Google Analytics 101 for 2019

Our Google Analytics for WordPress training webinars are a member favorite. Today we learned with Chris Edwards for a free training webinar, Google Analytics 101 for 2019. Chris covered the basics of Google Analytics for WordPress websites, including a TON of helpful material. Use the replay to review and catch up on anything you might have missed. Chris Edwards is the co-owner of Data Driven Labs, a WordPress Maintenance and Marketing agency. He is a 17-year Internet marketing veteran with experience in web design & development, search engine optimization, online marketing, social media marketing and mobile development. He specializes in WordPress custom development utilizing either Genesis Framework or underscores and is very active in the WordPress Orlando community. Chris has held development and Internet marketing positions in some of Orlando’s top technology companies.

Outline: Google Analytics 101 for 2019

• Installation (WordPress)
• All 6 Standard Reports
• Filters & Segments
• Event Tracking
• Goal Tracking
• UTMs

Watch the Replay: Google Analytics 101

Google Analytics Installation (WordPress)

Chris suggests using Monster Insights if you’re a beginner. It has a simple setup process that will walk you through setting up your Google Analytics account and tracking your website. Advanced users can install the Google Analytics code directly or use Google Tag Manager.

Installing Code

Add the provided code from Google Analytics to your your website. Most themes have an option or setting that allows you to add scripts to the head section. Check with your theme support on where this can be found.

Google Analytics Reports

Real-time Reports: Watch The Traffic Flow

Real-Time reports allow you to view traffic in real-time to your website. You can view what pages visitors are actively looking at, where the visitors are from, where they come from and live data on conversions and events.

Audience Reports: Know Your Visitors

Audience report is the largest section within Google Analytics. It has 15 sub-sections. These sections show demographics, geolocation, technology, interests and more.

Aquisition Reports: Know What Channels Work

Acquisition reports are where you find out what is driving your traffic and conversions. Here you can find information about each channel, Adwords, SEO, Social and UTMs (more about that later).

Behavior Reports: Know What Your Visitors Are Doing

Behavior reports are where you find out what your visitors are doing on your site. You can see what pages they are looking at, site speed, what they are searching for and the events they are doing. (More on that later).

Conversion Reports: This is what it is all about. Conversions!

Conversion reports contain our goals & conversions. This is the most important metric as all your work drills down to making conversions. We will talk more about setting up goals in a few minutes.

Filters & Advanced Segments

• Filter – A filter is applied to a profile view and is permanent. This stops the data from ever being saved into a profile.
• Advanced Segment – An advanced segment allows you to isolate similar visitors into groups. These can be applied to any report without making permanent changes to your data.

Event Tracking

Events are user interactions with content that can be tracked independently from a web page or a screen load. Downloads, mobile ad clicks, gadgets, Flash elements, AJAX embedded elements, and video plays are all examples of actions you might want to track as Events.

Goal Tracking

Goals measure how well your site or app fulfills your target objectives. A Goal represents a completed activity, called a conversion, that contributes to the success of your business. Types of Goal Tracking:

• URL Destination Goals – Tracks visits to a URL.
• Visit Duration Goals – How long people stay on your site.
• Pages/Visit Goals – Number of pages visited.
• Event Goals – Goals based off the firing of an event using event tracking.

Examples of Goals include making a purchase (for an ecommerce site), completing a game level (for a mobile gaming app), or submitting a contact information form (for a marketing or lead generation site).

UTMs: Know What Drove Traffic!

A UTM (Urchin Tracking Module) is a group of tags appended to the end of a URL. When these tags are appended, it allows you track the specifics of your source. Without UTMs, you can already see the referral source of your traffic, but you do not know which campaign, which tweet, which email actually drove the traffic. UTMs allow you to know exactly what is working and where to spend more marketing dollars.

Want to Learn More? Register for Google Analytics Bootcamp

This webinar is a free preview of the upcoming Google Analytics Bootcamp, happening August 27, 28 & 29 @ 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. (CT). During this 3-day Google Analytics training event, analytics expert Chris Edwards will do a deep dive into Google Analytics.

Register now