google analytics 101 - marketing...
TRANSCRIPT
GOOGLEANALYTICS1011
Oneofthefreedigitalmarketingtoolsavailable,GoogleAnalyticsisrelativelyeasytolearnandhelpfulintrackingtheoutcomesofyoursocialmediamarketingefforts.
Letusgothroughthisinastepbystepfashion.NotethatalmostalltheinformationforthissectionisderivedfromMoz’sexcellentblogpostcalled“TheAbsoluteBeginner’sGuidetoGoogleAnalytics”whichyoucanfindhere:https://moz.com/blog/absolute-beginners-guide-to-google-analytics
Ifyoudon'tknowwhatGoogleAnalyticsis,haven'tinstalleditonyourwebsite,orhaveinstalleditbutneverlookatyourdata,thenthisarticleisforyou.Whileit'shardformanytobelieve,therearestillwebsitesthatarenotusingGoogleAnalytics(oranyanalytics,forthatmatter)tomeasuretheirtraffic.
QuestionsWhichGoogleAnalyticsAnswers
HerearesomeofthemanyquestionsaboutyourwebsitethatyoucananswerusingGoogleAnalytics.
• Howmanypeoplevisitmywebsite?• Wheredomyvisitorslive?• Whatwebsitessendtraffictomywebsite?• Whatmarketingtacticsdrivethemosttraffictomywebsite?• Whichpagesonmywebsitearethemostpopular?• HowmanyvisitorshaveIconvertedintoleadsorcustomers?• Wheredidmyconvertingvisitorscomefromandgoonmywebsite?• HowcanIimprovemywebsite'sspeed?• Whatblogcontentdomyvisitorslikethemost?
Therearemany,manyadditionalquestionsthatGoogleAnalyticscananswer,butthesearetheonesthataremostimportantformostwebsiteowners.Nowlet'slookathowyoucangetGoogleAnalyticsonyourwebsite.
HowtoinstallGoogleAnalytics
First,youneedaGoogleAnalyticsaccount.IfyouhaveaprimaryGoogleaccountthatyouuseforotherserviceslikeGmail,GoogleDrive,GoogleCalendar,Google+,orYouTube,thenyoushouldsetupyourGoogleAnalyticsusingthatGoogleaccount.Oryouwillneedtocreateanewone.
ThisshouldbeaGoogleaccountyouplantokeepforeverandthatonlyyouhaveaccessto.YoucanalwaysgrantaccesstoyourGoogleAnalyticstootherpeopledowntheroad,butyoudon'twantsomeoneelsetohavefullcontroloverit.
BigTip:Don'tletanyone(yourwebdesigner,webdeveloper,webhost,SEOperson,etc.)createyourwebsite'sGoogleAnalyticsaccountundertheirownGoogleaccountsotheycan"manage"itforyou.Ifyouandthispersonpartways,theywilltakeyourGoogleAnalyticsdatawiththem,andyouwillhavetostartallover.
1Sourceofinformation:https://moz.com/blog/absolute-beginners-guide-to-google-analytics
Setupyouraccountandproperty
OnceyouhaveaGoogleaccount,youcangotoGoogleAnalyticsandclicktheSignintoGoogleAnalyticsbutton.YouwillthenbegreetedwiththethreestepsyoumusttaketosetupGoogleAnalytics.
AfteryouclicktheSignUpbutton,youwillfilloutinformationforyourwebsite.
GoogleAnalyticsoffershierarchiestoorganizeyouraccount.Youcanhaveupto100GoogleAnalyticsaccountsunderoneGoogleaccount.Youcanhaveupto50websitepropertiesunderoneGoogleAnalyticsaccount.Youcanhaveupto25viewsunderonewebsiteproperty.
Hereareafewscenarios.
• SCENARIO1:Ifyouhaveonewebsite,youonlyneedoneGoogleAnalyticsaccountwithonewebsiteproperty.
• SCENARIO2:Ifyouhavetwowebsites,suchasoneforyourbusinessandoneforyourpersonaluse,youmightwanttocreatetwoaccounts,namingone"123Business"andone"Personal".Thenyouwillsetupyourbusinesswebsiteunderthe123BusinessaccountandyourpersonalwebsiteunderyourPersonalaccount.
