code.
If you are using HTML files you can add the code by using text editor programs before the </head> or after <head> and then upload it to your web host using an FTP program.
If you are using blogger, it is very easy to install. Log on to your account and click on the template and then click edit template. Copy the tracking ID JavaScript code and paste it after the <head> or before the </head> tags and then click save.
If you are using any other program you can search for how to install Google analytic tracking code on (include the platform name) with Google search engine or any other search engine.
When you log on to your Google analytics you will be taken straight to your Audience view reports - that is if you have just one website under your google analytics reports. If you have more than the one you will be taken to your list of website. When you choose anyone you will then be directed to the Audience Overview reports.
The Audience Overview reports give you details of your audience and their behaviours. Before I move on to the reports features lets us take a tour around the panel.
Standard features of GA
Starting from the top menu you will find tabs that lead to Home - Reporting - Customisation and Admin. And at the extreme right top of GA window, you will see your website name. If you have more than one website, a drop-down button is there for you to select from your list of website.
Clicking on home, you will be sent back to website property view where you can select the website you want to choose or the google analytic account you wish to view. Reporting takes you to the data reports. Customisation allows you to customise your reports that look similar to that of Google Analytic reports with the data you want to view. Admin, on the other hand, allows you to create new google analytic, website properties or delete.
Looking down from where your website name is you also see the date range of the google analytics data you are viewing. You can manoeuvre through the date by clicking on it to view data of a previous month.
At the left-hand corner of the window, you will see a list of features you can hover through. There is the Dashboard, Shortcut, Intelligence Events, Real-time, Audience, Acquisition, Behaviour and Conversion.
When you select any of these features you get access to the information under that category. For example, if you select the Audience feature it gives you various data from your audience. Using your mouse to hover around the data you will be shown information about what that data entails. Clicking on it gives you a full report of the data.
The features that concern you
Of all the features you see on Google Analytics pane, four of these features are of major interest. They are;
Acquisition: the acquisition reports tell you through what channels your audience where driven to your website. You can view these in the All Traffic sub-section or you can be more specific All Traffic>Source/Medium. you can also see what social network is driving in most traffic by clicking the sub-section Social. If you are using AdWord campaign you can integrate it by clicking the Sub-section AdWord and from there get data of how effective the campaign is. Also, you can check for visitors from search engines by clicking on the sub-section search engine optimisation.
Behaviour: under behaviour, you get data on how your contents are performing. Here you are able to know the top pages of your website. You find this under the sub-section Site Content>All Pages. Your top landing pages found under Site Content>Landing Pages and the pages your audience is immediately exited from which can be found under Site Content>Exit Pages.
You can also find out the search terms people look for on your website, Site Search>Search Terms. This can only be accessed if you have set up site search on your website. You can also learn how fast your website loads and get the solution to the speed problems under Site Speed>Speed Suggestions.
Conversations: conversation gives you analytic data that concerns the goals which you have set. Under it, you can view how many conversations your website has achieved under sub-section Goals>Overview. You can also view the pages by which the conversion happened under sub-section Goals>Goals Url and can also see the paths by which your visitor used in completing the conversation Goals>Reverse Goal Path.
To find goal setting, click on Admin and then click on goals which appear under the view column of the website you have selected. Click on it. A panel showing the data of your goals will be shown, but because you haven't set up goals before it will show there is no data to view.
Click on Create New Goal (it a red button) and a form will appear.
Then find the confirmation URL that comes up after a transaction has been completed on your website copy this URL.
After copying the confirmation URL, you go back to your goal setup form. You will notice that there are three steps to set up the goal.
The first step requires is the Goal Setup. Here you choose from either the already customise Templates provided by Google Analytics or you customise your own.
If you choose to customise your own goals, it means you tick the Customs check button. After selecting which option you want to click the next button underneath it.
You will be transferred to the second step that is Goal Description. Here you fill in your Goal name, Goal ID and the type of goals. Under the type of goals you have;
Destination, Duration, Pages/Screen per session and lastly Event. Since we are talking about confirmation URL which your site redirects to after a transaction has been completed, your goal type will be Destination. After selecting the Destination you then click on next step button and you will be taken to the final step of Goal Setup.
In the final step of setting up your goal, here you give your goal details. You input your destination URL which normally is a thank you page and may look like these; www.abc.com/thank-you or www.com/transaction-complete.html depending on your website. You do not need the full URL, only the attached part - /thank-you or /transaction-complete.html.
After filling in the destination URL. You are will see optional options you might like to add to the goals data. That is Value and Funnel. These two are optional and not necessary but if you turn on any of them just fill in the details that follow. For example, Values represent how much-completed task cost. Here you will be required to fill in the monetary value of your goal in dollars.
You can set up to 30 goals if you want, my advice is that make sure these goals are really important to you.
Being able to track, measure and analyse the effectiveness of your marketing campaign.
When you set up your marketing campaign, you want to know how productive it is and make immediate changes if the result isn't flowing in.
This is where analytics comes in. As a digital marketing expert, you want to know how effective your marketing campaigns are, who your target audience is, what is driving people to buy from you and what product is the hot cake.
While many tools such as social media, email marketing tools and others come with their own embedded analytics, There are however more advanced analytics tools, that gives us more info about our marketing campaigns.
Most of this tools are paid but this article focuses on a freemium one, Google Analytics.
In this article, we will learn how to install google analytics and take a look at what the various section of analytics means and does. This just a simple Guide to Google analytic.
What is Google Analytics
Google analytics is a free data extraction tool used in tracking and analysing marketing campaigns. Once registered you are giving a piece of javascript code to input on your website so as to track the activities that happen on it.Google analytics extract data, such as traffic, audience demography and technology and projects them in metrics which marketers use in measuring their campaign activities and taking decisions on their campaign plans.
How to Install Google Analytics
To install, first, you need a Google primary account. If you already have a Google primary account then you may not need to create any other except you want to. Your Google primary account enables you to have access to other Google services such as blogger, Google+, Google Drive, Gmail and a host of other services of which among them is Google Analytics.Setup Analytics
If you have a Google primary account or have just created one then go to the Google Analytics website.When the site comes up the first thing you see on your screen are the three steps that will be your guide to setting up your GA accounts, they read thus;
Sign Up for Google Analytics
Add Tracking Code
And lastly, Learn about your audience
After these three steps at the extreme right-hand corner, you will see the sign in button. Click it and use your Google primary account you have created to log in.
When logged in, a form comes up for you to fill. You will see such details as;
What do you like to track?
Options for either a website or a mobile app is provided. Click on the website for tracking your website. If for mobile app click on the mobile app.
After selecting your choice, you scroll down to fill in other data such as your account name, website name, website URL, industry category which your website falls into and the time zone to which you want Google analytic to report.
When you scroll down further you will see options for you to check for data sharing. I advise you leave all checked.
After checking everything click on the Get Tracking ID
One thing you should know however is that you can have up to 100 Google analytics account under one Google primary account - separate them with their names, you can have up to 50 websites under one Google analytic account and up to 25 views under one website account.
Install Tracking Code
After clicking the get tracking code button a pop up of google analytic terms and condition window will appear on your computer screen, check the box to agree to the terms and this will send you to another window where you can get your tracking ID. It looks something like this GA-0000000-1.Under the tracking code is a Javascript HTML code which contains the tracking code which you will install on every page of your website. The code will be install after the <head> tag or before the </head> tag through your website HTML editor.
For Wordpress user, you can add the tracking code using Genesis Framework through the header or footer area or you can use the Yoast plugin to install the tracking ID code.
If you are using HTML files you can add the code by using text editor programs before the </head> or after <head> and then upload it to your web host using an FTP program.
If you are using blogger, it is very easy to install. Log on to your account and click on the template and then click edit template. Copy the tracking ID JavaScript code and paste it after the <head> or before the </head> tags and then click save.
If you are using any other program you can search for how to install Google analytic tracking code on (include the platform name) with Google search engine or any other search engine.
Understanding your audience
By installing the tracking identity on your website you have given Google analytics complete access to analyse your website and provide you with data that can help you understand how your website or blog or blog audience and thus your Google analytic is set. It takes about 24 hours before Google analytics start gathering reports from your website.When you log on to your Google analytics you will be taken straight to your Audience view reports - that is if you have just one website under your google analytics reports. If you have more than the one you will be taken to your list of website. When you choose anyone you will then be directed to the Audience Overview reports.
The Audience Overview reports give you details of your audience and their behaviours. Before I move on to the reports features lets us take a tour around the panel.
Standard features of GA
Starting from the top menu you will find tabs that lead to Home - Reporting - Customisation and Admin. And at the extreme right top of GA window, you will see your website name. If you have more than one website, a drop-down button is there for you to select from your list of website.
Clicking on home, you will be sent back to website property view where you can select the website you want to choose or the google analytic account you wish to view. Reporting takes you to the data reports. Customisation allows you to customise your reports that look similar to that of Google Analytic reports with the data you want to view. Admin, on the other hand, allows you to create new google analytic, website properties or delete.
