Google Analytics is a free tool with valuable data about who is visiting your website and what they do when they get there. Learn how to work around “not provided” keywords, track visitor flow and find out ways to optimize your site. Whether you’re the webmaster or a small business owner, this presentation willl provide tips on how to reach your marketing goals with analytics

1. Tina Arnoldi, Consultant
360InternetStrategy.com
April 10th, 2014
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What we’ll cover – and why it matters
1. Sources of traffic
2. Tag your campaigns
3. Top landing pages
4. Social media – when to post
5. Content – unique visitors

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What we’ll cover – and why it matters
6. New visitor bounce
7. Dealing with “not provided”
– Landing Pages
– Webmaster tools
– AdWords
8. Visitor Flow
9. Advanced segments
10.Trends over time

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Source of today’s screen shots
• www.books.tinaarnoldi.com
– Small book blog
– Not a money maker, more of a hobby
– I own it, therefore no confidentiality issues
– Easy for audience to follow along with low traffic
and simple content
• Screenshots are also used from other
accounts with data blocked out

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Poll
• Rate your Google Analytics knowledge
1. Never looked at it
2. Logged in a few times and was overwhelmed
3. I could teach this class!

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1. Know your traffic sources
• Source = Origin
– Ex. Facebook.com
• Medium = Tied to the origin
– Ex. CPC – Cost per click for paid
Facebook ad

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What to look at with traffic sources?
• How do people find you?
• Does behavior change based
on the source?
• Any surprises?

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• Was there different behavior by traffic sources?
• Is it behavior you expect?
• If it’s positive, you may want to put more
resources into that traffic source or reevaluate
your landing pages.

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• Source/Medium
• Direct – missing
campaign tracking?
• Goodreads – should
there be more?
• What brings in new?
• What about returning?

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Poll
• Are your campaigns tagged so you know
where traffic is originating?
1. What’s tagging?
2. For the most part
3. We’re “tagging ninjas”

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2. Tag your campaigns
Campaign Source (utm_source) Required. Use utm_source to identify a search engine,
newsletter name, or other source.
Example: utm_source=google
Campaign Medium (utm_medium) Required. Use utm_medium to identify a medium such as
email or cost-per- click.
Example: utm_medium=cpc
Campaign Term (utm_term) Used for paid search. Use utm_term to note the
keywords for this ad.
Example: utm_term=running+shoes
Campaign Content (utm_content) Used for A/B testing and content-targeted ads.
Use utm_content to differentiate ads or links that point to
the same URL.
Examples: utm_content=logolink or utm_content=textlink
Campaign Name (utm_campaign) Used for keyword analysis. Use utm_campaign to
identify a specific product promotion or strategic
campaign.
Example: utm_campaign=spring_sale

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URL builder
• Step 1: Enter the URL of your website.
– Website URL *(e.g. http://www.website.com/page.html)
• Step 2: Fill in the fields below. Campaign
Source, Campaign Medium and Campaign
Name should always be used.
– Campaign Source *(referrer: facebook, citysearch, newsletter4)
– Campaign Medium *(marketing medium: cpc, banner, email)
– Campaign Term(identify the paid keywords)
– Campaign Content(use to differentiate ads)
– Campaign Name *(Christmas, promo code, or slogan)

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What happens if I don’t tag?
• All of those visitors that are actually from a
paid campaign will be reported as “organic” in
Google Analytics.
• It’s easy to tag in AdWords.
– Link your analytics account to enable auto-
tagging.

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Poll
• We drive most of our traffic to…
1. Our home page
2. Our contact page
3. Specific landing page
4. I have no idea

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What is a landing page?
• Google Analytics
– Where your visitors land on your website
• A better definition
– A page that has a form and exists to capture
visitor’s information regarding a specific service or
product

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3. Top landing pages
• What pages are acting as the intro to your site?
• Can they be improved?
• Is your important messaging there?
• Are your top landing pages also your top exit
pages?
• Is there a call-to-action?
• Does it answer the question on the source?

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3. Top landing pages

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Big question: How are they converting?

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Poll question
• What’s your social media strategy?
1. Um.. we don’t have one??
2. We just sort of post somewhat regularly
3. Nothing official but we’re active daily
4. We have a written policy we follow closely

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4. Social media – when to post

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5. Content
• Content pageviews do help identity what’s of interest to
readers.
• However, focusing on pageviews isn’t the best option
because that doesn’t necessarily help build the audience.
• You can also look at content in the context of visitors.

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Unique visitors

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6. New visitor bounce
Your new visitors are the ones that need a
reason to come back

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So how do you lower bounce rate?
• Limit how much is in the sidebar of the page
so visitors aren’t overwhelmed.
– Ex. 3 posts instead of 30 posts
• Additional resources are good but don’t
overdo it with external links.
• Make related content stand out.

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7. Dealing with “not provided”

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Poll
• Are you using Webmaster tools?
1. Never heard of it until now
2. No idea, our web team keeps secrets
3. I’ve logged in but have no idea what it means
4. Yes! We’re all over search queries

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Also use Webmaster Tools for
actual search queries

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Poll
• Do you use AdWords?
1. Never tried it
2. Used to – it’s a waste of money
3. Yes – it’s brought us new business
4. Yes – but mostly for market research

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And there’s always AdWords!

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Poll question
• What do you think of the “visitor flow”?
1. The visitor what?
2. It’s like one big maze
3. We use it to make marketing decisions

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8. Visitor Flow
• A graph that represents the path visitors took
through your site
– Node = dimension
– Connection = path
• Focus on one piece at a time

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Right click on a
segment for a
closer look.

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Poll
• Have you used advanced segments?
1. Yes - we only use the built-in ones
2. Yes - we’ve created custom segments
3. No - we’re afraid of permanently changing our data

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9. Advanced segments

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10. Trends over time
• Seasonal
• Economic
• Advertising
• Change in products/services

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Application
1. Make a list of all your marketing efforts
2. Look at numbers in context
3. Review or create a content strategy
4. Set-up webmaster tools
5. Pick one segment in “Visitor Flow”

51. Tina Arnoldi, Consultant
360InternetStrategy.com
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