Google Analytics Made Easy

By Susanne Myers www.AffiliateTreasureChest.com

 

*The publisher of this report is not affiliated with Google Inc. in any way, nor does Google Inc. sponsor or approve any of our products.

 

NOTICE: You Do NOT Have the Right to Reprint or Resell this Report and the Files Included in this Google Analytics Guide.
You Also MAY NOT Sell or Share the Credit Herein, you are however welcome to share the report with others.

 

©2011 Susanne Myers
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
DISCLAIMER AND/OR LEGAL NOTICES:

The information presented herein represents the view of the author as of the date of this publication. Because of the rate with which conditions change, the author reserves the right to alter and update his opinion based on the new conditions. The report is for informational purposes only.

While every attempt has been made to verify the information provided in this report, neither the author nor his affiliates/partners assume any responsibility for errors, inaccuracies or omissions.

Any slights of people or organizations are unintentional. If advice concerning legal or related matters is needed, the services of a fully qualified professional should be sought. This report is not intended for use as a source of legal or accounting advice. You should be aware of any laws which govern business transactions or other business practices in your country and state. Any reference to any person or business whether living or dead is purely coincidental.

Every effort has been made to accurately represent this product and it’s potential. Even though this industry is one of the few where one can write their own check in terms of earnings, there is no guarantee that you will earn any money using the techniques and ideas in these materials. Examples in these materials are not to be interpreted as a promise or guarantee of earnings. Earning potential is entirely dependent on the person using our product, ideas and techniques. I do not purport this as a “get rich scheme.”

Any claims made of actual earnings or examples of actual results can be verified upon request. Your level of success in attaining the results claimed in my materials depends on the time you devote to the program, ideas and techniques mentioned your finances, knowledge and various skills. Since these factors differ according to individuals, I cannot guarantee your success or income level. Nor am I responsible for any of your actions.

Materials in my product and our website may contain information that includes or is based upon forward-looking statements within the meaning of the securities litigation reform act of 1995. Forward-looking statements give my expectations or forecasts of future events. You can identify these statements by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. They use words such as “anticipate,” “estimate,” “expect,” “project,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” and other words and terms of similar meaning in connection with a description of potential earnings or financial performance.

Any and all forward looking statements here or on any of my sales material are intended to express my opinion of earnings potential. Many factors will be important in determining your actual results and no guarantees are made that you will achieve results similar to mine or anybody else’s, in fact no guarantees are made that you will achieve any results from our ideas and techniques in my material.

Table of Contents
Table of Contents.......................................................................................................... 3
About The Author .......................................................................................................... 4
Introduction ................................................................................................................... 5
What is Website Analytics? ....................................................................................... 5
What Does Website Analytics Mean?........................................................................ 6
Who Needs Website Analytics?................................................................................. 7
What Is Google Analytics .............................................................................................. 9
How to Set Up Google Analytics................................................................................ 9
How to Set Up Google Analytics Email Reports.......................................................... 14
Website Statistic Terms to Learn............................................................................. 18
Using The Google Analytics Website Overlay............................................................. 23

About The Author

Susanne Myers has been an affiliate and information marketer since 2004. She runs several successful content websites and uses Google Analytics on a daily basis to add new content, improve existing content and monetize her sites.

In this short report she ’ll share the basics about getting up and running with Google Analytics and what to do with all the awesome data you can get from this free service.

Susanne is also the author and creator of

 

www.AffiliateNichePacks.com and www.EasyLinkLove.com

 

Affiliate Niche Packs offer you everything you need to get stared in a proven profitable niche including:

· Niche and Target Market Descriptions
· List of Good Affiliate Products to Promote
· Domain Name Ideas
· Extensive List of Keywords w/ Competitive Data
· Article and Blog Post Ideas
· Marketing Plans for Beginners and Advanced Users
· Recommended Resources and PLR Offers that will allow you to grow your

content site quickly.

At www.EasyLinkLove.com you will find her 13 week link building course that will teach you the basic skills you need to optimize each piece of content and build quality links to it that will get your pages ranking in the search engines and send you targeted FREE traffic 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

She also offers a more comprehensive advanced course that will go into slightly more complicated concepts including link baiting, blog networks and more at www.EasyLinkLove.com/adv

Susanne also blogs about all things affiliate marketing at www.AffiliateTreasureChest.com

 

Introduction
What is Website Analytics?

