Digital Marketing using Google Services
10 Google Analytics
Every business is in need of the right statistics to evaluate the on-going business and to target the right audience. Google Analytics helps you in that process by tracking the visitors of your website. The classifications of every visitor who visits your website would amaze you.
For example:
Demographics:
Snapshot 10.1: Age & Gender Analysis in Google Analytics
Geo:
Snapshot 10.2: Location and Language in Google Analytics
E-Commerce:
Snapshot 10.3: E-Commerce Conversions & Revenue
By studying the visitor’s behaviour and success rate, setting up a suitable format on where the target should be, becomes visible. Steering towards the right population is made possible and hence the probability of a higher success rate is evident.
Introduction to Google analytics:
Google Analytics, an amazing tool by Google provides you sufficient amount of data on what is happening in your website. Web analytics is very essential for planning out any online marketing campaign, being a free tool that can produce plenty of data, Google analytics is highly recommended for an online business or blog.
Setup:
We should first setup the Google Analytics Code and paste it into your website to track visitors. Step 1: sign up with Google analytics (http://www.google.com/analytics/ ) using your Gmail Id.
Snapshot 10.4: Choose “Access Google Analytics” or “Sign in”
Snapshot 10.5: Choose “Sign up”
Step 2:Fill in the details about your website
Snapshot 10.6 Choose Website Tab
Choose the website tab, enter the Website Domain Name, Industry category, choose your business type, reporting time zone (Snapshot 10.6 and 10.7).
Snapshot 10.7 Website URL, Category, Time Zone
Step 3: Choose recommended data sharing settings (Snapshot 10.8). You have to enable this option “With other Google Products only” to transfer data across other Google Products. Enter “Get tracking Id” and accept the agreement.
Snapshot 10.8 Data Sharing Settings
Step 4: Now you will be redirected to a page (Snapshot 10.9) that contains the tracking code. Please note you are onAdminTab ->PropertyColumn ->Tracking InfoSection ->Tracking Code.
Snapshot 10.9 Google Analytics Tracking Code
Step 5: Adding the tracking code to your website: There are two ways.
1. Adding the setup code manually OR
2. (Optional) Adding it via Google tag manager.
Adding the setup code manually:
You or your web developer may do this step. Copy the Tracking Code and Paste it immediately before the closing </head> of your webpages. The main reason to paste the code in header section is that the header part is common in all the pages of the website and the fact that it’s the coding part that loads first when a web page is loaded. Please note this code has to be pasted into every webpage in your website.
(Optional) Adding the setup code via Google Tag Manager:
Please refer Chapter 9. Google Tag Manager -> Google Analytics Tag Setup.
Step 6: Check the tracking status in the property section:
Navigate through theProperty→Tracking Info→Tracking Codeof your Google analytics account and check the status displayed.
If it shows “Tracking Not Installed”, go to your website and open the Page Source (Right Click and choose “View Page Source”) (Snapshot 10.10).
It opens the HTML Source Code. Check if your web developer has installed the Analytics Tracking Code by searching for your respective Tracking Code.
Reporting:
Snapshot 10.10 View HTML Page Source
Once you are done with the tracking code setup, you can start analysing the reports for your website traffic and performance under theReportingtab (Snapshot 10.11)
Snapshot 10.11 Reporting Tab
Under Reporting, we have few major reports to highlight.
1. Channel ReportsunderAcquisition– For analysing the Traffic and Sources
2. SEO ReportsunderAcquisition– For analysing the SEO Performance
3. Geo ReportunderAudience– For analysing the Locations
4. DevicesunderAudience– For analysing the performance of the visitors from Mobile, desktop and tablet devices
5. Demographics ReportunderAudience– For analysing the Age/Gender
6. Behaviour FlowunderBehaviour– For analysing the user flow (Pages visited) in our Website
7. Goals ReportunderConversions– To find the number of successful Goals achieved
Acquisition -> Channels Reports:
Channels report exhibits various statistics like Sessions, New Users, Behavior, etc. for the website.
Traffics are evaluated and tracked under certain default channel grouping sources:
Direct (User entered the website into the browser or came to your site via a bookmark) Organic Search(Organic Search traffics)
Social(Traffic from social networks like Facebook, twitter, etc.)
Referral(Traffic from websites that are not categorized under social networks) Paid Search(Traffic from AdWords)
Display(Display Channel Traffic).
Email(Email traffics are categorized under this Channel)
Search Engine Optimization Report:
Queries Report
Queries Report provides the following statistics for your website:
· Queries entered by the users in Google Search
· Number of impressions of your website's URLs in Google Search results · Number of clicks on your website's URLs from Google Search
· The ratio of clicks to impressions for your website's URLs i.e. Click Through Rate · The average position of your website in Google Search
Landing Pages Report
After clicking on a link in Google search result, it takes your visitor to a specific webpage in
Geo Reporting:
your website. It is called the Landing Page. Landing Page Report provides visitor statistics for your Landing Page URLs.
Tip: Additionally, you can also view secondary dimension for your data by choosing Secondary Dimension drop down and selecting respective parameter like Country or Google Property.
