How to Use Google Analytics

How to Use Google Analytics | Why You Need It

Every successful company these days makes sales and/or drives customers to their sites through their online presence, this is why knowing how to use Google Analytics is a must. You can learn how to use Google Analytics in a snap, and its free. Google Analytics will provide information on how people were driven to your site and even tell you what parts of your design may be driving your customers away. That being said, although the reports provide a good deal of insight, you’ll need some spare time to put these suggestions and insight to work. Let’s dive into how to use Google Analytics and see how we can help.

Here’s a good primer for how to use Google Analytics from opening an account to some of its features.

How to Use Google Analytics | Add In Your Code

Right after you open up a Google Analytics account, you’ll want to go ahead and paste your site’s html code so that Google has something to work with. Set up a profile before you jump into how to use Google Analytics, then you can enter your websites code when prompted. Great news is for all of you WordPress, Blogger, or Tumblr users learning how to use Google Analytics is that you’ll only need to input your code once

However if your site is custom-built, implement the code on each page or simply talk to your developer about how the site generates content.

How to Use Google Analytics | View Reports

Here’s what Mashable’s article on how to use Google Analytics says about viewing reports:

“Visitors: This shows many things about the people coming to your site, including where they’re located geographically, what language they speak, how often they visit your site and what computers and browsers they use to get there.

Traffic Sources: Here you’ll find how people got to your site. You can track which sites link to your page or keywords people search to find you.

Content: This tab gives you insight into specific pages on your site. It can help answer questions about how people enter and exit your pages, as well as which ones are most popular.

Goals: If you’re aiming for established objectives, reports in the Goals tab will be helpful to you. Here you’ll find data about desired actions from users, including downloads, registrations and purchases.

Ecommerce: You’ll only need this tab if you’re selling items on your site as it houses all merchandise, transaction and revenue activity information.”

Figuring out what you need to to measure may be a little difficult and you might consider seeking consultation when learning this aspect of how to use Google Analytics.

How to Use Google Analytics | Data Tables and Graphs

It’s important to know how to use Google Analytics amazing data tables and graphs as well. These graphs are visual reports of page views and conversion rates and when you run your mouse across the lines they show measurements for the week, day, or hour.

When discovering how to use Google Analytics go ahead and click on the some of the tabs above the graphs on the left hand side. Here you can easily compare date ranges or the current stats against the site average. You can also plan out goals and compare the goals to the reality of the site.