Whenever I write an article, an ecourse, a report or anything intended to instruct others on a topic, I always like to start from the very beginning, with the very core basics. That way, I can be sure to address beginner questions. And if you think you already know all about website analytics already, I still might be able to add a little nugget of information to help things become just a little clearer for you.

So if you're an analytics beginner, never fear! We'll be starting from Square One. And if you think you're pretty well-versed on the whole website analytics landscape, stick with me. You might just learn something to make it work even better for you.

When I said we were starting from Square One, I meant it. So before we hit the topic of website analytics, let's start with what a website is, at its very core.

 

What is a Website?

A website is a collection of information that is often put together in 'pages'. A good website has a central driving theme: Quick recipes, exercises for your abs, how to get your dog a job in the movies, etc.

Each page within that site is a single collection of content, typically focused on a single topic as well. Each of those individual pages is based around the driving theme of the overall site. For instance, if you want to launch Fido's future as a Hollywood star, your pages might be:

· How to find an agent
· Where to get his headshots taken · What casting agents look for · Different film opportunities

Notice that while all these topics are different, they all relate back to that overall theme of helping your dog achieve stardom.

Once your website is populated with a number of interrelated topics, how do you know if anybody is reading your pages? And if people are reading, how do you know where they're coming from?

The answer can be found in your website analytics.

 

What Does Website Analytics Mean?

When people visit your website they leave a trail. Remember Hansel and Gretel? As they wandered through the forest they left a trail of pebbles so they could find their way back home. Well, it's possible to track your site visitors and get detailed information about what they're doing, where they're going, and where they came from, through the use of computer 'cookies'.

When used by the “good guys” (like you and me,) a computer cookie is a small, harmless file that is automatically downloaded to a visitor's computer when they come to your website. This file then allows website analytics software to track all sorts of data about your visitor, such as where they go on your site, what kind of Internet browser they're using, how they arrived at your site, what page they entered on, where they leave, and so on.

In the old days, this data was only available at great cost and effort, and then website owners had to manually make sense of it. Enter the 21^st century. Now, website analytics programs gather and compile all the data automatically, and then spits it back out as understandable and useful reports that you can then apply to your business.

Let's review:

· Your website has lots of pages, as many as you've created. · Your visitors arrive, and they get tracked using cookies.
_· Those cookies are used by website analytics software to record important

information about your visitors' activities as they arrive and while they are cruising around your website.

 

· The website analytics program sends you back statistical data about your visitors that is useful and can ultimately help grow your business. Here's what analytics can tell you:

 

· Keywords – what words and phrases people actually type in to Internet search engines like Yahoo and Google to find your site.

 

· Search Engines – what search engines were used to find your site.

 

· Internet Browsers – which internet browser was used to view your site.

 

· Visitor Count– how many people visit your site per day, week, year.

 

· Referring Sites – what other sites sent you traffic.

 

· Popular Pages – what people were reading on your site and how many visited each page.

 

· Time on Site– how long people spent on your website.

 

· Entry Pages – which pages people entered your site from.

 

· Exit Pages – which pages people left your site from.

 

· Conversions – which pages resulted in sales, which resulted in email sign ups.

 

· Demographics – what countries visitors live in.

 

· Time– What days and times are busiest on your site.

 

Who Needs Website Analytics?

So now that you know what data you can track, you may be wondering why you even need this very detailed information. Does it really matter that 45 percent of your traffic arrived through Google, and 90 percent of your visitors come between 12 and 1 PM on Thursdays?

Put simply, anyone who is interested in growing their traffic on their website needs website analytics. There is no one single more valuable tool that can provide this level of detailed information about your visitors. And the more you know about your audience, the better you can meet their needs.
Not using website analytics for your business is like opening a restaurant and then never trying to figure out whether your customers prefer chicken or veal, how the new drink special sold, whether they're families with young children or couples on their first date, and what hours are busiest. Are they stopping by at 10 PM for coffee and dessert, or are they coming in before a night on the town for a cocktail and an appetizer? If you don't know that information, how can you plan your menus, order stock, hire and schedule workers, and devise marketing plans to entice your customers if you don't know who they are and where they're coming from?

With a website it's a little more complex, but basically the same principle. You need to know if visitors are coming through your virtual doors, then what they're doing while they stay, and then which page they leave from. A website doesn't have one 'door' in and out like a restaurant. There could be ten, twenty or even a hundred or more entrances and exits. It's your job to monitor them and see what people are doing– THEN you can decide how you'll best make money with that information. Website analytics are your key to making important business decisions. We will be spending the rest of this report discussing all you need to know to set up, monitor, maintain and profit from your website statistics.

