google analytics for bloggers

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Google Analytics 101: Tips for Becoming a Better Blogger By Jeff Sauer – @jeffaly/cs

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Google Analytics for bloggers can be tricky to get started. This guide covers the basics of getting an account started, while also giving some pro tips for how you can use the information in Google Analytics for becoming a better blogger. If you have a blog and want to know more about Google Analytics, this is one of the best resources that you will have to get started. All information is up to date as of the September 2013 releases of Google Analytics.

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Page 1: Google Analytics for Bloggers

Google Analytics 101: Tips for Becoming a Better Blogger

By  Jeff  Sauer  –    @jeffaly/cs  

Page 2: Google Analytics for Bloggers

Your Google Analytics Guide

Jeff  Sauer  Marke/ng  and  Travel  Blogger    Vice  President    Three  Deep  Marke/ng  St.  Paul,  MN,  USA  

2  

Interested  in  Google  Analy/cs  Training?  Learn  More:    

bit.ly/request-­‐ga-­‐training    

Page 3: Google Analytics for Bloggers

Jeff  Sauer  |  @jeffaly/cs  |  Google  Analy/cs  For  Bloggers  |  www.jeffaly/cs.com  

About Jeff Sauer

•  Vice  President  at  Three  Deep  Marke/ng  in  St.  Paul,  MN  

•  Google  Analy/cs  Cer/fied  Partner  since  2009    •  Have  been  blogging  since  2000  

•  Named  2012  CIO  of  the  Year  by  the    Minneapolis/St.  Paul  Business  Journal  

•  Three  Deep  was  an  Inc.  5000  Fast  Growing    Company  Award  in  2010,  2011,  2012  &  2013  

 •  Board  Member  for  MIMA  and  MnSearch  

Page 4: Google Analytics for Bloggers

Jeff  Sauer  |  @jeffaly/cs  |  Google  Analy/cs  For  Bloggers  |  www.jeffaly/cs.com  

My Two Blogs

h^p://www.jeffaly/cs.com   h^p://www.jeffse^er.com  

Page 5: Google Analytics for Bloggers

Jeff  Sauer  |  @jeffaly/cs  |  Google  Analy/cs  For  Bloggers  |  www.jeffaly/cs.com  

And Yes… I took that Cover Photo

Page 6: Google Analytics for Bloggers

Jeff  Sauer  |  @jeffaly/cs  |  Google  Analy/cs  For  Bloggers  |  www.jeffaly/cs.com  

Let’s Talk about Google Analytics

Page 7: Google Analytics for Bloggers

Jeff  Sauer  |  @jeffaly/cs  |  Google  Analy/cs  For  Bloggers  |  www.jeffaly/cs.com  

Google Analytics is Like Othello

Page 8: Google Analytics for Bloggers

Jeff  Sauer  |  @jeffaly/cs  |  Google  Analy/cs  For  Bloggers  |  www.jeffaly/cs.com  

Google Analytics is Like Othello

A Second to Learn Years to Master

Page 9: Google Analytics for Bloggers

Jeff  Sauer  |  @jeffaly/cs  |  Google  Analy/cs  For  Bloggers  |  www.jeffaly/cs.com  

A Mile Wide and a Mile Deep

Download:  h8p://www.jeffaly<cs.com/google-­‐analy<cs-­‐guide/  

Page 10: Google Analytics for Bloggers

Jeff  Sauer  |  @jeffaly/cs  |  Google  Analy/cs  For  Bloggers  |  www.jeffaly/cs.com  

What You Will Experience Today

Page 11: Google Analytics for Bloggers

Jeff  Sauer  |  @jeffaly/cs  |  Google  Analy/cs  For  Bloggers  |  www.jeffaly/cs.com  

Don’t Worry

Page 12: Google Analytics for Bloggers

Jeff  Sauer  |  @jeffaly/cs  |  Google  Analy/cs  For  Bloggers  |  www.jeffaly/cs.com  

