using google analytics to improve your website

Google Analytics Workshop

Using Google Analytics to Improve Your Website

Jeff Sauer | Knowledge.land | @jeffaly5cs | #nowwhat14

Your Guide

2

Jeff Sauer Marketer and Entrepreneur Knowledge Land Minneapolis, MN, USA Email: [email protected] google.com/+JeffSauer Newsle*er: bit.ly/jeffaly5cs


About Jeff Sauer

•  Google AdWords Cer5fied Partner since 2006

•  Google Analy5cs Cer5fied Partner since 2009

•  Named 2012 CIO of the Year

•  Adjunct Professor at St. Thomas


I LOVE Google Analytics!


Remember the Scientific Method?

Report Your Results (Was Your Hypothesis

Correct?)

Ask a Ques5on

Do Background Research

Construct a Hypothesis

Test Your Hypothesis By Doing an Experiment

Analyze Your Data and Draw a Conclusion


Where We Need to Improve

Analyze Your Data and Draw a Conclusion

Report Your Results (Was Your Hypothesis Correct?)

We Fail to Analyze and Reflect!


What Can Analysis Do For Us?

To Understand What is Working

To Fix Things that Are not Working

To Improve our Results To Calculate our Value

To Jus5fy and Encourage Investment To Tell our Visitor Story


Google Analytics is Like Othello


A Mile Wide, a Mile Deep

A Second to Learn A Lifetime to Master


A Tool to Help You Find Answers Not the Answer itself


What You Will Experience Today


Don’t Worry

Simplify the Complex


My Attempt to Simplify the Complex


Each Element Means Something


Analytics is Turning Data into Information and Ultimately Knowledge

Data vs. Informa5on vs. Knowledge: hip://www.infogineering.net/data-‐informa5on-‐knowledge.htm


Use Data to Tell a Story

Some Fundamentals

CREATING A GOOGLE ANALYTICS ACCOUNT


Creating a Google Analytics Account

Sign up at h*p://www.google.com/analy:cs


Choose Website for Tracking

Choose Web Site


Use Universal Analytics

Choose Web Site

Universal Analy5cs Now Only Op5on


Choose Data Sharing Settings



Recommended



Benchmark Other Sites


Get the Code

Copy This Sec5on and Paste into a

TXT File


Use Google Tag Manager

Sign Up: h*p://www.google.com/tagmanager


Enter Tracking ID or Use a Macro

Check to Enable Demographics and

Remarke5ng

GETTING CLEAN DATA ON YOUR WEBSITE


Don’t be Fooled By Your Traffic

Your Actual Traffic

How You Think About Your Traffic


Stop Tracking Yourself


Discover Your IP

Go To h*p://www.wha:smyip.com to learn Your IP Address


Filter Your IP in Google Analytics


Create a New Filter


Enter Your IP Address


Filtering Rules

Always create a back up profile with raw data

Large organiza5ons can filter ISP or IP ranges

If more than 10% of traffic, we have a

problem

Use advanced segments on historical data

Some paierns aren’t obvious

Annota5ons help share knowledge between

teams


Use Annotations to Share Knowledge

Annota5ons help explain why things happened that way

SETTING GOALS FOR YOUR WEBSITE


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 Analy5cs sepngs

You can set up to 20 goals!


Goals in Google Analytics


Choose How to Track Goal


Enter Goal Details


Caution with Goals

Assigning a Goal Value to Revenue Related Goals is

Highly Recommended

Mul5ple Goals May Create Unrealis5c Revenue $ in

Reports


New: Share Goals!

ANALYZE CONTENT PERFORMANCE


What Content is Performing Best?