So we've touched on who can benefit from analytics and why they should use them, but let's go deeper with some solid examples.

 

Who Should Use Website Analytics:

· Product Sellers – If you sell a product on your website then statistics can tell you a lot about your target market. You can learn: what words people are using to find you in the search engines, what products are most popular, what articles people are reading, and what websites are linking to you and bringing you traffic. Once armed with this information you can do more of what works and increase your sales.

· Bloggers – If you have a blog, you need to understand your analytics. Knowing which pages are viewed the most can help you to monetize them better – and make more money from your web traffic.

· Service Providers – A website designed to highlight and promote your services is great, but do you know what your clients really want? Analytics can tell you: pain points potential clients have that you may not be aware of through the search words they use, what services are in greatest demand, where your visitors and potential clients are coming from online, and if you're capturing their attention based on how long they stay on your site.

· Advertisers – If you make money through advertisements on your website, you already attract visitors and you know how to make money with them. But have you optimized what's working? Analytics can help you: attract more visitors who respond to your ads by targeting more of the keywords that are already working to draw traffic, find out what visitors are having issues with based on the keywords they use, find out what pages are keeping visitors attention, find out what pages are converting to sales.

So, now that you know the Who (you!) and the Why, let's go forward with the How. In the next section we'll jump right into an overview of Google Analytics, one of the easiest and most powerful website analytics you can use. And here's the best part: It's free!

What Is Google Analytics

Google Analytics is a free web analytics service offered through Google. It tracks, compiles, and generates the exact type of statistics we talked about in the first part of this report. I love Google Analytics because it's robust, easy, and free!

How to Set Up Google Analytics

 

Start by going to http://www.google.com/analytics/.

 

Click on “Access Analytics”.

 

You'll see this screen:

If you already have a Google account (for any Google service, including Gmail or Adsense), just log in. If you don't have aGoogle account then click on “Create an Account now”. You'll need to sign up for one before you continue.

Once you've gone through the log in or sign-up process then you'll be asked to create a new profile. The screen will look like this:

Since you're just starting out you'll want to choose 'Add a Profile for a new domain'. Then you'll enter in the website URL you want to track through Google Analytics, the country and time zone. Click Finish to get your tracking code.

The Tracking Code

 

The code you get on the next page needs to be put on every page of your website. Where you place this code is going to vary greatly depending on how your website was designed.
If your Website is NOT a WordPress blog...
Google Analytics gives you clear directions that the code needs to be placed immediately before the closing </head> tag.

If this doesn't make sense to you then you'll probably want to get some support for this part of the setup. Depending on how and where your website is set up you may be able to ask your website designer, website host, website builder customer support or other sources for help to find the location where you need to place the tracking code.

If you're a do-it-yourself type, you need to find your source HTML site files. You will then place this tracking code on every page of your site. In some cases, you'll only have to add it in one spot and it will automatically propagate through your entire site (yet another reason I recommend you have a Wordpress blog).

If your Website IS a WordPress blog...
Many Wordpress themes are set up for you to simply add the tracking code to the site/theme setup.

You can also get a number of Wordpress plugins that allow you to just pop the tracking code in an easy to find section so that it can be added throughout the site.) In fact, I did a quick search for plugins in WordPress today and found several that are rated highly.

See image on the next page.

 

Check that you Installed it Correctly.

 

Before you install your code you'll see this message in your Analytics account:

 

Check back after you've installed the tracking code. If everything is set up properly that message will change to this message:

 

Once Google starts receiving data, it will start collecting the data that is going to help you make future decisions on the marketing and messages you set forth in your business. Exciting stuff, right?!

How to Set Up Google Analytics Email Reports

Once we understand what analytics are and how to start collecting them, it's easy to understand how important they are in terms of researching and understanding our market. One beautiful aspect of Google Analytics (hereinafter referred to as GA) is that you can “order” reports on a regular basis. You simply schedule email reports to be sent to you at the interval you determine.

I recommend setting your reports to monthly. Here's why: Weekly is too often and can lead to overwhelm that causes you to do nothing as you are lost, swimming in a sea of data you aren't sure how to interpret. Also, you could see variations during a single week that even out over a month or more. So, a small dip over a holiday could send you into an unnecessary panic when over the course of the month, your traffic may have grown. You need a longer perspective to see if some blip is an aberration or a permanent state of affairs (does the entire country of Sri Lanka suddenly love your blog?). Quarterly, on the other hand, is too long because by the time you actually look at data and trends it might be too late to do anything about them. Monthly is just right because a new month gives you the opportunity to visit your stats, income and activities to make sure your are driving your business in the right direction.

