How to Use Google Analytics (Setup, Reporting & More) - Kinsta

Create Custom Dashboards and Reports; Use Custom Segments to Understand Your Data Better; Track Your Goals (And Use Conversion Funnels); Find ... Skiptocontent FindouthowmovingtoKinstacouldsaveyou$2,400+ayearonsitecosts. HowtoUseGoogleAnalytics(Setup,Reports,AttributionModels,andMore) MatteoDuò, August11,2021 20 Shares Ifyouhaveawebsite,chancesareyou’reusingGoogleAnalyticstotrackhowmanypeoplevisititandhowtheybehaveonit. GoogleAnalyticsisapowerfultool,yetmostpeopledon’tuseittoitsfullpotential. Withit,youcantracktheROIforyouronlinemarketing,setupcustomsegments,goaltracking,filteryoursitedatatofindunderperformingpages,andlotsmore. Inthisguide,you’lllearnhowtouseGoogleAnalyticstoimproveyourwebsite,howtosetituppluswe’veincludedsomevideoresourcestofurtherhelpyou. Butfirst,let’scoverthebasics: Prefertowatchthevideoversion? WhatisGoogleAnalytics? GoogleAnalyticsisafreereportingserviceofferedbyGoogletotrackwebsitetraffic.Ithelpsyoufindoutaboutthepeoplevisitingyoursiteandtheirbrowsingbehaviors. SeehowKinstastacksupagainstthecompetition. Selectyourprovider WPEngine SiteGround GoDaddy Bluehost Flywheel HostGator Cloudways AWS DigitalOcean DreamHost Other Compare Itlookslikethis: AudienceoverviewinsideGoogleAnalytics It’soneofthepopularwebsitetrackingplatformwithalmost70kusesaccordingtoBuiltWith’sMegaTechnologyDataset: GoogleAnalyticsusageacrosstheweb Althoughthereareseveralgoodalternatives,GoogleAnalyticsisoneofthemostadoptedanalyticstoolsinthemarket. WhyUseGoogleAnalytics? Regardlessofthetypeofwebsiteyouarerunning,havingabetterunderstandingofyourvisitorsandhowtheybehaveonyoursiteisgoingtohelpyougetbetterresults. Butifthatisn’tenough,herearesomereasonswhyyoushoulduseGoogleAnalytics: Itisfree–There’snocatchhere,Googledoesn’tchargeyoutouseAnalytics,whichisprettyhelpfulconsideringtheamountofdatayoucanpullfromit. Itisfullyautomated–Onceyou’veaddedthetrackingcodetoyourwebsite,GoogleAnalyticswillautomaticallytrack,record,andstoreyourdata. Youcancreatecustomizedreports–UsingGoogle’sin-builttools,youcancreatecustomdrag-and-dropreportsprettysimply(moreonthatlater) Integratewithothertools–EasilylinkupyourAnalyticswithotherGoogletoolslikeGoogleAdWordsandGoogleSearchConsole. That’snotevenmentioningallthesite-specificthingsyoucanlearnfromGoogleAnalyticslikewhyvisitorsarebouncingoffcertainpages,theage/gender/locationofyouraudienceorthekindofcontentyoushouldwrite. WhatDoesGoogleAnalyticsTrack? Bygivingyouaccesstodataaboutyourwebsite,GoogleAnalyticsletsyoutakethisinformationandmakedecisions. Inverysimpleterms,thedatathatyoucangetfromGoogleAnalyticscanbebrokendownlikethis: Acquisition–findouthowyougettraffictoyourwebsite. Behavior–findoutwhatpeopleareactuallydoingonyourwebsite. Conversions–findouthowvisitorsturnintocustomersonyourwebsite. Nowyouknowwhatitisandwhatitcantrack,let’srunthroughabriefGoogleAnalyticssetup: AreyouusingGoogleAnalyticstoitsfullpotential?📈Youmaybemissingoutonthistooltooptimizeyoursiteperformance!ClicktoTweet HowtoSetupGoogleAnalytics(in3SimpleSteps) FollowthesesimplestepstogetGoogleAnalyticssetupandreadytotrackonyourwebsite: 1.SetupYourGoogleAnalyticsAccountandAddYourSite ThefirststepistomakesureyouaresignedintoyourGoogleAccountthatyouwanttomanageyouranalyticswith. Then,gototheGoogleAnalyticssetuppageandhitStartmeasuring: GoogleAnalyticssetuppage NowyouneedtoaddanAccountnameandleavethedatasharingboxesticked(youcanuntickthemifyouwantto,theywon’tchangeanythingwithyourdata). Accountdetails–addanewaccountnameinGoogleAnalytics