The Basics of Google Analytics

An Overview of Google Analytics

In this blog, 1Digital Agency would like to discuss one of the key tools of the SEO process: Google Analytics. Without Google Analytics, an SEO campaign would be much harder to manage. Thanks to Google making this program free, you have a lot to gain from Google Analytics, regardless of what your business can afford. Whether it’s a full-scale SEO campaign or an informational guide to your customer-base, this is an absolute must for an eCommerce business that wants to stay ahead of the game.

So, what is Google Analytics? Great question. There’s quite the hefty answer to digest, so, instead, we’ll give you the basic rundown. Google Analytics is capable of many different tasks and, if you run a blog, own an online business, or want to analyze data for your online store, you can benefit from the program. With Google Analytics, you can figure out how many people visit your site, where they’re from, what content they prefer, and more. You can even get an idea of what mobile capabilities you might need, or which specific marketing strategies have driven people to your site. This enables you to truly monitor your business and helps you to understand what is successful and what is not.

Installing Google Analytics

The installation of Google Analytics is incredibly simple. If you already have Gmail, then you’re in luck, and you can start off by using your Google account. Your first step is to set up a Google Analytics account, which takes no time. Make sure whichever account you choose to set up Analytics on is the account that you plan to use from then on. Never allow someone else to control your Google Analytics account. If you ever end up splitting up, by any means, they’ll have all of your Google Analytics data. Without access to the Google account that you sign up with, you cannot access your data. You can, however, grant access to your Google Analytics to whoever you choose. It is wise to never give someone full control over the account, as you cannot predict what the future holds.

The Benefits of Google Analytics

After taking the free courses offered by Google, you’ll have a better understanding of how to navigate the platform. However, it may take you some time to figure out exactly what you want to use and what is beneficial to your business. Can you have too much of a good thing? The answer, in this case, is: absolutely not. You’ll be ecstatic when you realize the potential that this program holds for the future of your online store, blog, or whatever online ventures you would like to analyze.

Here’s a quick overview of how it works. You install a Google Analytics tracking code onto every page that you would like to to be analyzed. Every time a person accesses these pages, Google tracks their movement throughout your website in “sessions”, each session being permanently recorded after thirty minutes of inactivity on a page. With these sessions, you can compile extremely helpful information. Google takes a record of what device the person is using, where they’re using it, how long they spend on each page, and how they found your page. It also can tell you whether or not a user “bounces” from your page, meaning that they arrived at a page and immediately left it without any activity.

Why is this information useful? Well, for one, it shows you which content is preferred amongst users. If certain blogs or pages reel people in for longer periods of time, you can start to steer your business in that direction. On the other end of the spectrum, you can use the data to figure out where you need to improve. If people are bouncing off your checkout page in large numbers, maybe you need to see if its buggy or not user-friendly. If you notice that plenty of users are bouncing off your page from a mobile device, that’s a key indicator that you could benefit from creating a mobile-friendly site. You’ll also see which strategies have directed people to your site: if your PPC campaign is effective, you should expect to see a large portion of users that found your site through that campaign. The same goes for other kinds of advertising or SEO campaigns.

How 1Digital Can Help

Since our inception in 2012, we’ve thrived in the waters of eCommerce, swam across the seven seas of SEO, and dove into the deepest depths of Google Analytics. Aquatic metaphors aside, we know a thing or two about Google Analytics, and we use it extensively in our SEO campaigns. If you’re just dipping your feet into the process and realizing that you may need the help of some experts, we’re the people to come to. With good old-fashioned know-how on your side, your business will flourish. So, contact us today, and let’s see what 1Digital Agency can do for you. Stay tuned to our blog for a beginners guide to Google Analytics.