• SCENARIO3:Ifyouhaveseveralbusinesses,butlessthan50,andeachofthemhasonewebsite,youmightwanttoputthemallunderaBusinessaccount.ThenhaveaPersonalaccountforyourpersonalwebsites.
• SCENARIO4:Ifyouhaveseveralbusinessesandeachofthemhasdozensofwebsites,foratotalofmorethan50websites,youmightwanttoputeachbusinessunderitsownaccount,suchas123Businessaccount,124Businessaccount,andsoon.
Youcanalwaysrenameyouraccountsorpropertiesdowntheroad.Notethatyoucan'tmoveaproperty(website)fromoneGoogleAnalyticsaccounttoanother—youwouldhavetosetupanewpropertyunderthenewaccountandlosethehistoricaldatayoucollectedfromtheoriginalproperty.
Fortheabsolutebeginner'sguide,thesetupwouldlooksomethinglikethis.
Beneaththis,youwillhavetheoptiontoconfigurewhereyourGoogleAnalyticsdatacanbeshared.
Installyourtrackingcode
Onceyouarefinished,youwillclicktheGetTrackingIDbutton.YouwillgetapopupoftheGoogleAnalyticstermsandconditions,whichyouhavetoagreeto.ThenyouwillgetyourGoogleAnalyticscode.
Thismustbeinstalledoneverypageonyourwebsite.Theinstallationwilldependonwhattypeofwebsiteyouhave.
Forexample,ifyouhaveaWordpresswebsitewithaplugin,therecouldbeaspecificareatoaddheaderandfooterscriptstoyourwebsite.Seetheexamplebelow:
Alternatively,ifyouhaveaWordPressonyourowndomain,youcanusetheGoogleAnalyticsbyYoastplugintoinstallyourcodeeasilynomatterwhatthemeorframeworkyouareusing.
IfyouhaveawebsitebuiltwithHTMLfiles,youwilladdthetrackingcodebeforethe</head>tagoneachofyourpages.Youcandothisbyusingatexteditorprogram(suchasTextEditforMacorNotepadforWindows)andthenuploadingthefiletoyourwebhostusinganFTPprogram(suchasFileZilla).
IfyouhaveaShopifye-commercestore,youwillgotoyourOnlineStoresettingsandpasteinyourtrackingcodewherespecified.
Asyoucansee,theinstallationofGoogleAnalyticsvariesbasedontheplatformyouuse(contentmanagementsystem,websitebuilder,e-commercesoftware,etc.),thethemeyouuse,andthepluginsyouuse.YoushouldbeabletofindeasyinstructionstoinstallGoogleAnalyticsonanywebsitebydoingawebsearchforyourplatform+howtoinstallGoogleAnalytics.
SetUpGoals
Afteryouinstallyourtrackingcodeonyourwebsite,youwillwanttoconfigureasmall(butveryuseful)settinginyourwebsite'sprofileonGoogleAnalytics.ThisisyourGoalssetting.YoucanfinditbyclickingontheAdminlinkatthetopofyourGoogleAnalyticsandthenclickingonGoalsunderyourwebsite'sViewcolumn.
GoalswilltellGoogleAnalyticswhensomethingimportanthashappenedonyourwebsite.Forexample,ifyouhaveawebsitewhereyougenerateleadsthroughacontactform,youwillwanttofind(orcreate)athankyoupagethatvisitorsendupononcetheyhavesubmittedtheircontactinformation.Or,ifyouhaveawebsitewhereyousellproducts,youwillwanttofind(orcreate)afinalthankyouorconfirmationpageforvisitorstolandupononcetheyhavecompletedapurchase.
ThatURLwilllikelylooksomethinglikethis.
• http://123business.com/thank-you• http://123business.com/thank-you/• http://123business.com/thank-you.html
InGoogleAnalytics,youwillclickontheNewGoalbutton.
YouwillchoosetheCustomoption(unlessoneoftheotheroptionsaremoreapplicabletoyourwebsite)andclicktheNextStepbutton.
Youwillnameyourgoalsomethingyouwillremember,selectDestination,andthenclicktheNextStepbutton.
Youwillenteryourthankyouorconfirmationpage'sURLafterthe.comofyourwebsiteintheDestinationfieldandchangethedrop-downto"Beginswith".