Average Time on Page

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

Generally, more 5me is beier


Bounce Rate Bounce Rate Shows the Percentage of Visitors That Leave Your Site Having

Only Viewed This One Page

Lower is beier (but can be misleading)


Page Value

Page Value Indicates the Rela5ve Value This Page Contributed to Your Goals

Goals Must be Configured to Work


Content Performance Ideas

Find out which content is under-‐promoted in

social media

Time spent on content < 5me spent viewing

content

Feature downloadable content or calls to ac5on in each piece

Use events to lower bounce rate for engaged users

Advanced content tracking

Content marke5ng dashboards


Advanced Content Tracking

Learn More: hip://cutroni.com/blog/2014/02/12/advanced-‐content-‐tracking-‐with-‐universal-‐analy5cs/


Use Content Grouping

TRACKING SEO RESULTS IN GOOGLE ANALYTICS

THE VILLAIN: KEYWORDS (NOT PROVIDED)


Once Upon a Time I Said…

“SEO is Analytics”

Jeff Sauer in 2009


Rich Keyword Reports in 2009


Rich Data Going Away

~50% of Keywords Not Provided in 2013


(Not Provided) Soon to be 100%

100% of Keywords will be (Not Provided) in 5me


What Causes (Not Provided)?

Should we move to an all HTTPS web?: h*p://yoast.com/web-‐h*ps/

WAYS AROUND (NOT PROVIDED)

Photo Credit: One_Penny via Compfight

ORGANIC SEARCH REPORTS


Organic Search Still a Channel/Medium

Organic Search Traffic is S5ll Available as a Channel


Organic Search Still a Channel/Medium

Organic Search Traffic is S5ll Available as a Channel

Organic S5ll Available as a Medium


You Can Still Measure Traffic Trends

Traffic Comparison by Date S5ll Works Great!

LANDING PAGES


Organic Landing Pages Not Exactly a Keyword, but

S5ll Preiy Awesome!

FILTER YOUR DATA


Ugly Not Provided Keywords

What Does it Mean?


Filter Data to Include Landing Page

How to steal some 'not provided' data back from Google: h*p://econsultancy.com/blog/8342-‐how-‐to-‐steal-‐some-‐not-‐provided-‐data-‐back-‐from-‐google


Landing Page As Keyword Proxy

Not Perfect, but Much Beier!

WEBMASTER TOOLS


Google Webmaster Tools Reports


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


Setting Up Google Webmaster Tools

Set Up Webmaster Tools Data Sharing


Edit Webmaster Tools Settings


Select Webmaster Tools Property

Select Your Site

Save Progress


GWT Data Accuracy Improvements


GWT Data Accuracy Improvements

More detailed search queries in Webmaster Tools: h*p://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2014/01/search-‐queries-‐not-‐rounded.html

DASHBOARDS


Not Provided Kit

Not Provided Kit: h*p://notprovidedkit.com/


Install Segments, Reports, Dashboards


Custom (not provided) Dashboard


Google Analytics Gallery

Google Analy:cs Solu:ons Gallery: h*ps://www.google.com/analy:cs/gallery/

TRACK SOCIAL MEDIA ACTIVITY ON YOUR SITE


Social Reports = Well Guarded Secret

“The Social Reports in Google Analy5cs are the Best Thing Nobody is Talking About”

Jeff Sauer, 2012


Social Reports Help Analysis

Social Traffic



Social Plugins Social Traffic



Social Plugins Social Traffic Social Data Hub



Social Plugins Social Conversa5ons Social Traffic Social Data Hub

SOCIAL TRAFFIC


Easy Grouping of Social Traffic

SOCIAL PLUGINS


Track Interaction With Social Buttons

Select Plugins Under Social


Track Interaction With Social Buttons

Select Plugins Under Social

Then Select Social Source and Ac5on

Track Social Interac:ons: h*ps://developers.google.com/analy:cs/devguides/collec:on/gajs/gaTrackingSocial

SOCIAL DATA HUB


Information from Data Hub Partners

Gain Access to a Wealth of Informa5on from Several Social

Networks


Learn About New Social Networks

SOCIAL CONVERSATIONS


What is Being Said About Your Website?


Find Conversations and Respond


Understand Where You are Popular


Discover New Links Via Trackbacks

CAMPAIGN TRACKING


Direct Traffic in the Dark

Typical Traffic Source Report, Too much Direct

Traffic!


Direct Numbers are Inflated

Doubwul This Many People Know to Type in Website URL


Use Campaign Tracking!

