Google Analytics is an essential resource tool for every small business. However, the problem for many small business owners is that Google Analytics can instantly become a very intimidating and overwhelming headache upon first impressions. This is often the reason why small business owners will leave Google Analytics to whoever their local website design agency is…
If you’re business survives on search engine or website traffic in any aspect, you should really look to learn how to use Google Analytics, even in it’s simplest form, as you could be really missing out on obvious insights on what works well and where your website needs to improve.
Don’t worry – below our web development team will guide you through the essential steps such as learning how to set up analytics for your website, how you can manage data and review crucial information such as where your website traffic is coming from inside our Google Analytics 101 small business introduction.
How to set-up Google Analytics for your website
After registering with Google Analytics, you will probably see a blank screen with no data. To add your website to Google Analytics, simply head to ‘Admin’ (Last icon on the left-hand side menu) then after clicking on account – click the ‘Create New Account’ option then follow the process;
Once set-up, there are two different ways you can add the tracking code to your website. First option, you will be greeted with a unique tracking number which should look something similar to this UA-102767912-1. Depending on your website platform, you should be able to easily place this unique code through the settings. The alternative option is to copy the website script code where you can simply paste into the ‘HEAD’ section of your website for any pages you wish to track.
* Alternatively, send the tracking code to your Cheshire web agency and they will implement the code on your behalf.
Google Analytics Snapshot
Thanks to the latest update, users are now welcomed with a snapshot of your website visitor data in the form of several, easy to read, graphs, tables and maps which allow users to instantly familiarise themselves with data without the need to click or do anything. As you can see from the screenshot, you can easily see how your website acquires traffic, trending reports and even detailed reports depicting what pages your traffic visits. What’s really cool about the new update is the User’s Right Now feature (On the right-side) which will tell you what page and how long they spend on that page in real-time.
Where is my traffic coming from?
As a Cheshire web agency who look after dozens of websites, the most common question we usually receive is where is my traffic coming from? Well here’s how…
On the left-hand menu, you will see the option ‘Acquisition’. Simply click then click on ‘Overview‘ and you will be presented with your data in the form of a graph consisting of Organic Search, Direct, Referral and Social Media. Depending on your marketing strategies, this provides a really good insight into how you are during your traffic.
Tip – By clicking on ‘Organic’, you will be presented with keywords users searched for when clicking on your website. Not all the data is available, but it provides a useful insight into what SEO keywords you can look to target.
Tip – If you click on ‘Referral’, you will see a list of websites that users have left to land on your website. This is called Link Building and is a fantastic way to improve local search!
Does my website work well across all devices?
Google Analytics offers a great insight into how visitors access your website. By navigating to Audience > Mobile > Overview, you can quickly identify if people use desktops, tablets or phones when viewing your website. From here, you can also dig even deeper and see what browsers visitors use (Audience > Mobile > Device, and Audience > Technology >).
The data here is invaluable. It allows you to gage how people interact with your website, if you have high mobile traffic, is certainly worth making sure your website is responsively friendly. If you have low numbers in a certain browser, it could be worth investigating to see if the website breaks in any way.
What pages do users visit on my website?
If you promote content in the shape of a news article, a seasonal offer, or even through Adwords, in almost every case you will provide a landing page for users to click on… Well how do you monitor how long users stay on that page? Do users exit the page without looking at any other pages? Well this next tip will answer all your questions.
If you navigate to Behaviour > Site Content > All Pages – You will be provided with all the information you need. If you have encouraged users to click on a link to read your news article, this will offer a great insight into how successful your content is. The data can provide information such as how long users spend on a specific page. Over time, using this data will help you gain a gage on what works well and what doesn’t.
Google Analytics 101 Graduation
If reading this article has made you feel a little braver and want to explore the world of Google Analytics then this blog has served it’s purpose. Yes, the data can look a little overwhelming to begin with, but once you have gotten your head around it, you will find you can easily navigate around and find what data you need.
As a Cheshire web design agency, we set up all our clients Google Analytics and can easily set you up with admin access so you can read, share and do whatever you want with your Google Analytics data.
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