Google Analytics is jam-packed with features that give you an instant status on your website’s health, mishaps and opportunities. The only problem? Most marketers don’t have some of the best features of Google Analytics enabled—leaving opportunity for optimization on the table. These five features of Google Analytics are just a few of our favorites!

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GOOGLE ANALYTICS IS JAM-PACKED WITH FEATURES THAT GIVE YOU AN
INSTANT STATUS ON YOUR WEBSITE’S HEALTH, MISHAPS AND
OPPORTUNITIES. THE ONLY PROBLEM? MOST MARKETERS DON’T HAVE
SOME OF THE BEST FEATURES OF GOOGLE ANALYTICS ENABLED—LEAVING
OPPORTUNITY FOR OPTIMIZATION ON THE TABLE.
THESE FIVE FEATURES OF GOOGLE ANALYTICS ARE JUST A FEW OF OUR
FAVORITES:
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3. 1. Campaign Measurement:
Traffic

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Do you know which campaigns are sending you traffic? One of the
tenets of marketing is relentless testing—but your efforts will only
get you so far if you aren’t properly tracking your campaigns. Adding
parameters to your URLs allows you to properly track campaigns and
cuts out the guesswork.

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Got something you want to track? The opportunities are endless: see
which links in your newsletter are sending visitors to your website;
see which partner ads are volleying you the most traffic; have
confidence that someone is actually reading your guest blog posts.
Catching our drift?

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Here’s the nitty gritty about parameters: you can either set them up
manually or use a URL-builder. Google Analytics’ URL-builder is a
good starting point.
There are five parameters that work:
1. “utm_source”
2. “utm_medium”
3. “utm_campaign”
4. “utm_term”
5. “utm_content”

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Use parameters with values that allow you to drill down to specifics
that make sense for your campaign. For example, you may use the
utm_source “holiday_mailer” with the utm_campaign as “Dec” to link
parameters to your December holiday email campaign.

8. 2. Track your Goals: Website
conversions & user activity

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The Google Analytics Goals feature feature tracks the most critical
metric: conversions, (really, any activity or behavior you want your
website visitors to do). It could be filling out a form, requesting a
product demo, signing up for your email list, downloading an eBook,
or completing a purchase.

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Choose goals for specific pages of your website. Everything is
tracked to the view level, and each time a user completes your
desired goal, Google Analytics notes it as a conversion.
Goals can be categorized as:
• Destination (a path you want a website visitor to take)
• Duration (sessions that last for set amount of time, or longer)
• Pages/Screens Per Session (the number of pages a user has viewed
in a set amount of time)
• Event (an action, such as a click)

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You can create a funnel for your Destination goals. In this instance,
map out the path you would expect a website visitor to take. Should
they deviate—or abandon the path—you’ll immediately know where
there’s an issue.
You can also assign a monetary value to each goal. This is a
straightforward way to evaluate losses and gains and communicate
results across the business, in a way everyone will relate to.

12. 3. Audience reports: Know your
users

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Flow visualization graphics give you the sense of spying on your website
visitors.
No, not in a creepy way! But these reports allow you to view every step that
visitors took as they explored your site, including backtracks. You’ll get a fast
snapshot of how they’re engaging with your content and where you may
lose them along the way.

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Pretty nifty, huh?
There are several flow visualization reports in Google Analytics. One of our
favorites is the Behavior Flow report, which portrays how visitors went from
one event or page to the next. This report puts the onus on the content
versus the channel. For example, you can segment traffic that comes just
from Facebook, or email newsletters to evaluate traffic patterns from those
sources. You can also segment traffic by isolating keywords.

16. 5. Custom reports: Analytics
data, made to order

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If you’re a pro with the standard suite of reports, it may be time to dip your
toes into custom reporting.
Google Analytics’ custom reports allow you to slice your data exactly how
you need it. Carve out your own, unique reports to fit your business goals. If
you’re feeling intimidated, a good place to start is by reviewing the Google
Analytics Solutions Gallery. There, you can access a slew of custom report
templates from the Google Analytics community.

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You’ll save a ton of time, with reports already made for insights on things like
mobile performance, page timing, keyword analysis and more.
Interested in going out on your own? Make your own custom reports by
clicking on the (you guessed it) Customization tab in your top nav. There’s
plenty of step-by-step guides that cover every metric and report format.
Implement these five features to experience the full benefits of Google
Analytics and maximize your use of the tool. Do you have a favorite feature
that you feel is underutilized? Share it with us on Twitter or Facebook!

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ABOUT MATCHCRAFT
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