Youwillthentogglethevalueandenteraspecificdollarvalueforthatconversion(ifapplicable)andclickCreateGoaltocompletethesetup.
Ifyouhaveothersimilargoals/conversionsyouwouldliketotrackonyourwebsite,youcanfollowthesestepsagain.Youcancreateupto20goalsonyourwebsite.Besurethattheonesyoucreatearehighlyimportanttoyourbusiness.Thesegoals(formostbusinesses)includeleadformsubmissions,emaillistsignups,andpurchasecompletions.Dependingonyourwebsiteanditspurpose,yourgoalsmayvary.
NotethatthisisthesimplestofallconversiontrackinginGoogleAnalytics.YoucanreviewthedocumentationinGoogleAnalyticssupporttolearnmoreaboutsettingupgoaltracking.
Setupsitesearch
AnotherthingyoucansetupreallyquicklythatwillgiveyouvaluabledatadowntheroadisSiteSearch.Thisisforanywebsitewithasearchboxonit.First,runasearchonyourwebsite.Thenkeepthetabopen.YouwillneedtheURLmomentarily.
GotoyourGoogleAnalyticsAdminmenuagain,andintheViewcolumn,clickonViewSettings.
ScrolldownuntilyouseeSiteSettingsandtoggleittoOn.
LookbackatyourURLforyoursearchresults.Enterthequeryparameter(usuallysorq)andclickSave.OnMoz,forexample,thequeryparameterisq.
ThiswillallowGoogleAnalyticstotrackanysearchesmadeonyourwebsitesoyoucanlearnmoreaboutwhatyourvisitorsarelookingforonspecificpages.
Addadditionalaccountsandproperties
IfyouwanttoaddanewGoogleAnalyticsaccount,youcandosobygoingtoyourAdminmenu,clickingonthedrop-downundertheAccountcolumn,andclickingtheCreateNewAccountlink.
Likewise,ifyouwanttoaddanewwebsiteunderyourGoogleAnalyticsaccount,youcandosobygoingtoyourAdminmenu,clickingonthedrop-downunderthePropertycolumn,andclickingtheCreateNewPropertylink.
Thenyouwillcontinuethroughalloftheabove-mentionedsteps.
Onceyou'veinstalledGoogleAnalyticsonyourwebsite(s),setupyourgoals,andsetupsitesearch(es),youshouldwaitabout24hoursforittostartgettingdata.Thenyouwillbeabletostartviewingyourdata.
HowtoviewGoogleAnalyticsdata
OnceyoustartgettinginGoogleAnalyticsdata,youcanstartlearningaboutyourwebsitetraffic.EachtimeyoulogintoGoogleAnalytics,youwillbetakentoyourAudienceOverviewreport.Alternatively,ifyouhavemorethanonewebsite,youwillbetakentoyourlistofwebsitestochoosefrom,andthentakentotheAudienceOverviewreportforthatwebsite.Thisisthefirstofover50reportsthatareavailabletoyouinGoogleAnalytics.YoucanalsoaccessthesereportsbyclickingontheReportinglinkatthetop.
Standardreportfeatures
MostofthestandardreportswithinGoogleAnalyticswilllooksimilartothis.Atthetopright,youcanclickonthedrop-downarrownexttoyourwebsitetoswitchtodifferentwebsiteswithinallofyourGoogleAnalyticsaccounts.OryoucanclicktheHomelinkatthetop.
Inthereportatthetopright,youcanclickonthedatestochangethedaterangeofthedatayouareviewing.YoucanalsochecktheCompareboxtocompareyourdatafromonedaterange(suchasthismonth)toapreviousdaterange(suchaslastmonth)toviewyourdata.
YoucanhoveroveravarietyofareasonyourGoogleAnalyticsreportstogetmoreinformation.Forexample,intheAudienceOverview,hoveringoverthelineonthegraphwillgiveyouthenumberofsessionsforaparticularday.Hoveringoverthemetricsbeneaththegraphwilltellyouwhateachonemeans.
Beneaththemainmetrics,youwillseereportsthatyoucanswitchthroughtoseethetoptenlanguages,countries,cities,browsers,operatingsystems,servicesproviders,andscreenresolutionsofyourvisitors.
