Google Analytics is a powerful free web based software designed for website managers. The software can be used to monitor, improve, understand and restructure websites for optimal performance. Specifically, Google Analytics enables the website manager to know what works, what doesn't work, where visitors navigate from, where they navigate to and helps provide intuition as to why certain web pages and/or products perform better than others.
When combined with Google Adwords, Google Analytics tools only get better allowing the software user to obtain more information about which ads are clicked on, who clicks on the ads by location, volume of visitors to buyers etc. Making the most of a software such as Google Analytics involves making sense of the information that is provided by the software.
Making sense of Google Analytics information
It's one thing to have a tool, it's another thing to know how to use the tool well. Just as an experienced woodworker might craft a higher quality product with the same tool a less experienced woodworker uses, so to is the nature of software tools such as Google analytics. The more knowledgeable and skilled the Google Analytics tool users are, the more productive and better designed the final web product may be.
To make effective use of the Google Analytics software, one must first understand what it is, how it works, what it is used for and why. This is the first step in making the most of Goolge Analytics. This first step takes time and involves becoming acquainted with the software, it's features and tools. Once the first step is accomplished the second step can be made which involves interpreting the data the software provides.
Interpreting data from Google Analytics can be important especially if the website being operated is a business. For example, if a particular landing page yields exceptional visitor retention, Google Analytics can point a web manager in the right direction. That is to say, but showing which landing pages have the most visitors, the web manager can then learn what it is about that webpage and the webpages interaction with the visitors that make it so effective.
Advantages of Google Analytics
Knowing and utilizing the advantages of Google analytics can also help a website manager benefit from the software. One advantage of the software is it's free to create an account. Secondly, the software replaces the information gathering capacity of a web design consultant which also saves money. A few more benefits of Google Analytics when used in tandem with Google Adsense are the following:
• Tracks and reports website traffic patterns by city, state and country
• Reports which webpages are viewed the most
• Allows website hosts to find discrepancies and site design
• Records navigation trends from external sites
• Assists with "Landing page optimization"
Google analytics involves placing pre-designed "javascript code onto each page of a website" and registering for an account (www.google.com) After that the software will have a medley of illustrative, graphical and statistical options that allow the software user to be equipped with information useful in improving a websites design and traffic. The software also allows the user to attach information from the software into emails for person to person communications via email. A few of the ways the information from Google Analytics can be used to enhance a website are as listed:
• Model less visited pages in line with higher performing pages
• Improve website visits by matching keywords with market segments
• Increase visitor to client conversion through utilization of client statistics
• Understand site loyalty and statistics associates with that loyalty
• Enhance ad revenue and lower costs by reviewing and adjusting for Return on Investment (ROI) statistics.
Benefiting from supplemental information
In addition to the built in features of Google Analytics a number of web resources and help support features exist for this software. This not only assists in finding how to information and technical support but also provides further assistance on different ways to adjust website content using the information provided by Google Analytics. Visiting and reviewing the information on these supplemental sites can help one with the first step in making the most of Google Analytics mentioned above i.e. understanding what is has to offer and how it works. Some of these resources are available on the google analytics website and include those provided below:
• Conversion University: Assists with visitor acquisition, behavior analysis, and website optimization.
• Onsite and independent blogger reference and how to material
• Contrast software performance with Microsoft Analytics and SQL server analysis services
• Commentary, forums and tech news reporting on software trends and performance
Summary
In Summary, a software such as Google analytics has the potential to do a website business more good than harm. While some website visitors may object to having their information tracked, this can be avoided with proxies and specialized web browsers that also have the potential to create outlier statistics through the analytics software. However, outliers tend to be less statistically significant and may not greatly deviate the accuracy of the statistical reports provided by the Google analytics software. Such being the case and in light of aforementioned analysis of the software, Google analytics can be used to improve website performance provided a little skill and effort are applied using Google analytics application outputs.
Sources:
1. http://www.google.com/analytics/index.html
2. http://tinyurl.com/64oc4fr (Conversion Chronicles.com)
3. http://tinyurl.com/64v78qa (Wikipedia)
2. http://www.microsoft.com/sql/solutions/bi/default.mspx
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