Onceyou’veaddedthat,hitnext. Nowyouneedtochoosethetypeofpropertyyouwanttomeasure:websites,appsorboth.MostpeoplearegoingtobesettingupGoogleAnalyticstotrackawebsite,soselectthatandclickonnext. ChoosewhatyouwanttomeasureinGoogleAnalytics(hint:it’sprobablyawebsite) Nowyou’llbeabletoaddsomedetailsaboutyoursite: WebsiteName–self-explanatory. WebsiteURL–makesuretochoosehttporhttpsfromthedropdownmenuthenaddyourURL. IndustryCategory–choosetheareathatbestdescribesyoursite. ReportingTimeZone–pickthetimezoneyouarein. Propertydetails–addinformationaboutyoursiteinGoogleAnalytics Onceyouhavecompletedthissection,clickCreateandyouwillbepromptedwithsometermsofservicetoagreeto.TickbothoftheseandpressAgree. 2.InstallYourGoogleAnalyticsTrackingCode Nowyou’llseeyouruniquetrackingcode: InstallyourGoogleAnalyticstrackingcode TotrackyourwebsiteusingGoogleAnalytics,thiscodemustbeinstalledoneverypageofyoursite(beforethetag). Installingthecodewilldependonthetypeofsiteyouhaveandhowcomfortableyouaremakingthechangesyourself. Let’srunthroughtwodifferentways: ManuallyInstallGoogleAnalytics SomeWordPressthemeshaveadedicatedsectiontodropyourtrackingcodeintobutmostofthemdon’t.That’swhyyoushouldalwaysbeusingachildthemetopreventyourGAscriptfrombeingoverwrittenafterveryupdated. YourGoogleAnalyticsscriptshouldbeaddedtoyourheader.phpfile,beforetheclosingtagtoinstallitacrosseverypageofyoursite. Ifyourthemedoesn’thavethisfeature,youcouldtryusingaplugintocreatethem: InstallGoogleAnalyticsUsingaPlugin OneoftheeasiestwaystoaddGoogleAnalyticstoWordPress(forbothbeginnersandexperts)istouseapluginlikeHeaderandFooterScripts. Thisisprobablytheeasiest(andsafestmethod)foraddingaGoogleAnalyticscodetoyourWordPresssite. Justinstallthepluginandaddyourtrackingcodetogetstartedtracking: AddGoogleAnalyticsviaaWordPressplugin WantmoreoptionsforyourWordPresssite? CheckoutourultimateguideonhowtoaddGoogleAnalyticstoWordPress. 3.TestYourGoogleAnalyticsTrackingCode Onceyou’veaddedthecodetoyoursite,youneedtotestthatGoogleAnalyticsisactuallytracking. Thisisprettyeasy. InGoogleAnalytics,gotoRealtimeandthenOverview.Thiswillshowyouwhatishappeningonyoursiterightnow. Nowgoopenyoursiteinadifferentbrowser(orincognitomode)tabandwaitforGoogleAnalyticstopickupyourvisit.Ifyourtrackingcodehasbeeninstalledcorrectly,you’llseesomethinglikethis: Usereal-timetrackinginGoogleAnalyticstocheckyourtrackingcodeisworking Beforemovingon,makesuretolinkGoogleAnalyticswithGoogleSearchConsoletohaveabetter,moreintegratedpictureofyourdata. Nowthatyouareallsetup,let’sexplorewhatmetricsyou’llfindinsideGoogleAnalytics. GoogleAnalyticsMetricsandDimensionsExplained BeforewejumpintohowtoreadGoogleAnalyticsreports,it’sworthunderstandingwhatthemetricsanddimensionsmean. AllGoogleAnalyticsreportsarebasedondimensionsandmetrics: Dimensionsaretheelementsofyourdata. Metricsarethemeasurementsforthosedimensions. Forexample,ifyouarelookingatwherepeoplevisitingyoursitearelocated,thedimensionwouldbethelocation(thedataelement)andtheamount(measurement)wouldbethemetrics: DimensionsvsmetricsinGoogleAnalytics ExampleMetrics HerearesomeofthemostimportantmetricsinGoogleAnalyticstopayattentionto: Traffic–visitorstoyourwebsite. TrafficSource–wherevisitorsarecomingfrom(direct,referring,searchengines,social). Session–agroupofuserinteractionstakingplacewithinagiventimeframe. AverageTimeSpent–howlongsomeonespendsonyoursite. AveragePagesPerVisit–numberofpagesauservisits. TopPages–themostpopularpages. ExitPages–thepageswheremostpeopleleaveyoursite. BounceRate–thepercentageofsingle-pagevisitsdividedbyallsessions. UniqueUsersvsReturningUsers–howmanypeoplearebrandnewtovisitingyoursitevsregulars. UserBehaviorFlow–howvisitorshavebrowsedyoursite. Location–whereusersarebrowsingfrom. Age–theiragebracket. SiteSpeed–howfastyoursiteis(here’sourebookonhowtospeedupyourWordPresssite). Nowlet’sgoovertheGoogleAnalyticsreportsyou’llfindandhowtoreadthem: HowtoUseGoogleAnalyticsReports WhenyoufirstlogintoGoogleAnalytics,you’llseethis“Home”dashboardwhichactsasanoverviewofyoursite’sperformance: Whatyou’llseeonthe‘home’dashboardinGoogleAnalytics GoogleAnalyticsreportsarethepresetreportslistedintheleft-handsidebar,underthefollowingsections: Realtime. Audience. Acquisition. Behavior. Conversions. TheinformationinthesereportsispresetbyGoogleAnalyticsandgivesaninsightintothedataacrossyoursite,fromaudiencedemographicstothechannelstheyfindyourwebsitethrough. Byclickingonthosereports,you’llgetlotsmoreoptionsforexploringyourdata(butbewareofreferralspams).Let’stakeaquicklookateachreport: RealtimeReport TheRealtimereportshowsyouwhat’shappeningonyoursiterightnow: GoogleAnalyticsrealtimereport Youcanseehowmanypeopleareviewingyoursite,thepagestheyarevisiting,wheretheyarelocatedintheworldandmore. WiththeRealtimereport,youcan: Seehowmuchtrafficyou’regettingfromanewlypublishedblogpost. Knowifasaleoreventisdrivingviews. MakesureURLsyou’vejustsetupareworkingastheyshould. AudienceReport TheAudienceReportgivesanoverviewofyourwebsiteintermsofthepeople(akaaudience)visitingyoursite: GoogleAnalyticsaudiencereport Inthisreport,you’llbeabletodrilldownandfindoutmoreaboutyouraudiencelike: Demographics. Interests. Location. Behavior. Technology. Usingthisdata,youcanbetterunderstandyouraudienceandthenmakeinformeddecisionsaboutyourwebsite. Forexample,youmaynoticethatthebulkofyourtrafficisvisitingyoursiteonmobilebutmostgoalconversionsaredoneondesktop.Maybethereissomethingyoucanimproveformobiledevicestohelpincreaseconversion. AcquisitionReport TheAcquisitionReportgivesanoverviewofhowyourwebsiteisgettingtraffic: GoogleAnalyticsacquisitionreport Inthisreportyou’llbeabletoseeyourtrafficbrokenbysource(aka,whereitcamefrom): Organic–SEOtrafficfromGoogleandothersearchengines(here’sanextensiveguideonhowtoimproveyourWordPressSEO). Direct–someonevisitingyoursitebymanuallytypinginaURL. Referral–avisitfromanothersite. Email–avisitfromanemailoremaillist. Social–someonevisitingfromasocialmediaplatform. PaidSearch–someonevisitingfrompaidads. Display–someonevisitingfromadisplayadvertisement. Affiliate–someonevisitingfromanaffiliatelink. Other–ifGoogleAnalyticsdoesn’tknowhowtocategorizeyourtraffic. BehaviorReport TheBehaviorReportgivesanoverviewofwhatvisitorsdoonyourwebsite: SignUpFortheNewsletter Wanttoknowhowweincreasedourtrafficover1000%? Join20,000+otherswhogetourweeklynewsletterwithinsiderWordPresstips! SubscribeNow GoogleAnalyticsbehaviorreport Inthereport,you’llbeabletofocusonindividualpagesofyourwebsiteandunderstandyourvisitor’sbehavior.You’llbeabletogetanoverviewof: Pageviewsanduniquepageviews. Averagetimespentonpages. Bouncerateandexitrate (here’sanin-depthguideonhowtoreducebouncerateonyoursite). YoucanalsoreviewhowthecontentisperformingbypageURLs,titles,searchtermsorevents. ConversionsReport TheConversionsReportgivesanoverviewofhowyourvisitorsare(hopefully)convertingonyourwebsite: GoogleAnalyticsconversionsreport Ifyouhaveawebsite,chancesareyouhaveagoal/conversionyouwanttoachieveforpeoplevisiting. Thiscanbedifferentdependingonthetypeofsiteyourun: Ecommercesiteswanttheirvisitorstoorderaproduct. Bloggerswanttheirvisitorstostaylongeronpagesandreadtoincreasetheiradrevenue. B2BandSaaSbusinesseswantvisitorstosignuptotheiremaillisttokeeptheminformedonthelatestnewsandfeatures(liketheonewecuratehereatKinsta). Boostingsales/signupsintheseareascanbeaseasyasapplyingsomeconversionrateoptimizationtipsbasedonGoogleAnalyticsdata. Regardlessofthegoal/conversionyouwanttotrack,GoogleAnalyticsallowsyoutomeasureallofthese(plusmanymore). WhatIsaGoalinGoogleAnalytics? Agoalisaconversionthatyouhavedefined.Itisdependentonwhatyouwanttomonitor. Whenitcomestogoals,therearefourmaintypes: Destination:completedwhenausergetstoaspecificpage(thinkproductlisting,orderconfirmation,orthankyoupage). Event:completedwhenapre-seteventtriggers(likewatchingavideoorsharingsomethingtoTwitter). Duration:completedwhenauser’ssessionlastslongerthanapredefinedtime. Pages/screenspersession:completedwhenauserviewsasetnumberofpagespersession. (You’llbeabletofindoutmoredetailedstepsonsettingupgoalslateroninthisguide) UseFiltersforMoreAccurateReporting InGoogleAnalytics,Filtersareusedtobreakupdataintosmallergroups.Theycanbeusedtoincludeonlyspecifictraffictypesorexcludespecificdata. Tousefilters,gototheAdminpanelandthenselectFilters: UseGoogleAnalyticsfilterstobreakupyourdata. Here’sareallysimplefiltertoblockyourIPaddresssoyouaren’tskewingyourdatabyvisitingyourownsite. ThefirststepisyouneedtofindoutyourIPaddress. Thisissimple:wehaveatoolforthatatKinstawhat’smyIPaddressoryoucouldjustGoogleit: UseGoogletoquicklyfindyourIPaddress CopyyourIPaddressandthenopenupGoogleAnalytics.GototheAdminpanel,andthen,underView,selectFilters: UseGoogleAnalyticsfilterstobreakupyourdata. Nowclick+AddFilterandfilloutthedetails: Filtername–ExcludemyIP. Filtertype–SelectPredefined. NowselectExclude,trafficfromtheIPaddressesandthatareequalto. IPaddress–addyourIP. Itshouldlooksomethinglikethis: EditingfiltersinGoogleAnalytics Nowsaveyourfilter. TiredofexperiencingissueswithyourWordPresssite?GetthebestandfastesthostingsupportwithKinsta!Checkoutourplans 7WaystoUseGoogleAnalyticstoImproveYourWebsite So,nowyou’reallsetup,youknowwhatreportsandmetricsyoucanview,there’sakeyquestionweneedtoanswerto. WhatcanyoudowithGoogleAnalyticstoimproveyourwebsiteandbusiness? I’mgladyouasked… HereareseventhingsyoucandoinGoogleAnalytics,nowthatyouknowhowtouseitproperly: Let’sexploretheseinmoredetail: 1.CreateCustomDashboardsandReports WanttoseeyourmostimportantanalyticsdatawithouthavingtodigthroughtherestofGoogleAnalytics? ThenyoushouldmakeuseofGoogleAnalyticscustomdashboardsandreports. Intheleft-handpanel,justclickonCustomizationandyou’llseethem: UsethecustomdashboardsinGoogleAnalytics Youcanpickjustthedatayouwanttosee,andorganizeitinawaythatworksforyou.Thismeansyoucanmakeyourownreportsimplybyaddingwidgetsandmovingthemaround. Here’sanexampleofacustomdashboardthatisfocusedonSEO: AnexampleofanSEO-focusedcustomdashboardinGoogleAnalytics Wanttoknowthebestthingaboutcustomdashboardsthough?Youcanusepre-builttemplates. HerearesomefreeGoogleAnalyticsdashboardsyoucanmakecopiesof: 7GoogleAnalyticsCustomDashboards 15GoogleAnalyticsDashboards Ifthereisone(ormore)pieceofdatayouwanttoseeataglanceeverytimeyoulogintoyourGoogleAnalyticsaccount,besuretosetitupintheDashboardsarea. HowtoMakeGoogleAnalyticsCustomDashboards IfyouneedmorehelpsettingupGoogleAnalyticsdashboards,youcanfollowtheinstructionsinthisvideo: 2.UseCustomSegmentstoUnderstandYourDataBetter OneofthebestwaystoexploreyourdatainGoogleAnalyticsisbyusingsimpleandadvancedsegments. WhatIsaSegmentinGoogleAnalytics? AcustomsegmentisadefinedgroupingofyourAnalyticsdata.Segmentsallowyoutotrackdifferenttypesofusers,soyoucanunderstandhowyoursitecanbetterservethem. Youcanusethemtodrilldownintothedatayou’vecollected. Forexample: Youmaywanttosegmentallyoursitevisitorsbasedonaparticularcountryorcityifyouwanttofocusonlocaltraffic.Anothersegmentcouldbeuserswhovisitaspecificpageonyoursite. Ormaybeyouwanttocomparemobilevsdesktopvisitors.Bycreatingamobilesegmentandadesktopsegment,youcancomparethedatasidebyside. HowtoCreateaGoogleAnalyticsSegment Therearepre-madesegmentswaitingforyouinsideGoogleAnalytics. JustopenGoogleAnalyticsandclick+AddSegmentandyou’llbeabletobrowseandapplytheexistingonesthathavebeenpre-built(byGoogle)foryou: Addingpre-madesegmentsinGoogleAnalytics Ifthisisn’tenoughwant,youcancreateyourownsegment: HowtoCreateaCustomGoogleAnalyticsSegment Toaddacustomsegment,clickthered+NewSegmentbutton: AddinganewsegmentinGoogleAnalytics Fromhere,youcanchoosehowyouwanttosegmentyourusers: SegmentingusersinGoogleAnalytics Asyoubegintoapplyfilters,you’llseethesummary(totheright)startchanging.Thisshowsyouthepercentofusersyouhavesegmentedaswellastheuserandsessiondata. Forexample,here’swhatitwouldlooklikeifIselectedMalesbetweenages25-34: SegmentingbasedondemographicsinGoogleAnalytics Maybeyouwanttodrilldownevenfurtherandsegmentby25-34MaleswhovisitedyoursiteviaSEO(akafromGoogle). GotoTrafficSourcesandselectgoogleintrafficsource: SegmentingbytrafficsourceinGoogleAnalytics Onceyouarehappywithyoursegment,giveitanameandsaveit: Don’tforgettosaveyourcustomsegment Now,whenyouapplyasegment,you’llbeabletoapplythiscustomoneyoujustcreated: FindingandapplyingyourcustomsegmentsinGoogleAnalytics Needmorehelpsettingupsegments?Checkthisout:GoogleAnalyticsAdvancedSegmentsExplained. Thisvideoshowsyouhowcustomsegmentscanhelpyoutobreakdownyourexistingtrafficandgetabetterviewofyourdata. 3.TrackYourGoals(AndUseConversionFunnels) Agoalisacompletedactivity(conversion)thatcontributestothesuccessofyourwebsite.Itcanbebasedondestination,event,durationorpages/screenspersession. SettingupgoalsallowsyoutobetterunderstandtheROI(returnoninvestment)ofyoursite.Bytrackinggoalsyoucanunderstandwhatisworkingonyoursiteandwhatneedsimproving. HowtoSetupGoalsinGoogleAnalytics Tosetupgoals,gottheAdminsectionofGoogleAnalyticsandthennavigatetoGoals: SettingupgoalsinGoogleAnalytics Nowyou’llbeabletoaddanewgoal: AddingnewgoalsinGoogleAnalytics Selectthemostappropriatedescriptionofyourgoalfromthenextsection.Thereareafewchoiceshere,ifyou’renotsure,youcanjustselect‘Custom’. Goalsetup–choosethemostaccuratedescriptionorgoforacustomgoal Next,you’llneedtogiveyourgoalaname.Giveitsomethingdescriptivesothatyouknowataglance,whatyouaretracking. Thestepsforsettingupgoalsdependsonwhatyouwanttotrack.Isuggestwatchingthissimplewalkthroughanddecidingonwhatmethodisgoingtoworkbestforyou: 4.FindYourTopConvertingPages(AndImproveThem) You’vebuiltenoughtrafficsothatpeoplevisityoursite.Butdoyouknowwhatisbetter? Convertingthemintocustomers. UsingGoogleAnalytics,youcanfindoutwhichpagesbringinthemosttrafficandconversionsandthenworkonimprovingthemtobringinevenmore. Here’showtofindyoutopconvertingpages: GotoAcquisition>SearchConsole>LandingPagesandselectatimeframe(aimforatleast6months). Nowyouwanttosortthetablebyaconversiongoal.Assumingyou’vegotgoalssetup,pickaconversion(dropdowntopright)youwanttoinvestigate. Forexample,let’ssayweareinterestedinthepeoplethatcompleteacontactformonoursite.Selectthatgoalandthensortbythatgoal: SeeyourhighestconvertinglandingpagesinGoogleAnalytics Thiswillshowusthetopconvertingpagesforthatgoal. Nowwhat? Well,nowyouneedtotryandimprovethatpage’sconversionrate. Hereareafewthingsyoucantry: Lookatthekeywordsthatpageranksforandthencompareagainstotherrankingpages. Checkhowmanybacklinksthetop-rankingURLshaveusingAhrefs’freebacklinkchecker. CheckwhatqueriesdrovelittletraffictoyourpagesinGoogleSeachConsoleandupdatethosepageswiththesenewterms. LookattheresultsinGoogleandcompareyoursiteagainstyourcompetitors. UseourWordPressSEOguidetomakesureyouaren’tmissinganythingimportant. 