Youcanclickthefullreportlinkoneachtoseethefullreports.Oryoucanclickonanyofthetoptenlinkstoseemoredetails.Forexample,clickingontheUnitedStatesinCountrieswilltakeyoutothefullLocationreport,focusedinonvisitorsfromstateswithintheUS.
Inthisview,youcanhoverovereachstatetoseethenumberofvisitorsfromthatstate.Youcanscrolldowntothetableandhoverovereachcolumnnametolearnmoreabouteachmetric.
Youcanalsoclickonthenameofeachstatetoseevisitorsfromcitieswithinthestate.Effectively,anytimeyouseeaclickablelinkora?nexttosomething,youcanclickonitorhoveroverittolearnmore.Thedeeperyoudiveintoyouranalytics,themoreinterestinginformationyouwillfind.
TypesofGoogleAnalyticsreports
Speakingofreports,hereisquicksummaryofwhatyouwillfindineachofthestandardGoogleAnalyticsreportingsections,accessibleintheleftsidebar(seeimageontheleft).
Everythingin(parenthesis)isaspecificreportorsetofreportswithinthefollowingsectionsthatyoucanreferto.
Audiencereports
Thesereportstellyoueverythingyouwanttoknowaboutyourvisitors.Inthem,youwillfinddetailedreportsforyourvisitors'ageandgender(Demographics),whattheirgeneralinterestsare(Interests),wheretheycomefrom(Geo>Location)andwhatlanguagetheyspeak(Geo>Language),howoftentheyvisityourwebsite(Behaviour),andthetechnologytheyusetoviewyourwebsite(TechnologyandMobile).
Acquisitionreports
Thesereportswilltellyoueverythingyouwanttoknowaboutwhatdrovevisitorstoyourwebsite(AllTraffic).Youwillseeyourtrafficbrokendownbymaincategories(AllTraffic>Channels)andspecificsources(AllTraffic>Source/Medium).
Youcanlearneverythingabouttrafficfromsocialnetworks(Social).YoucanalsoconnectGoogleAnalyticstoAdWordstolearnmoreaboutPPCcampaignsandtoGoogleWebmasterTools/SearchConsoletolearnmoreaboutsearchtraffic(SearchEngineOptimization)
Behaviourreports
Thesereportswilltellyoueverythingyouwanttoknowaboutyourcontent.Particularly,thetoppagesonyourwebsite(SiteContent>AllPages),thetopentrypagesonyourwebsite(SiteContent>LandingPages),andthetopexitpagesonyourwebsite(SiteContent>ExitPages).
IfyousetupSiteSearch,youwillbeabletoseewhattermsaresearchedfor(SiteSearch>SearchTerms)andthepagestheyaresearchedupon(SiteSearch>Pages).
Youcanalsolearnhowfastyourwebsiteloads(SiteSpeed)aswellasfindspecificsuggestionsfromGoogleonhowtomakeyourwebsitefaster(SiteSpeed>SpeedSuggestions).
Conversions
IfyousetupGoalswithinyourGoogleAnalytics,youcanseehowmanyconversionsyourwebsitehasreceived(Goals>Overview)andwhatURLstheyhappenedupon(Goals>GoalURLs).Youcanalsoseethepaththatvisitorstooktocompletetheconversion(Goals>ReverseGoalPath).
Speakingofgoalsandconversions,mostofthetableswithinGoogleAnalyticsstandardreportswilltiespecificdatatoyourconversions.Forexample,youcanseethenumberofconversionsmadebyvisitorsfromCaliforniaintheAudience>Geo>Locationreport.YoucanseethenumberofconversionsmadebyvisitorsfromFacebookintheAcquisitions>AllTraffic>Source/Mediumreport.YoucanseethenumberofconversionsmadebyvisitorswholandedonspecificpagesintheBehavior>SiteContent>LandingPagesreport.
Ifyouhavemultiplegoals,youcanusethedropdownatthetopofthatsectionofdatatoswitchtothegoalyouwanttovieworallofyourgoalsifyouprefer.
Shortcutsandemails
Whileyouwon'tneedeveryreportwithinGoogleAnalytics,youshouldexplorethemalltoseewhattheyhavetooffer.Whenyoufindsomethatyouwanttovisitagainandagain,usetheShortcutlinkatthetopofthereporttoaddthemtotheShortcutsinyourleftsidebarforfasteraccess.