It's fairly easy to set up your custom reports. Follow along right now so you're instantly putting this information to great use!

 

The Dashboard

If you set up your site correctly you'll see a list of your monitored website(s) when you log into your GA account. Click on whichever website in your list you'd like to receive reports for first.
Then, click 'View Report' to see your Dashboard for that individual website.

Email Your Reports

 

After you've clicked on “View Report”, you can now see that there is a little button on top of each section that says Email:

 

Clicking on that Email button will allow you to either email the report directly to you immediately, or schedule it for a later, recurring date. After you click it you'll see three tabs across the top that allow you to choose how you would like to set up the report.

They are:

· Send Now – Sends you a report immediately.
· Schedule – Allows you to set up a monthly schedule.
· Add to Existing– If you have set up any other reports this option allows you to

combine your new report into the original so you have only ONE monthly report by email, instead of a bunch of reports and emails coming in at once.

For your initial setup you'll want to click the 'Schedule' tab.

You'll notice that you can also send the report to others. You might want to use this feature to send a monthly keyword report to your writer or guest bloggers who can then use it to create new monthly content. Or you might want to schedule a monthly report on traffic sources to your virtual assistant who can use it to ping the same sites or find new, similar ones to promote you on.

The subject and description are fairly straightforward. This is what will appear in the email.

 

You can also choose a format that works best for you from multiple options such as PDF, XML, Excel, CSV & TSV.

 

Then you can choose between weekly, monthly or quarterly automated reports. Schedule and be worry free.

Something to note before you set up your schedule:
The email report shows exactly the parameters that you have on your screen at the time you hit the Email button. So be sure you are in the right section of your reports and that you can see on the screen all the information you need.

For example, I get a “keywords” report sent to me for my own site which is very helpful for me to plan my blog posts for the next month. I get well over 500 keyword searches per month, but the default screen in Google Analytics only shows the first 10 results. So when I created my email report I had to scroll down to the very bottom of my page and make sure it is set to show 500 rows. Otherwise the report will send me only the first 10 results, which isn't very helpful to me.

The next thing you might be wondering is what kind of reports you should send yourself. There are many sections to GA, and you don't want to send yourself everything because it will be too overwhelming. Here are the reports I suggest:

1. Dashboard Overview – This includes information on how many visitors you received, page views, pages per visit, bounce rate, average time on site and percentage of new visits. The dashboard also contains a few other summaries such as a Map Overlay, Traffic Sources Overview and a Content Overview. This can also be customized.

2. Traffic Sources: Referring Sites – Knowing what sites are actually sending you traffic right now is golden information. You want to use this feature to see how much MORE traffic you can get from the same sites and what other similar or related sites you can get traffic from as well. For this report, I set the number of rows to view at 50.

3. Traffic Sources: Keywords – Real humans are typing words into the search engines to find your site. Knowing exactly what these words are helps you write more useful content along the same lines and allows you to see where gaps in your content might exist.

4. Content by Title – This tells you the most popular pages on your website. Use this feature to make sure the popular pages are optimized and monetized, and to create new pages on the topics your visitors like the most.

You'll be amazed at how much time you save by taking the time now to set these reports up. Months zoom by quickly and before you know it you've forgotten to check your stats for six month. But – with this automated setup there are absolutely no excuses for not looking at your stats every month.

Website Statistic Terms to Learn

GA uses certain terms to identify traffic and give you the information you need to make informed decisions. Let's go over these terms as you will use them often while analyzing your statistical data.

Visits– The number of unique visitors to your site or page.

 

Pages/Visit– The average number of pages per visit.

 

Avg. Time on Site– The average time a visitor spends on your site.

 

% New Visits– The percentage of visitors who've never visited your site before.

Bounce Rate – The rate at which people leave your site from the page they landed on, without ever going anywhere else. If you have 100% bounce rate it means that every person who lands on a particular page of your site leaves without clicking through to another page. Obviously, the LOWER your bounce rate is, the better. If sites are sending you tons of traffic but your bounce rate is very high, that means the traffic is likely untargeted. Consider this rate carefully when looking for more traffic fro

What To Do With All This Data?

In this next section we ’ll discuss what you can do with the various pieces of data to drive more traffic to your site, optimize your pages better for SEO and optimize your visitors user experiences.

Referring Sites