45 Minutes to Learn…

How  to  Create  a  Google  Analy/cs  

Account    

Ge_ng  Clean  Data  for  Your  

Website    

Ge_ng  Google  Analy/cs  Code  On  Your  Site  

 

Se_ng  Goals  to  Measure  Website  

Success    

Page 13: Google Analytics for Bloggers

Jeff  Sauer  |  @jeffaly/cs  |  Google  Analy/cs  For  Bloggers  |  www.jeffaly/cs.com  

45 Minutes to Learn…

Tracking  Social  Media  Ac/vity  on  

Your  Site    

Installing  Custom  Dashboards  for  

Bloggers    

Tracking  Search  Results  and  SEO  

Efforts    

Learning  What  Content  is  

Performing  Best    

Page 14: Google Analytics for Bloggers

CREATING A GOOGLE ANALYTICS ACCOUNT

Page 15: Google Analytics for Bloggers

Jeff  Sauer  |  @jeffaly/cs  |  Google  Analy/cs  For  Bloggers  |  www.jeffaly/cs.com  

Creating a Google Analytics Account

Sign  up  at  h8p://www.google.com/analy<cs      

Page 16: Google Analytics for Bloggers

Jeff  Sauer  |  @jeffaly/cs  |  Google  Analy/cs  For  Bloggers  |  www.jeffaly/cs.com  

Get the Code For Your Site

Page 17: Google Analytics for Bloggers

Jeff  Sauer  |  @jeffaly/cs  |  Google  Analy/cs  For  Bloggers  |  www.jeffaly/cs.com  

Getting the Right Code

Choose  Web  Site  

Page 18: Google Analytics for Bloggers

Jeff  Sauer  |  @jeffaly/cs  |  Google  Analy/cs  For  Bloggers  |  www.jeffaly/cs.com  

Universal Analytics

Choose  Universal  Analy/cs  for  New  

Websites  

Page 19: Google Analytics for Bloggers

Jeff  Sauer  |  @jeffaly/cs  |  Google  Analy/cs  For  Bloggers  |  www.jeffaly/cs.com  

Classic Analytics

Choose  Classic  Analy/cs  for  Exis/ng  Websites  

Page 20: Google Analytics for Bloggers

Jeff  Sauer  |  @jeffaly/cs  |  Google  Analy/cs  For  Bloggers  |  www.jeffaly/cs.com  

Choose Data Sharing Settings

Page 21: Google Analytics for Bloggers

Jeff  Sauer  |  @jeffaly/cs  |  Google  Analy/cs  For  Bloggers  |  www.jeffaly/cs.com  

Recommended Settings

Recommended  

Page 22: Google Analytics for Bloggers

Jeff  Sauer  |  @jeffaly/cs  |  Google  Analy/cs  For  Bloggers  |  www.jeffaly/cs.com  

Optional Setting for Benchmarking

Recommended  Benchmark  Other  Blogs  

Page 23: Google Analytics for Bloggers

Jeff  Sauer  |  @jeffaly/cs  |  Google  Analy/cs  For  Bloggers  |  www.jeffaly/cs.com  

Get the Code

Copy  This  Sec/on  and  Paste  into  a  

TXT  File  

Page 24: Google Analytics for Bloggers

PLACING GOOGLE ANALYTICS ON YOUR SITE

Page 25: Google Analytics for Bloggers

Jeff  Sauer  |  @jeffaly/cs  |  Google  Analy/cs  For  Bloggers  |  www.jeffaly/cs.com  

Several Methods for Adding GA

You  Can  Put  the  Code  In  Your  Template  

 

WordPress  Blogs  can  use  Yoast  GA  

plugin    

Add  Google  Analy/cs  in  Your  Theme  Se_ngs  

 

Page 26: Google Analytics for Bloggers

Jeff  Sauer  |  @jeffaly/cs  |  Google  Analy/cs  For  Bloggers  |  www.jeffaly/cs.com  

Add Code to Your Template File

Add  to  Header.php  File  

 