Or,usetheemailbuttontohavethememailedtoyou(orothersonyourteam)onaregularbasis.
Ifyouchoosetosendemailstosomeoneoutsideofyourorganization,besuretoregularlycheckyouremailsbygoingtoyourAdminmenuandclickingontheScheduledEmailsboxundertheViewcolumntoensureonlypeopleworkingwithyourcompanyaregettingyourdata.
AnswerstocommonquestionsaboutGoogleAnalytics
Gotafewquestions?HerearesomeofthecommononesthatcomeupwithGoogleAnalytics.
HowdoIsharemyGoogleAnalyticsdatawithsomeone?
Youdon'thavetogiveyourGoogleaccountinformationovertosomeonewhoneedsaccesstoyourGoogleAnalyticsdata.YoujustneedtogotoyourAdminmenuandundertheAccount,Property(website)orViewyouwantsomeonetosee,clicktheUserManagementmenu.
Fromthere,youcanaddtheemailaddressofanyoneyouwouldliketoviewyourGoogleAnalyticsdataandchoosethepermissionsyouwouldlikethemtohave.
Idon'tlikeviewingthereportsinGoogleAnalytics.Cansomeonejustsummarizethedataforme?
Yes!QuillEngageisaservicethatwilltakeyourGoogleAnalyticsdataandsummarizeitinaneasy-to-readreportforyou.Bestofall,it'sfreeforuptotenprofiles(websites).
Ihaveadozenwebsites,andIdon'twanttocheckeachoftheirGoogleAnalyticsonadailybasis.WhatdoIdo?
Youhavetwooptionsinthisscenario.YoustartbygoingtotheHomescreenofGoogleAnalytics.There,youwillfindalistingofallyourwebsitesandanoverviewofthetopmetrics—sessions,averagesessionduration,bouncerate,andconversionrate.
YoucanalsotrybusinessdashboardsolutionslikeCyfe.For$19amonth,youcancreateunlimiteddashboardswithunlimitedwidgets,includingalargeselectionofdatafromGoogleAnalytics,alongsidedatafromyoursocialmedianetworks,keywordrankings,Mozstats,andmore.
Thissolutionsignificantlycutsdownonthetimespentlookingatanalyticsacrosstheboardforyourentirebusiness.
GoogleAnalyticssaysthat90%+ofmyorganickeywordsare(notprovided).WherecanIfindthatinformation?
(notprovided)isGoogle'swayofprotectingsearchengineuser'sprivacybyhidingthekeywordstheyusetodiscoveryourwebsiteinsearchresults.ToolslikeGoogleWebmasterTools2(free),AuthorityLab'sNowProvidedReports3(paid),andHittail4(paid)canallhelpyouuncoversomeofthosekeywords.
2https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/home3https://authoritylabs.com/now-provided/4https://www.hittail.com/
Theywon'tbelinkedtoyourconversionsorotherGoogleAnalyticsdata,butatleastyouwillhavesomecluewhatkeywordssearchersareusingtofindyourwebsite.
HowdoIuseCustomReports,Dashboards,andSegments?
Ifyou'rereadytomovetothenextlevelinGoogleAnalytics,CustomReports,Dashboards,andSegmentsarethewaytogo.CustomReports(undertheCustomizationmenuatthetop)allowyoutocreatereportsthatlooksimilartothestandardGoogleAnalyticsreportswiththemetricsyouwanttoview.
DashboardsallowyoutoviewyourGoogleAnalyticsdatainadashboardformat.Youcanaccessthematthetopoftheleftsidebar.
SegmentsallowyoutoviewallofyourGoogleAnalyticsdatabasedonaspecificdimension,suchasallofyourGoogleAnalyticsdatabasedonvisitorsfromtheUnitedStates.Youcanalsousethemtocompareuptofoursegmentsofdata,suchasUnitedStatesversusUnitedKingdomtraffic,searchversussocialtraffic,mobileversusdesktoptraffic,andmore.YoucanaccessSegmentsineachofyourreports.
Thenicepartabouttheseisthatyoudon'thavetocreatethemfromscratch.Youcanstartbyusingpre-definedCustomReports,Dashboards,andSegmentsfromtheGoogleSolutionsGallery.