Looking down from where your website name is you also see the date range of the google analytics data you are viewing. You can manoeuvre through the date by clicking on it to view data of a previous month.
At the left-hand corner of the window, you will see a list of features you can hover through. There is the Dashboard, Shortcut, Intelligence Events, Real-time, Audience, Acquisition, Behaviour and Conversion.
When you select any of these features you get access to the information under that category. For example, if you select the Audience feature it gives you various data from your audience. Using your mouse to hover around the data you will be shown information about what that data entails. Clicking on it gives you a full report of the data.
The features that concern you
Of all the features you see on Google Analytics pane, four of these features are of major interest. They are;
- Audience
- Acquisition
- Behaviour
- Conversation
Here is a brief summary of what they do.
Audience: this feature allows you to know more about your audience. Their age, and sex which will be found under sub-section Demographics, location found under the sub-section location, Interest found under the sub-section Interest, what they use to access your website found under sub-section Technology and Mobile and lastly how often they visit your website found under sub-section Behaviour.Acquisition: the acquisition reports tell you through what channels your audience where driven to your website. You can view these in the All Traffic sub-section or you can be more specific All Traffic>Source/Medium. you can also see what social network is driving in most traffic by clicking the sub-section Social. If you are using AdWord campaign you can integrate it by clicking the Sub-section AdWord and from there get data of how effective the campaign is. Also, you can check for visitors from search engines by clicking on the sub-section search engine optimisation.
Behaviour: under behaviour, you get data on how your contents are performing. Here you are able to know the top pages of your website. You find this under the sub-section Site Content>All Pages. Your top landing pages found under Site Content>Landing Pages and the pages your audience is immediately exited from which can be found under Site Content>Exit Pages.
You can also find out the search terms people look for on your website, Site Search>Search Terms. This can only be accessed if you have set up site search on your website. You can also learn how fast your website loads and get the solution to the speed problems under Site Speed>Speed Suggestions.
Conversations: conversation gives you analytic data that concerns the goals which you have set. Under it, you can view how many conversations your website has achieved under sub-section Goals>Overview. You can also view the pages by which the conversion happened under sub-section Goals>Goals Url and can also see the paths by which your visitor used in completing the conversation Goals>Reverse Goal Path.
Setting up Goals.
Goals are ways by which you notify google analytic of an important event that took place on your website. If you are selling products through your website you might like to monitor how many people actually completed a transaction or if you want a create a campaign to monitor the people that subscribe to your newsletter or any other thing that stuff that you use your website to do you can use the goals set to monitor the campaign.To find goal setting, click on Admin and then click on goals which appear under the view column of the website you have selected. Click on it. A panel showing the data of your goals will be shown, but because you haven't set up goals before it will show there is no data to view.
Click on Create New Goal (it a red button) and a form will appear.
Then find the confirmation URL that comes up after a transaction has been completed on your website copy this URL.
After copying the confirmation URL, you go back to your goal setup form. You will notice that there are three steps to set up the goal.
The first step requires is the Goal Setup. Here you choose from either the already customise Templates provided by Google Analytics or you customise your own.
If you choose to customise your own goals, it means you tick the Customs check button. After selecting which option you want to click the next button underneath it.
You will be transferred to the second step that is Goal Description. Here you fill in your Goal name, Goal ID and the type of goals. Under the type of goals you have;
Destination, Duration, Pages/Screen per session and lastly Event. Since we are talking about confirmation URL which your site redirects to after a transaction has been completed, your goal type will be Destination. After selecting the Destination you then click on next step button and you will be taken to the final step of Goal Setup.
In the final step of setting up your goal, here you give your goal details. You input your destination URL which normally is a thank you page and may look like these; www.abc.com/thank-you or www.com/transaction-complete.html depending on your website. You do not need the full URL, only the attached part - /thank-you or /transaction-complete.html.
After filling in the destination URL. You are will see optional options you might like to add to the goals data. That is Value and Funnel. These two are optional and not necessary but if you turn on any of them just fill in the details that follow. For example, Values represent how much-completed task cost. Here you will be required to fill in the monetary value of your goal in dollars.
You can set up to 30 goals if you want, my advice is that make sure these goals are really important to you.
Conclusion
Tracking, measuring and analysing the effect of your marketing campaigns is mission critical for every business out there. No business like to throw it money down the drain. Analytics help us quickly discover a leakage and weakness in our marketing campaign
Labels: Digital Marketing Tips, Google Analytics, Web Analytics
1 Comments:
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