Page 27: Google Analytics for Bloggers

Jeff  Sauer  |  @jeffaly/cs  |  Google  Analy/cs  For  Bloggers  |  www.jeffaly/cs.com  

Con"guring GA in Your Theme

Configure  in  Theme  Se_ngs  

 

Page 28: Google Analytics for Bloggers

Jeff  Sauer  |  @jeffaly/cs  |  Google  Analy/cs  For  Bloggers  |  www.jeffaly/cs.com  

Using a Plugin for WordPress

Yoast  WordPress  Plugin  for  GA    

Download:  h8p://yoast.com/wordpress/google-­‐analy<cs/  

Page 29: Google Analytics for Bloggers

Jeff  Sauer  |  @jeffaly/cs  |  Google  Analy/cs  For  Bloggers  |  www.jeffaly/cs.com  

Jeffalytics Recommendation

Don’t  Be  a  Hero,  Use  a  Plugin!  

 

Page 30: Google Analytics for Bloggers

GETTING CLEAN DATA ON YOUR WEBSITE

Page 31: Google Analytics for Bloggers

Jeff  Sauer  |  @jeffaly/cs  |  Google  Analy/cs  For  Bloggers  |  www.jeffaly/cs.com  

Don’t be Fooled By Your Traffic

Your  Actual  Traffic  

How  You  Think  About  Your  Traffic  

Page 32: Google Analytics for Bloggers

Jeff  Sauer  |  @jeffaly/cs  |  Google  Analy/cs  For  Bloggers  |  www.jeffaly/cs.com  

Stop Tracking Yourself

Page 33: Google Analytics for Bloggers

Jeff  Sauer  |  @jeffaly/cs  |  Google  Analy/cs  For  Bloggers  |  www.jeffaly/cs.com  

Discover Your IP

Go  To  h8p://www.wha<smyip.com  to  learn  Your  IP  Address  

Page 34: Google Analytics for Bloggers

Jeff  Sauer  |  @jeffaly/cs  |  Google  Analy/cs  For  Bloggers  |  www.jeffaly/cs.com  

Filter Your IP in Google Analytics

Page 35: Google Analytics for Bloggers

Jeff  Sauer  |  @jeffaly/cs  |  Google  Analy/cs  For  Bloggers  |  www.jeffaly/cs.com  

Create a New Filter

Page 36: Google Analytics for Bloggers

Jeff  Sauer  |  @jeffaly/cs  |  Google  Analy/cs  For  Bloggers  |  www.jeffaly/cs.com  

Enter Your IP Address

Page 37: Google Analytics for Bloggers

Jeff  Sauer  |  @jeffaly/cs  |  Google  Analy/cs  For  Bloggers  |  www.jeffaly/cs.com  

Or… Use a Plugin

Page 38: Google Analytics for Bloggers

SETTING GOALS FOR YOUR WEBSITE

Page 39: Google Analytics for Bloggers

Jeff  Sauer  |  @jeffaly/cs  |  Google  Analy/cs  For  Bloggers  |  www.jeffaly/cs.com  

Set Strategic Goals

Macro  Goals    (Affiliate  Clicks,  AdSense,  Sales)  

Macro  Goals  =  Top  Line  Revenue  

Micro  Goals  (Downloads,  Time  on  Site,  Video  Views,  etc.)  Micro  Goals  =  Engaged  Visitors  

Configure  your  goals  in  Google  Analy/cs  se_ngs    

You  can  set  up  to  20  goals!    

