Web Analytics and Wordpress - Wordcamp Chicago 2011

7/30 – 7/31/2011 #wcchicago

Web Analytics and Wordpress

Understanding your Wordpress site stats and more about your visitors

Chris King – Senior SEO & Analytics Strategist, designory.

Blog: http://chrisking.infoTwitter: @fendmark

7/30 – 7/31/2011 #wcchicago

7/30 – 7/31/2011 #wcchicago

Wordpress & Web Analytics

• What is Web Analytics?

• Selecting Web analytics software

• Analytics setup and implementation

• Using analytics to grow your business

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My Flooded Basement

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What is Web Analytics? • “Web Analytics is the measurement,

collection, analysis and reporting of Internet data for the purposes of understanding and optimizing Web usage.” Web Analytics Association

• Web analytics serves two main purposes– Identifies growth opportunities– Demonstrates the value of your site

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The most powerful combination in Online Marketing

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Selecting a web analytics tool

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Proper web analytics setup is critical• Tag everything• Set and validate conversion

tracking• Flash and rich media typically

require custom tagging• Specify channel tracking

strategy

• Don’t forget: Garbage In, Garbage Out

7/30 – 7/31/2011 #wcchicago

Web Analytics Plugins for Wordpress

• YOU DON’T NEED THEM

• Just edit the header.php file in your theme and place analytics snippet just before the closing </head> tag and custom tag more advanced elements as needed

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Two Great GA plugins

Google Analytics for Wordpress (Joost De Valk) • http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/google-

analytics-for-wordpress

Google Analytics Dashboard (Carson McDonald)• http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/google-

analytics-dashboard/

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Setup on Theme Frameworks

• Thesis • GenesisTheme settings > Header/Footer Scripts

Admin Panel > Appearance > Thesis Options

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Use Analytics to grow your business

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But please don’t be this guy

How many hits did we get today?

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Analytics reporting is worthless unless you take action

• Spend less time on reports

• Focus on what matters• Use analytics to drive

site improvements

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Identify 2 main goals for your site• Select top Key Performance Indicators or (KPIs)

• What do you consider an indicator of success?– Email Newsletter Subscription– Clicks on ads/Banner Impressions– Product sale– Whitepaper download– Phone call – Lead generation form completion– Store locator visit

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Web Analytics Continuous Improvement Process

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What is your conversion rate?

• Desired Outcomes / Visits

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But.. conversion rate is only part of the whole picture

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The 1-3% who fill out a lead generation form,

make a purchase….Everyone Else

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Types of reports you should be pulling regularly

• Don’t look at any one metric alone, compare it to other data points to get context

• Top Entry Pages• Top Exit Pages• Conversion Funnel • Top Search Keywords (paid/natural)• Clickmap/In-Page Analytics• Bounce Rate Analysis • Top Referrers• Top Onsite Search Terms

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Use Google In-Page Analytics

See exactly where visitors are clicking on your Wordpress site

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Integrate your Adsense account with Google Analytics

Track Ad Clicks and Revenue Generated by

Keyword

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Track Wordpress Search in GA

• In profile settings add an “s” to query parameter

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Split A/B and Multivariate testing

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Multivariate Testing Split A/B testing

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Web Analytics Reporting

• A comprehensive web analytics program will include:– Monthly or Weekly top level reporting dashboard– Regular review of analytics trends– Monthly proactive reporting

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A Few Great Analytics Resources

• http://www.webanalyticsdemystified.com • http://www.kaushik.net/avinash • http://www.grokdotcom.com • http://visualrevenue.com/blog• http://analytics.blogspot.com

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Summary • Make sure your analytics software is setup properly and tag

everything

• Select two main goals to measure on your Wordpress site

• Web analytics is completely useless unless you are taking action on your findings

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Thank You Very Much

Chris KingSenior SEO & Analytics Strategist

chris.king@designory.comTwitter: @fendmark

Blog: http://chrisking.info