{"id":6816,"date":"2020-05-02T15:00:51","date_gmt":"2020-05-02T13:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/?p=6816"},"modified":"2020-09-04T00:24:59","modified_gmt":"2020-09-03T22:24:59","slug":"getting-started-with-google-analytics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/getting-started-with-google-analytics\/","title":{"rendered":"Getting Started with Google Analytics"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wpb-content-wrapper\"><p>[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Is Google Analytics, with its charts and numbers, giving you a massive headache? Do you get tempted every now and then to open this powerful tool only to be freaked out by the sheer enormity of its insights? We get you. It is an impressive piece of software, and to an inexperienced eye it can often appear like too much to handle. But don\u2019t worry \u2013 <strong>it\u2019s not that hard, we promise<\/strong>. Stick with us as we help you get started with Google Analytics.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]If you already have a Google Analytics account but you\u2019ve never really used it, you can skip to where we share the insights and metrics you should first get familiar with. Those of you who own a WordPress website but don\u2019t get the whole \u201cYou have to use Google Analytics!\u201d thing at all, we advise you to go through this whole article, top to bottom. Here\u2019s what we\u2019ll cover:<br \/>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;22px&#8221;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column]<ul class=\"qodef-unordered-list-item qodef-toc\">\n    <li>\n\t        <div class=\"qodef-ul-title-holder\">\n            <span class=\"qodef-ul-title-content\"><a href=\"#why-it-matters\">Google Analytics &#8211; Why It Matters<\/a><\/span>        <\/div>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;5px&#8221;]<ul class=\"qodef-unordered-list-item qodef-toc\">\n    <li>\n\t        <div class=\"qodef-ul-title-holder\">\n            <span class=\"qodef-ul-title-content\"><a href=\"#installing-and-setting-up\">Installing and Setting Up Google Analytics<\/a><\/span>        <\/div>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;5px&#8221;]<ul class=\"qodef-unordered-list-item qodef-toc\">\n    <li>\n\t        <div class=\"qodef-ul-title-holder\">\n            <span class=\"qodef-ul-title-content\"><a href=\"#most-important-metrics\">The Most Important Google Analytics Metrics<\/a><\/span>        <\/div>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;70px&#8221;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"qodef-h4\"><a id=\"why-it-matters\"><\/a>Google Analytics \u2013 Why It Matters<\/h2>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;21px&#8221;]<div class=\"qodef-single-image-holder   qodef-has-border \">\n    <div class=\"qodef-si-inner\" >\n                                    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"700\" height=\"389\" src=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Google-Analytics-Why-It-Matters.png\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"Google Analytics Why It Matters\" srcset=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Google-Analytics-Why-It-Matters.png 700w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Google-Analytics-Why-It-Matters-300x167.png 300w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Google-Analytics-Why-It-Matters-620x345.png 620w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/>                        <\/div>\n<\/div>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;38px&#8221;][vc_column_text]If you\u2019re running a WordPress website, you\u2019ve probably installed Google Analytics because you\u2019ve heard people praise its extraordinary features and benefits. Unless you have a knack for numbers, chances are this tool confused you with its many charts, labels and complicated metrics. Today, we\u2019re going to get you back on the right track and help you understand the Analytics tool better, so you can use it to grow your site and your business. [\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]Any business that has something to sell, whether it\u2019s a product or a service, has one goal in mind \u2013 to sell more. And to sell more, you need to get more people into your shop, restaurant, studio, salon, spa or bar. To get more people, you have to offer them something they need, and, obviously, <strong>you have to <em>know<\/em> what it is that they need<\/strong>. A business needs to have a deep understanding of its customers \u2013 who they are, where they\u2019re coming from, what they want and need and what their preferences are. In business and marketing, it\u2019s called <em>demographics<\/em> and it represents <strong>the base from which you draw essential insights that improve your business<\/strong>.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]For example, you can\u2019t use the same marketing tactics to target baby boomers and millennials. These two generational groups have quite different shopping habits. A new-age organic food store will probably do best to focus on millennials, who are more willing to spend solid cash on palo santo sticks and ethically harvested organic cocoa beans, than on someone born in 1952. The language you use to address these groups will also differ, and so will your primary channel (digital for millennials, traditional for baby boomers). [\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]The example may be a bit banal, but you get the picture. Ethnics, age groups, economic, social and cultural backgrounds also matter. [\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]Now, if you\u2019re a traditional business with a brick-and-mortar establishment, getting the essential demographic info on your customers can be tricky. Unless you\u2019re passing out surveys at the door or harassing people with questions, you can\u2019t really learn who they are and what they\u2019re all about. Well, you can, but it takes a lot of time, effort and investment.