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I frequently find it surprising how many people spend a considerable amount of time and money building, maintaining, and optimizing their website and then do nothing about actually tracking and analyzing just how effective their strategies are. In order to have a strong website that generates solid leads for your business or organization, I highly suggest spending some time analyzing your traffic and this is very easy to do using Google’s free application, Google Analytics.

What is Google Analytics?
This free application from Google can help you track who is visiting your site and how they are getting there. It shows you what keywords people are using to find you, what percentage of visitors are new or returning visitors, what geographical location they are coming from, what page they are entering your site on and what page they exit your site from, how many pages they view, what your bounce rate (number of people who visit only one page of your site and then leave aka “bounce” off your site) is, how visitors found your site, and more!

How do I get Google Analytics running on my site?
It takes just a minute or two to set up a Google Analytics account (even less if you already have a Google account). Sign up doesn’t involve much more than entering your name, e-mail, and URL of your site. At the end of the sign up, you’ll get directed to a page with some code. Copy and paste the code, send it on to your developer to paste into your site, and you’re set. That’s all there is to it!

New to Google Analytics and need more info?
If you are new to Google Analytics and want to learn more about how all the reports work and what you can do to improve your site’s traffic with the information you find, try these links:

• Google Analytics Getting Started Check list
• Google’s Video Tutorials (There are also hundreds more on YouTube created by individuals.)
• Google’s Analytics Blog
• Huge list of other Google Analytics resources

General Google Analytics Tips:

• Google Analytics is like an onion with many layers. Dig deep into the reports and look at broader pictures not just one report result so you can implement the correct changes. For example, you may need to dig deeper into your results to determine if your Bounce Rate is high because your site isn’t working for you, or are you simply coming up for the wrong search terms.
• Consider linking your Google Analytics and PPC program to track results for both.
• Set conversion goals whenever possible to track not only the amount of visitors to your site, but how many are converting to customers for you.

Want to simplify Google Analytics?
Once you’ve spent a little time on Goggle Analytics, know where your issues are, and know certain reports you want to watch closely, you can customize GA to better fit your needs quickly.

• Customize Google Analytic’s Dashboard so just the information you want to see quickly comes up.
• Install this free Adobe Air application called, Polaris, to get super quick, visual summaries right on your desktop.

Google Analytics isn’t the end-all solution for everyone wishing to accurately track their site’s traffic. There are many good commercial analytics options available as well. However, because Google Analytics does produce so much good data, is from the search engine leader, and is free I always suggest that clients start with Google Analytics first. Happy tracking!

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