The Google Analytics Tool

This article discusses the many benefits of Google Analytics and shows how easy it is to install on your own business website.

Before I discuss how easy it is to install the Google Analytics tool, let me give you my top five reasons why it is essential to use it on your site.

Reason #1: Navigation Path Analysis
Do you know the exact pages your visitors look at when then come to your site? Do they take the path you want them to take or are they all over the place? You might assume they are taking one path when, in reality, they are taking a very different one that lowers the chance of conversion (e.g., purchase.)

How can you improve your website experience for your visitors if you don't know what pages are being viewed and which links are being clicked? No longer will you have to guess about what website improvements to tackle. With the power of the Google Analytics tool, your visitors will tell you through their actions.

Reason #2: Traffic Source Monitoring
Do you know how people find your site? Which search engine is sending the most traffic to your site? Which is sending the least? Are the ads you placed on other sites actually driving traffic to your website? The Google Analytics tool will tell you which sites people were at before coming to yours. In addition, you'll learn what people typed into the various search engines to find your web pages. This information is critical to help you discover what is driving traffic so that you can do more of the things that work and less of things that don't!

Reason #3: Page Content
So you wrote a great new content page on your site. I bet everyone’s viewing it, right? The Google Analytics tool will show you how often pages get viewed relative to others on your site. You'll also know exactly how long people stayed at a particular page. This data will help you prune and adjust page content as well as identify deadbeat pages that are proving to be of little interest to your visitors.

Reason #4: Key Performance Indicators
The Google Analytics tool allows you to set up website goals to monitor such as purchases and newsletter signups. By setting and monitoring key performance indicators, you can understand what is working and what isn't. Once you see where the problem areas are, you can work to improve them.

Reason #5: Trend Monitoring
The Google Analytics tool provides an easy way to look at dozens of website activities over time. By defining your most important key performance indicators and monitoring them over time, you'll be able to notice a problem and act immediately before it becomes a serious issue. Trends that are useful to monitor over time include:

• Average time on site (indication of visitor engagement)
• Depth of visit (How many pages are viewed before leaving?)
• Number of unique visitors
• Number of repeat visitors
• Bounce rate (# people that leave after viewing only 1 page)

The Google Analytics tool simply allows you to monitor and measure your website activity. Maybe you've heard the phrase "If you can't measure it, you can't improve it." Well, the converse is true as well and the Google Analytics tool will help you do all the measuring you require.

So, how do you go about installing the Google Analytics tool on your site? Read on!

Step 1: Create a Google Account
If you already happen to have a Google account, move on to Step 2. If not, create one from the Google Analytics landing page. Just click the link below and follow the instructions for creating an account.

By the way, once you have created a Google account, you will have access to all of Google's services should you require them in the future. This includes Google Adwords, Gmail, Google Groups and personalized home pages.

Step 2: Obtain Your Unique Tracking Script
Sign in to your new Google account and click on the "Analytics" link. You will be directed to the Google Analytics signup page where you will be able to retrieve your unique tracking script that you will paste into your web pages.

From the new account signup page, select either "http://" or "https://" from the drop-down menu. Most of you will have websites that start with "http://" so this will be the one you choose.

Continue following the instructions to register your Google Analytics account. After agreeing to Google's terms & conditions, select "Create New Account." Google will then provide you with your unique tracking code.

Step 3: Install Your Tracking Code
You will need to paste your tracking code into each and every page you wish to track. For most of you, this will include virtually every page of your website.

Depending on the size of your site, it may take you a little time to add the code and upload all of your pages. You will paste the code just before the </body> tag on each of your web pages. If you use the SBI blockbuilder system, you simply add the code in a final text box.

Once you have installed the code on your web pages, Google will automatically start looking for it and will give you a status report when you sign back in to your Analytics account. It will typically take 24 hours before Google picks up on your code and starts tracking visitor information.

Step 4: View Your Website Data
Once Google picks up on your tracking code, you’ll be presented with an analytics Dashboard upon signing into your account. There is nothing you can mess up so spend a few hours clicking all the links and viewing the different types of information presented.

At the very left of the Dashboard screen, you will see an analytics navigation menu. Take the time to explore each of these to get an understanding of how Google groups website data into distinct categories.

Step 5: Educate Yourself
The Google Analytics tool is only helpful if you know how to navigate the various menus and submenus. The best way to do this is to simply spend some time exploring. I also recommend you spend some time at the Google Analytics Help Center, where you can browse topics of interest.

All of Google's online help is very good but there is a lot of it. If you would like a systematic walkthrough of all the Google Analytics reports, I highly recommend Advanced Web Metrics with Google Analytics by Brian Clifton. Don't worry about the word "Advanced" in the title. The first half of the book gently explains how to access all the various reporting features.

So there you have it! Take the time to install and learn how the Google Analytics tool works and you'll be well on your way to understanding how your customers navigate your site. And, as we all learned from Schoolhouse Rock, "knowledge is power!"