There,youwillfindlotsofCustomReports,Dashboards,Segments,andothersolutionsthatyoucanimportintoyourGoogleAnalyticsandedittofityourneeds.EditCustomReportswiththeEditbuttonatthetop.
EditDashboardsusingtheAddWidgetorCustomizeDashboardbuttonsatthetop.
EditSegmentsbyclickingtheActionbuttoninsidetheSegmentsselectorboxandchoosingEdit.
Or,whenyouhaveappliedSegmentstoyourreports,usethedrop-downarrowatthetoprighttofindtheEditoption.
AsyougetusedtoeditingCustomReports,Dashboards,andSegments,youwillgetmorefamiliarwiththewayeachworkssoyoucancreatenewonesonyourown.
TRACKINGCAMPAIGNSINGOOGLEANALYTICS
(Source:https://www.shopify.com.sg/blog/14759449-how-to-track-your-marketing-campaigns-in-google-analytics)
Beforeyoucontinue,you'llneedtohaveGoogleAnalyticssetupandconnectedtoyourwebsite.Thisisdescribedinthearticleabove.
Let'ssayyouhaveseveralbloggerslineduptopostsponsoredreviewsforyourproductlaunch.Howcouldyoutrackeachofthecampaignstoseewhichonewasmosteffective,aswellaswhichonewasleasteffective?
Thisisimportantinformationthatcanhelpyoudecideifyoushouldpayforfurthersponsoredpostsinthefuture.Thisiswherelinktracking,alsoknownasUTMParameterscomesintoplay.
WhatAreUTMParameters?
SowhatexactlyareUTMParameters?UTMisanacronymforUrchinTrackingModuleandistheformatGoogleusestotrackURL's.ThenameUrchinitselfcomesfromGoogle'searlydays(2004)whentheyacquiredthecompanyUrchin,whichwaslaterturnedintoGoogleAnalytics.
UTMParametersaresimplysmallpiecesofinformationthatcanbeaddedtotheendofanyURLthatgivesGooglemoreinformationaboutthatparticularlink.
You'velikelyseenthembefore.AlinkwithasimpleUTMParametermightlooksomethinglikethis:
http://www.website.com/?utm_source=emailcampaign
ThepartafterthequestionmarkisaUTMParameter.Whensomeoneclicksonthatlink,GoogleAnalyticsforthatparticularwebsitewillreadandrecordthatparameterinformation.
TheUTMParameters
TherearefiveUTMparametersthatcanbeusedfortrackingvariouspiecesofinformationinGoogleAnalytics,threearerequiredandtwothatareoptional.Let'slookateachonetounderstandmore:
RequiredParameters
• CampaignSource(utm_source)–Thisisgenerallyusedtodescribethewebsiteormainsourceinwhichthelinkwillbeplaced.Forexample,forexamplethenameofthewebsitedisplayingyouradsorifyou'reusingthelinkinanemailnewsletter,youmayuse"newsletter".
• CampaignMedium(utm_medium)–Mediumisusedtodescribethemarketingactivity.Forexample,youmaywanttocallthis"ppc"ifyou'reusingthisforapay-per-clickcampaignor"review"ifyou'reusingthelinktotracktrafficfromaproductreviewonablogger'ssite.
• CampaignName(utm_campaign)–Campaignreferstotheoverallcampaignyou'rerunning.Forexample,itcouldrefertoaproductlaunch,asummercampaignoraparticularsale.
OptionalParameters
• CampaignTerm(utm_term)–CampaignTermisusedfortrackingparticularkeywordsifyou'rerunninganAdwordscampaign.
• CampaignContent(utm_content)–Thisparameterishelpfulifyou'resplittestingads.Inthiscaseyoucouldtrackeachadtoseewhichwasmosteffectivefordrivingtraffic.
BuildingYourOwnTrackableURLsAllyouhavetodototrackcampaignsautomaticallyisuseGoogle’sCampaignURLBuildertooltocreateatrackableURL.ThistoolmakesitreallyeasytobuildyourURL'swithalltherelevantinformation.AllyouhavetodoisentertheURLyouwanttotrack,alongwiththeparameterstotrack.