<br \/>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]Websites are a whole different ball game. You want to do the same thing \u2013 <strong>get to know who your visitors are so that you can make them do what you need them to do<\/strong> (which is what we call <em><strong>conversions<\/strong><\/em>). But there\u2019s one big difference. With websites, you have <strong>an amazing tool that gathers all this vital information by itself, in the background<\/strong>, while you lean back and flip through the results.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]That tool is called Google Analytics and its sole purpose is to help you improve your rank, your traffic, your sales, and, ultimately, your business.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]The best thing about it is that it works with all sorts of visitor information, <strong>reaching far beyond demographics<\/strong>. For instance, you can learn how many people come to your site from paid ads, which helps you determine whether your paid campaigns are even paying off. It can tell you what time of the day people are most likely to respond to your CTAs, so you can time them better. It can tell you from which web location your customers are coming from the most, how long they are staying on each of your pages, how much they interact with your site and much, much more.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;68px&#8221;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"qodef-h4\"><a id=\"installing-and-setting-up\"><\/a>Installing and Setting Up Google Analytics<\/h2>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;21px&#8221;]<div class=\"qodef-single-image-holder   qodef-has-border \">\n    <div class=\"qodef-si-inner\" >\n                                    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"700\" height=\"374\" src=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/15-Installing-and-Setting-Up-Google-Analytics.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"Installing and Setting Up Google Analytics\" srcset=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/15-Installing-and-Setting-Up-Google-Analytics.jpg 700w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/15-Installing-and-Setting-Up-Google-Analytics-300x160.jpg 300w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/15-Installing-and-Setting-Up-Google-Analytics-620x331.jpg 620w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/>                        <\/div>\n<\/div>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;38px&#8221;][vc_column_text]Now that you understand the power that this tool packs, let\u2019s see how it\u2019s used. [\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]Google Analytics is a free, web-based tool developed by Google. So, naturally, the first thing to do is to go to <a href=\"https:\/\/marketingplatform.google.com\/about\/analytics\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Google Analytics<\/a> and set up an account. For this, <strong>you will need an active Google account<\/strong>. You don\u2019t have to create a separate account for this purpose \u2013 you can use your personal one and then give other users permissions to access the Analytics.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]When setting up a new account, you will be prompted to enter the account name. After setting some data sharing options, you will next specify whether you want to track a website, an app or, as of recently &#8211; both. [\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]You will then be asked to set up your property, which basically means to enter your website name. In the following field, enter your website URL, specify your industry and your reporting time zone. [\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]After that, you\u2019ll need to set some data sharing options and click on <em><strong>Get Tracking ID<\/strong><\/em>.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]<strong>The tracking ID is what connects your website with Google Analytics<\/strong>. It is a unique piece of code that the tool automatically generates and that you need to add to your website.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]This code needs to be added to every page you want to track. Depending on the type of site you have, this can mean either adding it manually to each page or adding it inside atag that appears on every page on your site. If you\u2019re a WordPress user, there are several ways to add your Google Analytics code to your site. <strong>You can add the code into your header.php file, into your functions.php file, or via a plugin<\/strong>. If you choose to add the code into the header or functions file of your theme, we suggest <a href=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wordpress-child-theme\/\">creating a child theme<\/a>, so the files don\u2019t get overwritten each time you update your theme.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;50px&#8221;]<div class=\"qodef-single-image-holder   qodef-has-border \">\n    <div class=\"qodef-si-inner\" >\n                                    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"700\" height=\"374\" src=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/2-Tracking-ID.