Page 40: Google Analytics for Bloggers

Jeff  Sauer  |  @jeffaly/cs  |  Google  Analy/cs  For  Bloggers  |  www.jeffaly/cs.com  

Goals in Google Analytics

Page 41: Google Analytics for Bloggers

Jeff  Sauer  |  @jeffaly/cs  |  Google  Analy/cs  For  Bloggers  |  www.jeffaly/cs.com  

Choose How to Track Goal

Page 42: Google Analytics for Bloggers

Jeff  Sauer  |  @jeffaly/cs  |  Google  Analy/cs  For  Bloggers  |  www.jeffaly/cs.com  

Enter Goal Details

Page 43: Google Analytics for Bloggers

Jeff  Sauer  |  @jeffaly/cs  |  Google  Analy/cs  For  Bloggers  |  www.jeffaly/cs.com  

Caution with Goals

Assigning  a  Goal  Value  to  Revenue  Related  Goals  is  

Highly  Recommended  

 

Mul/ple  Goals  May  Create  Unrealis/c  Revenue  $  in  

Reports    

Page 44: Google Analytics for Bloggers

ANALYZE CONTENT PERFORMANCE

Page 45: Google Analytics for Bloggers

Jeff  Sauer  |  @jeffaly/cs  |  Google  Analy/cs  For  Bloggers  |  www.jeffaly/cs.com  

What Content is Performing Best?

Page 46: Google Analytics for Bloggers

Jeff  Sauer  |  @jeffaly/cs  |  Google  Analy/cs  For  Bloggers  |  www.jeffaly/cs.com  

Average Time on Page

Average  Time  on  Page  Indicates  How  Long  Visitors  are  Engaging  with  Content  

 Generally,  more  /me  is  be^er    

Page 47: Google Analytics for Bloggers

Jeff  Sauer  |  @jeffaly/cs  |  Google  Analy/cs  For  Bloggers  |  www.jeffaly/cs.com  

Average Time on Page Bounce  Rate  Shows  the  Percentage  of  Visitors  That  Leave  Your  Site  Having  

Only  Viewed  This  One  Page    

Lower  is  be^er  (but  can  be  misleading)  

Page 48: Google Analytics for Bloggers

Jeff  Sauer  |  @jeffaly/cs  |  Google  Analy/cs  For  Bloggers  |  www.jeffaly/cs.com  

Average Time on Page

Page  Value  Indicates  the  Rela/ve  Value  This  Page  Contributed  to  Your  Goals  

 Goals  Must  be  Configured  to  Work  

Page 49: Google Analytics for Bloggers

TRACKING SEO RESULTS IN GOOGLE ANALYTICS

Page 50: Google Analytics for Bloggers

Jeff  Sauer  |  @jeffaly/cs  |  Google  Analy/cs  For  Bloggers  |  www.jeffaly/cs.com  

Organic Search Report

Page 51: Google Analytics for Bloggers

Jeff  Sauer  |  @jeffaly/cs  |  Google  Analy/cs  For  Bloggers  |  www.jeffaly/cs.com  

Organic Search Report

WTF?  88%  of  My  Search  Keywords  Are  

Invisible  

Page 52: Google Analytics for Bloggers

Jeff  Sauer  |  @jeffaly/cs  |  Google  Analy/cs  For  Bloggers  |  www.jeffaly/cs.com  

Not Provided is a Real Nuisance

Learn  about  Not  Provided  Here:  h8p://www.notprovidedcount.com/    

Page 53: Google Analytics for Bloggers

Jeff  Sauer  |  @jeffaly/cs  |  Google  Analy/cs  For  Bloggers  |  www.jeffaly/cs.com  

Google Webmaster Tools

Fortunately,  Google  Webmaster  Tools  

Gives  You  Some  Data  Back  

Page 54: Google Analytics for Bloggers

Jeff  Sauer  |  @jeffaly/cs  |  Google  Analy/cs  For  Bloggers  |  www.jeffaly/cs.com  

Google Webmaster Tools Reports

Page 55: Google Analytics for Bloggers

Jeff  Sauer  |  @jeffaly/cs  |  Google  Analy/cs  For  Bloggers  |  www.jeffaly/cs.com  

Google Webmaster Tools Reports Beau<ful  (and  Increasingly  More  Accurate)  Search  Data!    

Page 56: Google Analytics for Bloggers

Jeff  Sauer  |  @jeffaly/cs  |  Google  Analy/cs  For  Bloggers  |  www.jeffaly/cs.com  

Setting Up Google Webmaster Tools

Set  Up  Webmaster  Tools  Data  Sharing  

Page 57: Google Analytics for Bloggers

Jeff  Sauer  |  @jeffaly/cs  |  Google  Analy/cs  For  Bloggers  |  www.jeffaly/cs.com  

Edit Webmaster Tools Settings

Page 58: Google Analytics for Bloggers

Jeff  Sauer  |  @jeffaly/cs  |  Google  Analy/cs  For  Bloggers  |  www.jeffaly/cs.com  

Select Webmaster Tools Property

Select  Your  Site  

Save  Progress  

Page 59: Google Analytics for Bloggers

TRACK SOCIAL MEDIA ACTIVITY ON YOUR SITE

Page 60: Google Analytics for Bloggers

Jeff  Sauer  |  @jeffaly/cs  |  Google  Analy/cs  For  Bloggers  |  www.jeffaly/cs.com  

Social Media is All Around Us

Traffic  is  Driven  to  Our  Sites  Via  Social  Media  

 

Google  Harvests  Ac/vity  from  

Social  Data  Hub    

Visitors  Interact  With  Social  

Sharing  Bu^ons    

Page 61: Google Analytics for Bloggers

Jeff  Sauer  |  @jeffaly/cs  |  Google  Analy/cs  For  Bloggers  |  www.jeffaly/cs.com  

Measure Value of Social Traffic

Page 62: Google Analytics for Bloggers

Jeff  Sauer  |  @jeffaly/cs  |  Google  Analy/cs  For  Bloggers  |  www.jeffaly/cs.com  

Track Interaction With Social Buttons

Select  Plugins  Under  Social  

Then  Select  Social  Source  and  Ac/on  

Page 63: Google Analytics for Bloggers

Jeff  Sauer  |  @jeffaly/cs  |  Google  Analy/cs  For  Bloggers  |  www.jeffaly/cs.com  

Information from Data Hub Partners

Gain  Access  to  a  Wealth  of  Informa/on  from  Several  Social  

Networks  

Page 64: Google Analytics for Bloggers

CUSTOM DASHBOARDS FOR BLOGGERS

Page 65: Google Analytics for Bloggers

Jeff  Sauer  |  @jeffaly/cs  |  Google  Analy/cs  For  Bloggers  |  www.jeffaly/cs.com  

Dashboards Pull it All Together

Great  Dashboard  for  Bloggers:  h8p://www.portent.com/blog/analy<cs/the-­‐blogger-­‐dashboard-­‐google-­‐analy<cs-­‐for-­‐writers.htm    

Page 66: Google Analytics for Bloggers

Jeff  Sauer  |  @jeffaly/cs  |  Google  Analy/cs  For  Bloggers  |  www.jeffaly/cs.com  

Do It Yourself Dashboards

Select  New  Dashboard  

Page 67: Google Analytics for Bloggers

Jeff  Sauer  |  @jeffaly/cs  |  Google  Analy/cs  For  Bloggers  |  www.jeffaly/cs.com  

Do It Yourself Dashboards

Blank  or  Pre-­‐Made  Op/ons  

Page 68: Google Analytics for Bloggers

Jeff  Sauer  |  @jeffaly/cs  |  Google  Analy/cs  For  Bloggers  |  www.jeffaly/cs.com  

Do It Yourself Dashboards

View  Your  Dashboard  

Page 69: Google Analytics for Bloggers

Jeff  Sauer  |  @jeffaly/cs  |  Google  Analy/cs  For  Bloggers  |  www.jeffaly/cs.com  

Even Better: Trust the Experts

Google  Analy<cs  Solu<ons  Gallery:  h8ps://www.google.com/analy<cs/gallery/    

Page 70: Google Analytics for Bloggers

Thank You! Jeff  Sauer  Marke/ng  and  Travel  Blogger    Vice  President    Three  Deep  Marke/ng  St.  Paul,  MN,  USA  

70  

Interested  in  Google  Analy/cs  Training?  Learn  More:    

bit.ly/request-­‐ga-­‐training