Onceyouclicksubmit,GooglewillgiveyouyourtrackableURL.Itwilllooksomethinglikethis:
www.yoursite.com/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2014%20summer%20sale
OnceyouhavetheURL,youcancopyitanduseitforyourmarketingcampaignstobegintracking.
BestPracticesCreatingTrackableURL's
Sincethereportsforthelinksareyourown,there'sreallynowrongwaytocreateyourtrackedURL's,however,therearearefewsuggestionsthatwillhelp:
• Considerastandardnamingconventionupfront.BecauseeachURL'swillhavemultipleparameters,thingscangetmessyanddifficulttoreadlaterunlessyouadoptasimilarstyleupfrontfornamingeverything.
• Keepinmindthatanyoneclickingonthelinkwillbeabletoseetheparametersnamessodon'twriteanythingyouwouldn'twantyourcustomerstosee.
• Parametersshouldallbewritteninlowercaseletters.• BecausetheURL'stendtobelong,youcanalwaysconsiderusingalinkshortener
servicelikebit.lytomakethemshorter.• Onlycreateparametersthatarenecessary.
ViewingYourCampaignReportsTheURL'syoucreatewillautomaticallybetrackedbyGoogleAnalyticsasthey'reclickedonthroughouttheweb.Google(andotheranalyticssoftware)willrecordalltheparametersfromeachlinkandpresentittoyouinahandyreport.
Keepinmindthatsometimesitcantakeupto24hoursforGoogletoreceiveandrecorddata,soifyoudon'tseeclicksshowinguprightaway,justbepatient.
Toviewtheinformationonhowyourcampaignsarepreforming,logintoyourGoogleAnalyticsaccountandonthelefthandmenu,clickonAcquisitionreports:
ThenclickonCampaigns:
Inthisreport,you'llhavealistofallofthecampaignsyou'vetracked.Youcanclickoneachcampaigntoviewmoreinformationontrafficaswellasinformationonanysalesresultingfromeachcampaign,providedyouhaveecommercetrackingturnedoninGoogleAnalytics.
Aswithanytrafficsource,youcanviewthemetricsmostimportanttoyouincludingsales,goals,bouncerate,pageviewsetc.,todeterminewhichelementsarethemosteffectiveforyourcampaigns.
Note:CampaignswillonlyshowupinyourGoogleAnalyticsCampaignreportsifthelinksareclickedon.
WhenShouldYouUseUTMParameters?
UTMParametersareaneasywaytotrackperformanceofawidevarietyofonlinemarketinginitiatives.Somemarketingactivitiesyoumaywanttotrackinclude:
• GuestBlogPosts-Youkeephearingthatcontentiskingandthatyoushouldbeguestbloggingonotherwebsiteswithinyourniche.Buthoweffectiveareyourguest
blogposts?TryusingatrackableURLinyournextguestblogposttofindoutexactlyhowmuchtrafficandsalesyourpostsaredriving.
• Social-YouspendcountlesshoursbuildingyourFacebookfanpageandTwitteraccount,buthowmanypeopleareclickingonthelinkinyourprofiletocheckoutyourstore?Furthermore,arethosepeoplebuyingfromyou?Atrackablelinkinyoursocialprofilescanhelpyouuncoverthetruereturn-on-investmentofallyourhardwork.
• Email-Ittakestimetocomeupwithgreatcampaignsandcraftingtheperfectemailtosendouttoyourcustomers.AdvancedemailmarketingprogramscanhelpyoutracksalesfromyouremailsbutusingatrackableURLinyouremailsisaquickandeasywaytoknowwhichemailsareworkingandwhicharen't.
• Features-Oneofthebestwaystogetlotsoftrafficandsalesisbygettingfeaturedbybloggers,Instagrammers,mediapublicationsandYouTuberswithalargefollowing.MakesuretogivethematrackableURLtodiscoverexactlywhodrivesthemostqualifiedtraffictoyourstore.
• BannerAds-UsingatrackableURLforbanneradswillnotonlyhelpyouunderstandtheeffectivenessofyourcampaignbutalsowillallowyoutoeasilytrackthesuccessofeachvariationofbannertoseewhichoneperformsthebest.
Besidestheaboveexamples,youcanreallyuselinktrackinganywhereyoucansharealinkandwanttoknowmoreaboutwho'sclickingonit.