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"Tracking ID\" srcset=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/2-Tracking-ID.jpg 700w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/2-Tracking-ID-300x160.jpg 300w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/2-Tracking-ID-620x331.jpg 620w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/>                        <\/div>\n<\/div>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;90px&#8221;][vc_separator color=&#8221;custom&#8221; accent_color=&#8221;#f0f0f0&#8243;][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;50px&#8221;][vc_widget_sidebar sidebar_id=&#8221;banner-seo&#8221;][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_separator color=&#8221;custom&#8221; accent_color=&#8221;#f0f0f0&#8243;][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;80px&#8221;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"qodef-h4\"><a id=\"most-important-metrics\"><\/a>Diving Into the Most Important Google Analytics Metrics<\/h2>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;21px&#8221;]<div class=\"qodef-single-image-holder   qodef-has-border \">\n    <div class=\"qodef-si-inner\" >\n                                    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"700\" height=\"389\" src=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Diving-Into-the-Most-Important-Google-Analytics-Metrics.png\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"Diving Into the Most Important Google Analytics Metrics\" srcset=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Diving-Into-the-Most-Important-Google-Analytics-Metrics.png 700w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Diving-Into-the-Most-Important-Google-Analytics-Metrics-300x167.png 300w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Diving-Into-the-Most-Important-Google-Analytics-Metrics-620x345.png 620w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/>                        <\/div>\n<\/div>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;38px&#8221;][vc_column_text]Now that you\u2019re all set up, let\u2019s see what you can actually use Google Analytics for.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]Once you access the Google Analytics dashboard, you\u2019ll find yourself face to face with a lot of metrics and results. And we mean, a lot. It can be hard to establish <strong>which metrics you need to focus on, which reports to view and what parameters to set<\/strong>.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]Let\u2019s assume you\u2019re running a small or medium business website, as most WordPress admins do. You have set up a website, added your products (if you\u2019re running an online shop), but you have no idea how many people, if any, are coming to your site and what they\u2019re doing once they\u2019re there. Are they clicking through all your pages or just some of them? Are they leaving right away? Do they like the site? Are they having an easy time navigating it?[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]Google Analytics has the answers to all these questions, and to many, many others.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;72px&#8221;][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"qodef-h5\">Audience Overview<\/h3>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]The first things you see when you open your Google Analytics dashboard are the things you\u2019re interested in the most. We immediately notice the statistics regarding the number of users &#8211; both overall for a given period, and those who are active right now. That\u2019s pretty great, right? But it gets better. Right below, you get to see where they\u2019re coming from, geographically and in terms of the origin of their visit.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]Before diving deeper into all the charts, pies and bars, let\u2019s take a quick look at the <strong><em>Reports<\/em> menu<\/strong> at the left hand side of the Dashboard, more specifically, the <strong><em>Audience<\/em> tab<\/strong>. The first section here, the <em><strong>Overview<\/strong><\/em>, is also the most useful one. It provides data on some extremely important metrics: Users, Pageviews and Bounce Rate.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;50px&#8221;]<div class=\"qodef-single-image-holder   qodef-has-border \">\n    <div class=\"qodef-si-inner\" >\n                                    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"700\" height=\"374\" src=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/3-Audience-Overview-Settings.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"Audience Overview Settings\" srcset=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/3-Audience-Overview-Settings.jpg 700w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/3-Audience-Overview-Settings-300x160.jpg 300w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/3-Audience-Overview-Settings-620x331.jpg 620w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/>                        <\/div>\n<\/div>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;60px&#8221;]<div class=\"qodef-single-image-holder   qodef-has-border \">\n    <div class=\"qodef-si-inner\" >\n                                    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"700\" height=\"374\" src=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/4-Audience-Overview.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"Audience Overview\" srcset=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/4-Audience-Overview.jpg 700w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/4-Audience-Overview-300x160.jpg 300w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/4-Audience-Overview-620x331.jpg 620w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/>                        <\/div>\n<\/div>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;38px&#8221;][vc_column_text]First, you can specify a time range for which you need the data. You do this by choosing a beginning and ending date in the top right corner of your screen. You will then get the exact number of Users who have initiated at least one session on your site, as well as the number of <em><strong>New Users<\/strong><\/em> during the given period. Speaking of <em><strong>Sessions<\/strong><\/em>, these are defined as \u201c\u2026the period time a user is actively engaged with your website, app, etc.\u201d[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]It\u2019s clear why this is so useful \u2013 you get to know exactly how many people are visiting and interacting with your website, and you also get an idea of the visitor growth dynamics thanks to the New User metrics. The results can be encouraging or negative, but either way they help you set a solid base for planning your future steps. [\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]In addition to these basic metrics, you can also learn about <em><strong>Pageviews<\/strong><\/em>. This important metric represents the total number of pages viewed on your website, also counting repeated views of individual pages. While having a high pageviews count is certainly preferable, it\u2019s important to understand that the number of pageviews doesn\u2019t necessarily imply your content provides your visitors with real value. It can also mean they\u2019re having a hard time finding what they need on your pages or even that your pages don\u2019t render properly. For this, and for any other metric in Google Analytics for that matter, it is best to refer to other metrics to get a clearer picture.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]<em><strong>Pages\/Session<\/strong><\/em> is another important metric \u2013 also known as Page Depth. This metric represents the average number of pages viewed per session. The higher the number here, the more likely it is that your visitors are following your intended path to conversion.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]Finally, you also have <em><strong>Bounce Rate<\/strong><\/em>, one of the crucial metrics for any sort of website, regardless of its scope and niche. It represents the percentage of single-page sessions, in which the user left the website without navigating to any of its other pages and had no interaction with the page he or she landed on. Clearly, it\u2019s a metric you can learn a lot from, as you definitely want your visitors to stick around, rather than leave.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]Google Analytics offers an excellent help article on its <a href=\"https:\/\/support.google.com\/analytics\/answer\/1012034?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Overview of Audience Reports<\/a>, which includes in-depth explanations of other metrics and reports found under this tab, so make sure to check it out.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;72px&#8221;][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"qodef-h5\">Other Useful Insights<\/h3>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Now, back to our charts. As we said, these are the first thing you see when you log in and they are there to offer you a quick look into how your website is doing, visitors-wise. [\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]<strong>Traffic sources<\/strong> are particularly important. Why? Well, let\u2019s say you\u2019ve worked hard on your referrals, focusing more on that source than on others, including Google searches. But the data shows that your referral traffic is not as high as it should be. You have a couple of choices here. You can <strong>look for better, more authoritative referrals and grow your network<\/strong>, or you can <strong>set this traffic source aside for now and focus on other channels<\/strong>. Either way, it\u2019s important to know where you stand in this department.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;50px&#8221;]<div class=\"qodef-single-image-holder   qodef-has-border \">\n    <div class=\"qodef-si-inner\" >\n                                    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"700\" height=\"374\" src=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/5-Useful-Insights.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"Useful Insights\" srcset=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/5-Useful-Insights.jpg 700w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/5-Useful-Insights-300x160.jpg 300w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/5-Useful-Insights-620x331.jpg 620w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/>                        <\/div>\n<\/div>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;60px&#8221;]<div class=\"qodef-single-image-holder   qodef-has-border \">\n    <div class=\"qodef-si-inner\" >\n                                    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"700\" height=\"374\" src=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/6-Traffic-sources.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"Traffic sources\" srcset=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/6-Traffic-sources.jpg 700w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/6-Traffic-sources-300x160.jpg 300w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/6-Traffic-sources-620x331.jpg 620w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/>                        <\/div>\n<\/div>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;38px&#8221;][vc_column_text]Similarly, the data regarding <strong>organic search traffic<\/strong> is important for establishing whether your SEO strategy is paying off. Google Analytics can tell you which keywords your visitors used to get to your website, and can therefore tell you a lot about the effects of your <a href=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/keyword-research-and-how-to-do-it-right\/\">keyword strategy<\/a>.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]We should mention here that it is very important you <strong>connect your Analytics account with your Google Search Console<\/strong> account (formerly known as Google Webmaster Tools). This way, you will get much more precise, detailed and realistic data on what terms your visitors are using to get to your website and how you rank in Google search results for specific keywords.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]<strong>Demographic insights<\/strong> are the next thing you should be looking into. This data tells you <strong>whether you\u2019re reaching your previously established target group<\/strong>. Remember what we said earlier about tailoring marketing efforts according to your specific target group? Well, metrics found in the <em><strong>Audience &gt; Demographics<\/strong><\/em> reports can tell you if you\u2019re doing it right. And if you\u2019re targeting people from specific geographic locations, you can check that performance under <em><strong>Audience &gt; Geo<\/strong><\/em>.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;50px&#8221;]<div class=\"qodef-single-image-holder   qodef-has-border \">\n    <div class=\"qodef-si-inner\" >\n                                    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"700\" height=\"374\" src=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/7-Demographic-insights.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"Demographic insights\" srcset=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/7-Demographic-insights.jpg 700w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/7-Demographic-insights-300x160.jpg 300w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/7-Demographic-insights-620x331.jpg 620w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/>                        <\/div>\n<\/div>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;60px&#8221;]<div class=\"qodef-single-image-holder   qodef-has-border \">\n    <div class=\"qodef-si-inner\" >\n                                    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"700\" height=\"374\" src=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/8-Audience.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"Audience\" srcset=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/8-Audience.jpg 700w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/8-Audience-300x160.jpg 300w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/8-Audience-620x331.jpg 620w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/>                        <\/div>\n<\/div>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;38px&#8221;][vc_column_text]<strong>User behavior<\/strong>, especially the general Overview, provides an excellent look into <strong>what visitors are actually doing<\/strong> on your website. You may be getting some great traffic, but if the majority of those visitors leave after viewing just one page (and sometimes not even one entire page), all that traffic is basically worthless and you have to do something to make them stay. Also, some of your pages are definitely working better than the others in terms of engagement, and Google Analytics can show you that, too.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;50px&#8221;]<div class=\"qodef-single-image-holder   qodef-has-border \">\n    <div class=\"qodef-si-inner\" >\n                                    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"700\" height=\"374\" src=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/9-User-behavior.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"User behavior\" srcset=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/9-User-behavior.jpg 700w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/9-User-behavior-300x160.jpg 300w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/9-User-behavior-620x331.jpg 620w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/>                        <\/div>\n<\/div>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;60px&#8221;]<div class=\"qodef-single-image-holder   qodef-has-border \">\n    <div class=\"qodef-si-inner\" >\n                                    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"700\" height=\"374\" src=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/10-What-visitors-are-actually-doing.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"What visitors are actually doing\" srcset=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/10-What-visitors-are-actually-doing.jpg 700w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/10-What-visitors-are-actually-doing-300x160.jpg 300w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/10-What-visitors-are-actually-doing-620x331.jpg 620w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/>                        <\/div>\n<\/div>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;82px&#8221;][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"qodef-h5\">Understanding Events and Goals<\/h3>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]<strong>Events and Goals<\/strong> represent data types that are extremely important but often confusing for new users, so let\u2019s break them down.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]<strong>Events, which are tracked through <em>Behavior<\/em> reports, as well as <em>Realtime<\/em> ones, represent user interactions with your website<\/strong>. You set the events you want to track based on what sort of insight you need into what people are doing on your website. Logically, you will be measuring things that are important for your business, <strong>in order to determine whether the traffic you\u2019re getting is actually useful or not<\/strong>. You can have loads of traffic but if it is not congruent with your goals, it doesn\u2019t matter much.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;50px&#8221;]<div class=\"qodef-single-image-holder   qodef-has-border \">\n    <div class=\"qodef-si-inner\" >\n                                    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"700\" height=\"374\" src=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/11-Realtime.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"Realtime\" srcset=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/11-Realtime.jpg 700w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/11-Realtime-300x160.jpg 300w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/11-Realtime-620x331.jpg 620w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/>                        <\/div>\n<\/div>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;60px&#8221;]<div class=\"qodef-single-image-holder   qodef-has-border \">\n    <div class=\"qodef-si-inner\" >\n                                    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"700\" height=\"374\" src=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/12-Understanding-Events-and-Goals.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"Understanding Events and Goals\" srcset=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/12-Understanding-Events-and-Goals.jpg 700w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/12-Understanding-Events-and-Goals-300x160.jpg 300w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/12-Understanding-Events-and-Goals-620x331.jpg 620w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/>                        <\/div>\n<\/div>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;38px&#8221;][vc_column_text]With Events, in addition to measuring them, it\u2019s equally (or even more) important how you analyze them. Here\u2019s a simple example: let\u2019s say that one of your events is a click on a Download e-Book button. By analyzing the event, you can find out which referral brought to this click, or which Google search query led the visitor to your website and then to your e-book. When you get this sort of specific insight, you can plan your steps further \u2013 for instance you can invest into bringing more people from that particular channel, or boost your SERP position for the keyword that was used.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]Or, if you\u2019re investing a lot in Facebook ads and you\u2019re getting a lot of traffic through that channel, but that traffic doesn\u2019t lead to the event completion, perhaps it\u2019s time to reconsider the investment and direct your resources elsewhere. Conversely, if Pinterest is bringing a modest amount of traffic but the majority of those visitors are performing your desired events, it\u2019s a sign you should invest more in that particular channel. [\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]<strong>Goals, on the other hand, are more related to your conversions<\/strong> (and are, in fact, tracked through <em><strong>Conversion<\/strong><\/em> reports). Goals are, well, pretty self-explanatory. They represent your aims, targets, objectives. <strong>It\u2019s what you want to accomplish and what you want your visitors to do<\/strong>. You can set basically any event as your goal, and track it to find out whether you\u2019re on the right path towards your objectives.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;50px&#8221;]<div class=\"qodef-single-image-holder   qodef-has-border \">\n    <div class=\"qodef-si-inner\" >\n                                    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"700\" height=\"374\" src=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/13-Goals.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"Goals\" srcset=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/13-Goals.jpg 700w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/13-Goals-300x160.jpg 300w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/13-Goals-620x331.jpg 620w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/>                        <\/div>\n<\/div>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;60px&#8221;]<div class=\"qodef-single-image-holder   qodef-has-border \">\n    <div class=\"qodef-si-inner\" >\n                                    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"700\" height=\"374\" src=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/14-Conversion-reports.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"Conversion reports\" srcset=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/14-Conversion-reports.jpg 700w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/14-Conversion-reports-300x160.jpg 300w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/14-Conversion-reports-620x331.jpg 620w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/>                        <\/div>\n<\/div>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;38px&#8221;][vc_column_text]A goal can be anything \u2013 <strong>it can be any form of user behavior that matters to you<\/strong>. For instance, you may be interested in understanding how many people click on Add to Cart from a referral and not from direct search. No problem, you can set that as your goal. You can even track the sequence in which a visitor is clicking through your pages.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;68px&#8221;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"qodef-h4\">Final Thoughts<\/h2>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]The rest of Google Analytics is pretty self-explanatory. The dashboard looks confusing, but that\u2019s just the first impression. As soon as you start clicking through various reports and settings, you\u2019ll realize that everything is actually pretty simple, and if there\u2019s something you can\u2019t wrap your head around, Google Analytics has an excellent <a href=\"https:\/\/support.google.com\/analytics\/?hl=en#topic=3544906\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">help center<\/a> with everything explained in detailed step-by-step tutorials, from setting up to advanced reporting.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]The value of Google Analytics is, hopefully, just as clear. In short, without the insights you get from this tool, you can\u2019t possibly improve the performance of your website or move towards your business bottom line. [\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In our quick but thorough guide to getting started with Google Analytics, we&#8217;ll walk you through the most important and useful metrics of this powerful tool. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":7775,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[29,25,4,39],"class_list":["post-6816","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-marketing","tag-business","tag-seo","tag-tips","tag-tools"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6816","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6816"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6816\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7775"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6816"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6816"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6816"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}