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Basics of Google Analytics

Google Analytics tracks and provides useful statistics to website owners and small businesses. These three basic Google Analytic functionalities provide important metrics and can give any website owner useful information.

Setting and Tracking Goals

Goals are one of the most exciting and important aspects of Google Analytic. They allow you to measure how often visitors complete specific actions on your website. You can use goals to set up a clear measurement plan and to make sure you are meeting your site’s overall objective.

For example, if the main objective of your site is for users to make purchases, you could use goals to see how many of your clients are completing a transaction. If the purpose of your website is to generate leads, you could use also goals to measure how many visitors sign up for your newsletter.

Understanding Segments

Segments are a way for you to view a specific portion of users on your site. They allow you to view the behaviors of users who reach a certain goal – and users who don’t. This will offer an even deeper look into the goals of your website.

So if the goal of your website is to have users submit a simple form, you could use segments to view: which customers completed that form, or which customers came to your site from Facebook and completed the form, or which customers came from Facebook and looked around but didn’t complete the form. You could also compare these segments with segments of users who came from other sources. Comparing these segments will really help you understand what is and isn’t working toward your site’s overall objective.

The Value of Real-Time Reports

Real-time reports allow you to monitor activity as it his happening on your site. They show you how many people are on your website right now. They also show you where users are located geographically, which pages they are viewing, and which goal conversions have already occurred. This information is especially useful for social media marketing and measuring content performance. It is also a very helpful tool that you can use to ensure your analytics are installed and tracking correctly.

Google Analytics is a robust reporting tool and there are tons of resources for new users. If you want to learn more about the basics of Google Analytics, enjoy some of our favorite posts, tutorials and documentation: