Google Analytics is a powerful tool that can help businesses of all sizes track and analyze their website traffic. But not just that, GA can be used to understand customer behaviour and measure the effectiveness of marketing efforts. It doesn’t matter if you’re just starting out with a new business or you’re looking to improve your existing website. Learning how to use Google Analytics can be an invaluable asset. In this blog, we’ll provide a beginner’s guide to using Google Analytics for your business. And if you’re looking for more info on anything Digital Marketing, join one of our FREE webinars or book a FREE 1-2-1 with an expert.
First, let’s start by understanding what Google Analytics is and how it works. Google Analytics is a free web analytics service offered by Google that tracks and reports website traffic. It can be used to measure how users interact with your website. This includes how they arrived on your site, what pages they visited, and how long they spent on each page and more.
How To Set Up Google Analytics
To use Google Analytics, you’ll need to set up an account and install the tracking code on your website. Setting up an account is easy and only takes a few minutes, just head to the GA website and follow the prompts on-screen. Once you have an account, you’ll need to install the tracking code on your website. This code is a small snippet of JavaScript that you’ll need to add to the header of every page on your site. There are a few different ways to do this, but the easiest way is to use a plugin or extension for your website’s content management system (CMS).
Once you have the tracking code installed, you’ll be able to start tracking your website traffic and analysing your data. The Google Analytics dashboard is where you’ll find all of your data and analytics tools. The dashboard is divided into several different sections, each of which provides valuable insights into your website’s performance.
Tips For Navigation
One of the most important sections of the dashboard is the “Audience” section. This section provides insights into the demographics of your website visitors. Including their age, gender, location, and interests. This information can be incredibly useful for understanding your target audience. It allows you to tailor your marketing efforts to better reach them.
Another important section of the dashboard is the “Acquisition” section. This section provides information about where your website traffic is coming from, including search engines, social media, and referral sites. This information can help you understand which marketing channels are most effective at driving traffic to your site. It can help you optimize your marketing efforts accordingly.
The “Behavior” section of the dashboard is also worth paying attention to. This section provides insights into how users are interacting with your website. Including which pages are most popular, how long users are spending on each page, and what actions they’re taking (e.g. filling out a form or making a purchase). This information can help you understand what’s working well on your site and what areas may need improvement.
Important Metrics
Two metrics that we find to be very important at InSynch are bounce rates and exit rates. Understanding and optimising to improve these metrics helps to keep users on the site for longer. The general rule is, the longer someone is on a website, the more likely they are to complete a goal (make a purchase, sign up to a newsletter etc…). So if you can reduce the number of bounces and exits on particular pages, you should see improvements in goal completions.
The way we tend to find the bounce rate is by going to “Acquisition” > “All Traffic” > “Channels”. There you can clearly see what channels users are coming from (traffic sources) and the bounce rates as well. Bounce rates tell us the percentage of users that come to the website and then leave straight away. The average bounce rate is around 40-50%. If you have any particular pages or sources of traffic that have very high bounce rates, you know to either optimise your landing page or focus on different traffic sources. Some traffic sources naturally will have higher bounce rates than others.
To find exit rates go to “Behaviour” > “Site Content” > “Exit Pages”. Here you will find your exit rate percentages. These tell you the rates at which users are leaving on any particular page. It’s important to understand exit rates as it helps you to identify pages which may be poorly optimised. The longer users are on your site the more likely they are to make a purchase, or an inquiry or sign up to a newsletter etc…
Reporting
One of the most powerful features of Google Analytics is the ability to create custom reports. With custom reports, you can create tailored views of your data that focus on specific metrics or dimensions. For example, you might create a report that shows the top-performing pages on your site. Or even a report that shows the conversion rate for a specific marketing campaign. Custom reports can be a powerful tool for understanding your website’s performance and identifying areas for improvement.
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In addition to the core features of Google Analytics, there are also additional tools and resources available. These help you get the most out of the platform. For example, the Google Analytics Academy offers online courses. These cover a few topics, from the basics of web analytics to advanced techniques for data analysis. If you are in need of a more in-depth run-through of Google Analytics and how it can help your business click here and join a FREE webinar. We have specialists available, offering FREE 30-minute consultancy sessions, book one now!
Overall, Google Analytics is an essential tool for businesses of all sizes looking to understand their website traffic and customer behaviour. Whether you’re just starting out or you’re an experienced marketer.