Google Analytics Fundamentals

@crestodina
Andy Crestodina
GOOGLE ANALYTICS
FUNDAMENTALS
#eventname

@crestodina
Using data to make good marketing decisions

@crestodina #eventname
source: Orbit Media
94.6%of top marketing sites use
Google Analytics

source: Orbit Media
25%of Orbit clients
have Analytics set up properly

@crestodina #ContentJam
A bit of history

How Google Analytics Works
Javascript and Cookies

1. No cookie? No data
2. JavaScript disabled? No data
3. Time on page? Or time on tab?
4. Same device, different user
5. Same user, different device / browser
When it doesn’t work

Basic issues with GA

First Touch Deep Dive Purchase Purchase Loyalty
This can be a problem...

The click doesn’t count!
Carousel / slideshow advancing
Anchor/jump links
Rollover content
Dropdowns expanding
Offsite links / social media buttons
Social sharing buttons
Video plays
Livechat interactions
Embedded map interactions
Tabs
Filters
Scrolling
Comment / review submission
Mailto: links
PDF, PPT, Word downloads
Lightbox interactions

@crestodina • #CMWorld
URL problems...

Every number in Analytics
is inaccurate

Every number in Analytics
is inaccurate
…and that’s totally ok

@crestodina
Use data to make good marketing decisions

GA Jargon

The ABCs of Analytics

The landscape
of the reports

The landscape
of the admin section

Filter out traffic from yourself
...you are not your target audience

Exclude traffic from robots
...because they never convert

Are there robots in my Analytics?

Setting up goals
...because GA doesn’t know what success looks like

Type of Conversion Revenue Content
Lead
Customer
Donor
Event Registrant @
Subscriber @
Downloader (guide, ebook, whitepaper) @
Webinar Registrant @
Follower / Fan @
Member @
Reviewer @
Job Applicant @

Thank you messages
...not good for Analytics

Email links
...not good for Analytics

Forms / thank you pages
...perfect for Analytics

Thank you!
Forms / thank you pages
...perfect for Analytics

Subscribers from ‘Thank You’ page

What about event tracking?
That’ll work, right?

Remember those
“non-pageview”
interactions?
...they are trackable

source: Orbit Media
41.4%of top marketing sites use
Google Tag Manager

...so let’s use thank you pages
...because that was kinda rough.

1. They see a Thank You page (additional messaging)
2. They get an auto-response email
3. Sends an email notification to you
4. Saves to database or CRM
5. Records as a conversion in Analytics
5 Things that happen when visitors submit...

image source: Marco Verch, Flickr

The Funnel Visualization report

The Channels report ...with conversion rates

1 in 3marketers don’t know
which tactic has the biggest impact

Goals can never be deleted
…and you only get 20 per view

1. Add “social proof” to your top pages
2. Make sure every page has a call to action
3. Add people and personality
4. Use short, simple forms
5. Answer visitors’ top questions
5 Tips for better conversion rates

7 Things to add to your testimonials

Top Pages
Which are my most popular pages?

Content! One of the most
important reports in GA

1. Add great calls to action
2. Add strong testimonials
3. Add links to your strongest content
4. Remove links to other websites
5. Polish! Add personality! Video! People!
5 Tips for Top Pages

Beware the “services” page...

The problem with multi-topic pages...

Analytics blind spot! ...and horrible SEO

Navigation Summaries
Where do they go from here?

1. Any small links getting clicked a lot?
2. Any big buttons getting missed?
3. Are calls to action effective?
4. What gets clicked the most in the main nav?
5. What never gets clicked in the main nav?
5 Questions to ask your Navigation Summary

“Everything you remove from a page
makes everything that’s left more prominent!”
Less is more (effective)

Filters
Find things in the first column fast

Advanced Filters
Find anything fast!

“Which blog posts have bounce rates
of more than 80%”
Let’s answer this question...

Campaign Tracking Code
Where are your email visitors hiding?

ESP Metrics vs. Website Metrics
source: Increase Email Open Rates, Orbit Media

Social Metrics vs. Website Metrics

There they are!!
Where are my email visitors?

Medium
broadest origin of traffic
cpc
Source
Specific (branded) origin of traffic
facebook
Campaign Name
Specific marketing effort
spring_sale
Campaign tracking for a Facebook ad

Medium
email
Source
mailchimp
Campaign Name
april_newsletter
Campaign tracking for an email newsletter

Medium
cpm
Source
twitter
Campaign Name
event_registration
Campaign tracking for a Twitter campaign

Never add campaign tracking
code to internal links

Adding notes in GA
“Annotations” help tell stories.

There’s a story behind the data...

1. Sent an email campaign
2. Started, changed or stopped advertising
3. Press hit!
4. Changed website
5. Changed Analytics setup
5 Reasons to add Annotations

Site Search Setup
Does your site have a search box?

See what they’re looking for!

Secondary Dimensions
Add more data to any report!

1. Search for each phrase yourself. Find it?
2. Your page isn’t ranking? Optimize it!
3. You don’t have a page? Create it!
4. Adjust your navigation to help visitors find
things faster
4 Tips from the Search Terms report

Putting it all together
Let’s combine all of our new skills!

“Which pages get the most traffic from
social media visitors?”
Interesting question...

Step 1: Go to Behavior > Site Content > All Pages

Step 2: Click on the “Secondary dimension” dropdown

Step 3: Select “Medium” (find it by searching or clicking Acquisition > Medium)

Step 4: Click to set an advanced filter (so we can filter by medium!)

Step 5: Set filter so Medium contains “social” and click Apply

Using Segments
How to find specific audiences

Saving Reports
Because they’re kinda hard to make

Sharing Reports
Don’t go it alone!

Analytics is useless!
...unless you share, make decisions and take action.

1. It answers questions
2. You share the insights
3. You make decisions based on those insights
4. You take action!
5. You measure the impact
Analytics is useful only if...

Sharing data visually
...because text is weak

“Six years ago, we didn’t have any mobile traffic.
Now 60% of our traffic is mobile.”
Text is kinda weak

Thanks, Snagit!
Visuals are much more compelling

Grab visuals from Analytics (Jing)

Put that visual into a presentation!

There is more to life than
Google Analytics

The best things in life aren’t in GA

Crossing the Line
From beginner… to advanced… to expert

@crestodina
Andy Crestodina
THANK YOU!

Google Analytics Fundamentals

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