Google Analy:cs URL Builder: h*ps://support.google.com/analy:cs/answer/1033867?hl=en


Guide to Campaign Tracking

Ul:mate Guide to Campaign Tracking: h*p://www.anniely:cs.com/guides/defini:ve-‐guide-‐campaign-‐tagging-‐google-‐analy:cs/

DARK SOCIAL


Dark Social is a Monster


Add Hash to URL

Direcmonster.js Adds Source as a Hash Code to URL

Directmonster for Dark Social by Dan Wilkerson/LunaMetrics: h*p://bit.ly/1dtw9GC


Reduce Direct Percentage

Directmonster for Dark Social by Dan Wilkerson/LunaMetrics: h*p://bit.ly/1dtw9GC

Reduce Direct Percentage by over 50%!

DEMOGRAPHICS


Enable Demographics

Enable These and Update Your Tracking Code To include dc.js


View ABC Reports by Demographic

Performance by Age


Segment Social Visitors


Understand Behavior by Gender


Understand Conversion by Age


Determine Interests for Targeting

Take Action


Run Display Campaigns


Purchase Targeted Facebook Ads


Social Discovery with Stumbleupon


Build Remarketing Lists

Remarke:ng: Abandoned

Cart

Remarke:ng: Search Landing

Page

Remarke:ng: Product Page

Remarke:ng: Homepage

Similar Audiences &

In-‐Market Segments

Be*er Worse Cost Per Conversion (CPA)

High

Low

Conversio

n Ra

te

Image Courtesy of: hip://www.slideshare.net/Catalyst_Canada/how-‐google-‐remarke5ng-‐works

Based on Segmented Converter List

Intelligent Remarketing Lists

Seed Remarke5ng List

Similar Audience

CUSTOM DASHBOARDS FOR CONTENT MARKETERS/BLOGGERS


Dashboards Pull it All Together

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


Do It Yourself Dashboards

Select New Dashboard



Blank or Pre-‐Made Op5ons



View Your Dashboard


Even Better: Trust the Experts

Google Analy:cs Solu:ons Gallery: h*ps://www.google.com/analy:cs/gallery/

Proving value to your organization

Photo Credit: epSos.de via Compfight cc

ADVANCED SEGMENTS


First Interaction Social Segment

First Interac5on from Social Media

9% of Visitors


First Visit Social Conversions

SOCIAL VALUE REPORTS


Measure Value of Social Traffic

ATTRIBUTION MODELING


Default Attribution Models in GA


Create Your Own Model


Tip: Compare Multiple Models

Search, Social and Referral Suffering from

Last Click Airibu5on

MULTI CHANNEL FUNNELS


The Consumer Decision Funnel

Researching Trends

Genera5ng Ideas

Learning How

Product Research

Comparing Products

Purchase

Heavy PPC, Email and

Landing Pages

Heavy Organic Search, Social, Content Marke5ng

& Nurturing Focus


How Social Media Generates Revenue


Where Search Contributes Sales


How Organic Assists Sales


How Social Assists Sales

What Else Can We Do with Google Analytics?


Track Mobile Websites & Apps


Track Offline Marketing


Video Tracking


Advanced Segments


Track Phone Sales and Leads


Workflow Automation via API Exports


CRM Integration


Cohort Analysis

Photo Credit: Ol.v!er [H2vPk] via Compfight cc


Universal Analytics

Jeff Sauer | Knowledge.land | @jeffaly5cs | #nowwhat14 Photo Credit: Glyn Lowe Photoworks Compfight cc

Cost Data Import


Dimension Widening

Photo Credit: Caneles via Compfight cc


Custom Metrics

Photo Credit: cambodia4kidsorg via Compfight cc


More Google Analytics Fun!

Demographics User IDs

Cross Device Analy5cs Remarke5ng

Keyboard Shortcuts Custom Alerts


Questions?

165

Jeff Sauer Marketer and Entrepreneur Knowledge Land Minneapolis, MN, USA Email: [email protected] google.com/+JeffSauer Newsle*er: bit.ly/jeffaly5cs