Geo menu has 2 types of reporting: Language and Location.
The Location reporting shows the location of your visitors.
Why do we need this report?
· Evaluate if we are reaching the right audience. · Evaluate the Language specific data and visitor statistics. The language reporting tab provides session split-up for specific languages.
· To analyse the best performing Locations and Languages other than our target language and locations to plan further.
Let’s take an example:
I am focusing on visitors from US and English Language Speakers to buy my products. Through this report, I found that France and French speakers have brought in more conversions next to US and English speakers for my website. So, it provides me an opportunity to add France to my targeting locations and focus there more along with US. I will be translating my pages to French and show French Website if someone opens my website from France. It adds a local touch and I may get more conversions.
Technology and mobile:
Technology and Mobile Reports contain data about the Browser, OS, Network and the devices used by the visitors to visit our website.
It helps us optimize our website for specific browser and device. Assume we receive more traffic from Chrome, Firefox and Safari browsers. It is a good idea to test your website on these browsers and make it compatible. Assume 40% of visitors for your website are coming from mobile, it is a good idea to make a mobile responsive website or create a mobile version of your website to provide better experience for your mobile visitors.
Demographics and Interests:
Demographics Report provides data about the age and gender.
Interests Report contains data categorized based on the affinity groups and in-market analysis.
What am I going to do by knowing their age, gender and interests?
Having this data, you will be able to identify the segment of visitors to your website, make redesign plan for your website and add required content targeting specific group. You can also plan your advertisements and promotions targeting specific age and affinity groups.
By default, Demographics data is disabled. You need to enable it. To enable, we need to perform below steps:
Step 1:Go to Admin tab -> Property column -> Property Settings.
Step 2:Under “Display Advertiser Features”, set “Enable Display Features” to ON Step 3:Add the following additional line to your existing Analytics Tracking Code on your website:
ga('require', 'displayfeatures');
For example, add it like this if you have manually pasted your Analytics Setup Code: <script>
(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){i['GoogleAnalyticsObject']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){ (i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o), m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m) })(window,document,'script','//www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js','ga'); ga('create', 'UA-xxxxxx-xx', 'example.com');
ga('require', 'displayfeatures');
ga('send', 'pageview');
</script>
OR (Optional) if you use Google Tag Manager:
You should Enable Display Advertiser Features to get Demographic details. Refer Chapter 9 Google Tag Manager -> Google Analytics Setup section.
Behaviour Flow Report:
Click on Behavior Menu -> Behavior Flow report to view this report (Refer Snapshot 10.12). It provides the complete flow of all visitors’ sessions. It shows the pages entered by the visitors, pages travelled and finally where they drop off. It provides a big picture of worst performing pages with more drop-offs. We can optimize these pages to reduce the drop-offs by adding required components like offers, content, images and trust building factors.
10.12 Behaviour Flow Report
Conversion Report
What is a conversion? Conversions or Goals can be: 1. Leads received
2. Product sold
3. Calls received
4. Sign Up
5. Membership
6. Duration stayed on a specific page
7. Download of an e-book
8. Videos Watched
Conversion report provides details about Goals recorded in your website.
To record a Goal, you need to first define a Goal in Analytics.
Define a Goal in Analytics
If someone submits a lead form in my website, it takes them to a thank you page URL www.locsea.com/contact-tks where it shows “Form Sent Successfully” message. Here this URL is called Destination URL for this Goal. So we need to define this URL page as a Goal in Analytics and it will be tracked under Conversions.
Go to Admin Tab -> View Column -> Click on Goals Click on +New Goal
Choose Custom Goal radio button from Goal Setup Section. Provide a name for your new Goal and Choose Destination radio button from Goal Type Section.
It takes you to the Goal Details section. Type your Destination URL by choosing “Begins with” from drop down and enter “/contact-tks” in the edit box.
Click on Save to create this Goal.
From now on, this page will be tracked as a Goal in Analytics.
Linking Analytics with AdWords:
Note : If you are new to AdWords, please go throughChapter 8. You can do this step only after signing up for AdWords.
Step 1: Click on AdWords Linking fromAdminTab ->PropertyColumn
Step 2: Select the AdWords Account to be linked
Step 3: Choose All Website Data from theLinked Viewdrop down
Step 4: Click on Save.
AdWords is now linked with Analytics. AdWords data will be populated in Analytics.
Linking Analytics with Google Webmasters Tools:
Go to Propertycolumn inAdminTab. Scroll down and click onEditunder Webmaster Tools Settings section. It takes you to the Google Webmasters Tools Application to select your website. Select your website and click on Save.
Note: If you are new to Google Webmasters Tools, please go through theChapter 11Google Webmasters.
Click on OK for “Add Association” Dialog box.
Click on Save to finish. Your Webmasters Tools is now linked with Analytics.
Summary:
We have explained the key reports and settings in this chapter. There are various reports, tools available in Google Analytics. Get started by implementing the steps listed in this chapter. It will be very interesting to analyze these data for our website. It is very important to take action based on the data received through Google Analytics to improve your ROI.