GOOGLE ANALYTICS 101 - Marketing...

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.