As of right now I am in training to become Google Analytics Certified! Woo hoo!
In one of my very first posts I talked about the importance of analytics. The post is short n’ sweet. Not very in depth. But it tells us the importance of analyzing. Later I posted about SEO and how it is best to combine SEO with Paid Search Advertising. I am starting to see a trend here… a Google trend. Google is one of the biggest players in the analytics game.
What is Google analytics?
It is a dashboard that tracks data and creates reports based off of the data collected. The reports tell stories about the success of your goals. Users use the tool to track different metrics and dimensions about your site/app traffic. Metrics are quantitative data and dimensions are qualitative data. The data is tracked using an SDK kit or JavaScript code depending on whether you are tracking traffic on an application or website. You can track data on any digital device that connects to the internet by sending the data to the Google Analytics platform for processing. You can even use configuration settings to better target, organize or filter data.
Understanding Basic Terms
The data is tracked by users and sessions. A user is a unique visitor and this is tacked by using a unique ID for each new user. ID’s are specific to a device but can be edited to create one ID across multiple devices. A session is a collection of interactions/hits during a given time period. Users can have multiple sessions. A session ends after 30 minutes of inactivity.
Defining Goals
You use Google Analytics to track how often users complete specific actions. These are known as goals. Defining and creating the right goals for your business is very important. When a visitor completes a goal on your site or app Google Analytics tracks that as a conversion. The conversion is an action completed by a user that is of value to your business, for example a purchase, content download or newsletter sign up. Conversions are unique to your business depending on what is important to you. Google defines 5 types of goals. Below is a chart with an example of each type. Google Analytics also lets you add a monetary value to every conversion if you choose. This is a good way to put your goals into perspective and to see what is making money for your business and what isn’t.
Reporting
Most of your reporting will be done through the standard reporting interface. API’s are another reporting tool. Google gives you simple API’s to automate reporting by building an application that sends queries to the analytics interface. This can be complex and may not be right for you. You must be a capable developer to develop an application worth using. Reporting in Google Analytics is brought to you in table form consisting of columns and rows. Another consideration is reporting sample sizes. If you wish to have more concise data you will want to use a larger sample size. If you wish to have your reports calculated quickly then you may want to use a smaller sample size.
Google Analytics Certification
In just a couple of hours (under 2) I learned how Google Analytics works. After further studying I will be taking my certification exam and will be proficient in Google Analytics if I pass. The study tools and certification are both free! FREE! This is a skill that will set me ahead of my marketing peers. Analytics is engraved into every marketing process today and is such an important skill to master. If your considering a career in marketing and still do not grasp the analytic concepts or understand how to use the tools, I would recommend completing the free training and certification.
Jaclyn Celine 