5.FindLowHangingFruitPagestoImprove IfyouareusingSEOtogetpeopletoyoursite,youareplayingthelonggame. Youneedtofollowbestpractices(it’seasierifyouuseanSEOplugin),makesureyoursiteiserror-free,andcreateevergreencontenttoseeyoursitegraduallyclimbupthesearchenginerankings. However,therearesomethingsyoucandoforfasterresults. Inthiscase,yourlowhangingfruittargetsarepagesonyourwebsitethatwillseeanupliftintrafficwithjustafewtweaks.Thesewillbepagesthatareappearingonpage2ofGoogleandjustneedabitmoreworktobringthemtopage1. Buthowdoyoufindthesepages?YouneedtoconnectGoogleAnalyticstoGoogleSearchConsolefirst. Then,gotoAcquisition>SearchConsole>Queriestoseewhichsearchterms(akakeywords)aresendingthemosttraffictoyoursite.ThenclickonAdvanced: FindlowhangingfruitopportunitiesinGoogleAnalytics UsingtheAdvancedfilter,selectAveragePositionasyourmetricandaddGreaterthan10andhitApply: Filterby‘Averageposition’inGoogleAnalyticstouncoveropportunitiesforimprovement Whatwillthisshowyou? Thiswillshowyoupagesthatarerankingonpage2(akayourlowhangingfruitkeywords): SeepagesrankingonpagetwoofGoogle…thengoandimprovethem Butwhatyoureallywanttolookathereistherelationshipbetweenclicksandimpressions. Ifyouneedarefresher: Impressions=thenumberoftimesyourURLappearsinsearchresults Clicks=thenumberoftimessomeoneclicksyourURLinsearchresults Nowyourclicksaregoingtobelowasthesearepagesrankingonpage2ofGoogle.Andlet’sbereal,noonegoestopage2onGoogle. Butifyou’vegothighimpressions,thismeansyoucouldbegettingmoretrafficifyoujustimprovedyourposition: Lookoutforpageswithhighimpressionsbutlowclicks 6.UncoverUnderperformingPages(toBoostTraffic) It’snotalwaysaboutfindingthegoodstuffonyoursite.Sometimesyouneedtoidentifyyourworstperformingpagesandimprovethem. UsingGoogleAnalytics,youcanfindpagesthathavedeclinedandthenrepublishthemtoregaintheirformerglory(hopefully). Here’show: GotoAcquisition>SearchConsole>LandingPagesandselectatimeframe(aimforatleast6months)andthencomparethattothepreviousyear: Viewlandingpageperformanceoveraspecifictimeframe Ifyouhaveaprettynewsite,don’tworryifyoucan’tcompareittothepreviousyear.Youcanselectadaterangeyoudohavedatafor. Now,sortbyclicks: SortbyclicksinGoogleAnalyticstofindunderperformingpages Scanthroughthisandlookforpagesthathavedroppedsignificantly Thenlookforreasonswhytheyhavedeclinedandthinkofanyupdatesyoucanmakeorwaysyoucanincreasetraffictothem.Thisapproachworksalsoforoptimizingtheconversionrate. 7.Find(AndFix)PagesPeopleAren’tEngagingWith InGoogleAnalytics,gotoBehavior>SiteContent>AllPagesandclickonAdvanced: Seewhatpagesonyoursitepeoplearen’tengagingwith NowwewanttoaddaSource/Mediumdimensionandaddcontaininggoogle/organic: Filterbyorganic(akaSEOtraffic)inGoogleAnalytics Thiswillshowyourtop-performingpagesfromGoogleonly. NowsortyourdatabythemostviewsandpayattentiontotheBounceRateand%Exitcolumns: Findblogpostswithahighbouncerate You’lltypicallyseeprettyhighbounceratesfromsearchtraffictoblogposts,sodon’tworrytoomuchaboutit. WhatyouwanttolookforarepageswithbothahighBounceRateandahigh%Exits. Pageslikethis: Pageslikethisareperfectforre-optimizingandimproving Ifyouareseeingsomethinglikethis,yourpageneedsimproving.Therearelotsofpossiblethingsyoucoulddoheretoimprovethisnumber.That’sdowntoyoutotest. Buthere’safewthingsthatcouldbeholdingyourpagesback: Yourcontentdoesn’tmeetthesearchintentofuserssearchingonGoogle. Yourcontentisoutdatedandcoulddowitharefresh. Yourcontentdoesn’tlookgoodormaybeitisn’tmobile-friendly. Yourwebsiteisloadingslowly(sodosomespeedoptimization) Yourcontentisn’tin-depthenough. Also,besuretocheckoutourguideonhowtoreducebouncerateformoretips. AttributionModelsandGoogleAnalytics Wouldn’titbegreatifyouunderstoodwhatstepsavisitoronyoursitetookbeforetheyconverted? Thankfully,youcan… Enter:attributionmodels. WhatareAttributionModels? Attributionmodelsareusedtogivecredittodifferentstagesofthecustomerjourney.Thinkofthemasaframeworkforseeingwhichmarketingchannelsresultinthemostconversions. Byusingattributionmodels,youcangetabetterideaofhoweachmarketingchannelisperformingor,asGoogledefinesthem: Anattributionmodelistherule,orsetofrules,thatdetermineshowcreditforsalesandconversionsisassignedtotouchpointsinconversionpaths. 6DifferentTypesofAttributionModels So,whatmodelshouldyouuse?Therearedifferenttypesofattributionmodels,eachwiththeirownbenefitsanddrawbacks. Herearesomeofthemostcommontypesofattributionmodels: LastInteractionAttribution–allcreditgoestothelasttouchpointbeforeavisitorconverts. FirstInteractionAttribution–allcreditgoestothefirstactiontakenbyavisitorintheconversionprocess. LastNon-DirectClick–givescredittoasingleinteraction,butremovesanydirectinteractions(likeausergoingtypinginyourURL). LinearAttribution–givesequalcredittoeachtouchpointalongthevisitor’sjourney. TimeDecayAttribution–givestouchpointsclosertothetimeofconversionmorecredit(vsoldertouchpoints) Position-BasedAttribution–(alsocalledU-shapedattribution)credithereisequallyassigned.InGoogleAnalytics,thefirst+lasttouchpointsget40%ofcreditandthen20%isdistributedequallybetweentherest. InGoogleAnalytics,youcanalsocreatecustomattributionmodels.Withacustommodel,yougettochooseyourownsetofrulesforgivingcredittotouchpoints. Findoutmoreaboutbuildingacustomattributionmodelhere: Now,attributionmodelscanbeprettycomplex.Solet’spickoutthreeofthemostpopular(andusefulones)youcanuse. FirstInteractionAttribution(WithExample) Allcreditgoestothefirstactiontakenbyavisitorintheconversionprocess. FirstInteractionattributionisprettysimple,whichispartofitsappeal.Ifconvertingvisitorsquicklyorbringingnewtopofthefunnelcustomersinisyourgoal,thisisagoodmodeltouse. Justkeepinmindthismodelignoreseverythingthathappensafterthefirstinteraction.Soyoucouldpotentiallybemissingoutonimportantmarketingchannelsinteractions. FirstInteractionExampleExplained: Avisitorfindsyourwebsiteviaareferralsite,likeTwitter. TwitterasachannelwillgetcreditforanysaleorconversionthathappensAFTERthatinteraction. Ifaweeklater,thesameuserclicksonapaidadtakingthemtoyoursite,thecreditisstillgiventoTwitter. LastInteractionAttribution(WithExample) Allcreditgoestothelasttouchpointbeforeavisitorconverts. SimilartoFirstInteraction,LastInteractiongives100%ofthecredittothelastclick(interaction). Withmanypeopleviewingsitesacrossmultipledevicesandbrowsersitcanbedifficulttotracktheirentirejourneyaccurately.Inthisway,LastInteractionisprettyaccurate. ThedrawbackhereisthateverythingthatoccursBEFOREthatfinalinteractionisignored.Soyoumaybemissingoutonunderstandingimportantinteractions(touchpoints)thathappenedbeforethatlast-click. LastInteractionExampleExplained: AvisitorclicksononeofyourGoogleAds,thenleaves. Afewdayslater,theyresearchyouandgotoyourwebsiteviaasearchengine. Whilethere,theysignuptoyouremaillist. Afewdayslateragain,theytypeinyourwebsite,gotheredirectly,andmakeapurchase. LastclickwouldbeattributedtotheDIRECTvisithere. LinearAttribution(WithExample) Givesequalcredittoeachtouchpointalongthevisitor’sjourney. LinearAttributionisamorebalancedlookthanFirst&LastInteractions.Bysplittingupthecredit,youcanseehowyourwholemarketingstrategyisworking. However,becauseitassignsequalimportancetoallchannels,youmaybegettingaskewedviewofhowthingsareconverting. LinearAttributionExampleExplained: AvisitorclicksononeofyourGoogleAds. Thentheyresearchyouandgotoyourwebsiteviaasearchengine. Whilethere,theysignuptoyouremaillist. Afewdayslater,theytypeinyourwebsite,gotheredirectlyandmakeapurchase. LinearAttributionwoulddividetherevenuebythesefourchannels(Ads,Organics,Email,andDirect)giving25%credittoeach. ComparingAttributionModels Notsurewhichmodeltouse?YoucanusetheMCFModelComparisonToolinGoogleAnalyticstocompareattributionmodelsanddecidewhichisbesttouse. AttributionmodelsinGoogleAnalytics Justpickanattributionmodelinthetool,andthetablewillshowthenumberofConversionsforeachchannel(accordingtothatmodel). Attributionmodelsaren’tperfectatall.Nevertheless,theycanbringupamoredetailedviewofhowyourvisitorsandusersengagewithyoursite. GoogleAnalyticsFAQs HereareanswerstosomeofthemostfrequentlyaskedquestionsaboutGoogleAnalytics: HowMuchDoesGoogleAnalyticscost? GoogleAnalyticsisfreetouse.However,thereisanenterprisesolutioncalledGoogleAnalytics360andthiswillcostyouaround$150,000ayear.Don’tworry:thestandardversionismorethanenoughformostpeople. HowMuchIsGoogleAnalyticsCertification? TheGoogleAnalyticsIndividualQualification(IQ)testisameasureofproficiencyinAnalyticsanditiscompletelyfree.YoucanfindoutmoreaboutitonGoogle’sofficialAnalyticsIQsupportpage. HowOftenDoesGoogleAnalyticsUpdate? AccordingtoGoogle,GoogleAnalytics’sitestatisticslatencyis 24-48hours.However,Googledoesn’tspecificallystatehowlongittakestoupdatealltheinformationthatmaybeassociatedwithyouraccount. WhatIsGoogleAnalyticsPropertyTrackingID? ThepropertyIDinGoogleAnalyticsistheidentifier,whichisassociatedwithyouraccount,andwhatit’susedbyGoogleAnalyticstocollectyoursitedata.YoucanfinditbygoingintotheAdminpanelandselect‘Trackingcode’: AnexampleGoogleAnalyticstrackingID HowDoesGoogleAnalyticsWork? GoogleAnalyticsworksbyaddingabitofJavaScriptcodetopagesonyourwebsite.Whenavisitorlandsonyourwebsite,thisJavaScriptcodereferencesaJavaScriptfileandistrackedinforAnalytics. WheretoPutGoogleAnalyticsCode? Theshortansweris:oneverypageyouwanttotrack. Don’tworry,though,youdon’tneedtomanuallycopyandpastethecodeontoeverysinglepage.Checkoutthisin-depthguideonhowtoaddGoogleAnalyticstoWordPresssites. 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Hand-pickedrelatedarticles Blog 76ProvenTacticstoDriveTraffictoYourWebsite Webtrafficisthelifebloodofanywebsite.Learnthe70+proven(andactionable)tacticsyoucanusetodriverealtraffictoyourwebsite. Readingtime 59minread Publishdate January27,2020 Topic ContentStrategy Topic SEOStrategy Blog 14BestGoogleAnalyticsAlternativesforPowerfulDataGathering GoogleAnalyticsisn'ttheonlytoolavailabletotrackanalytics.CheckoutthesegreatGoogleAnalytics(GA)alternativestotrackvisitors,orde… Readingtime 18minread Publishdate September20,2019 Topic Analytics Blog 61WordPressSEOTipstoGrowYourOrganicTrafficby250% LookingforprovenwaystoimproveyourSEO?Checkoutthese60+actionableWordPressSEOtipsweusedtoincreaseorganictrafficby250% Readingtime 90minread Publishdate March3,2022 Topic WordPressSEO Comments LeaveAComment SindhuChandrasekar December27,2020at11:02pm Reply Thanksforsharingthisarticle.ItreallyhelpedmetosetupAnalyticsformywebsite. 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