Maximizing theEffectivenessofYourStudentRecruitmentCampaignswithGoogleAnalytics

Presented by: Philippe Taza, CEOHigher Education Marketing

ptaza@higher-education-marketing.com

• CreatinganeffectiveGAmeasurementplan• GAbasics:Settingupandoptimizingaccounts• Gettingrealvaluefromgoalsandconversiontracking• LinkingtheSearchConsoleandAdWordstoGA• Trackingcampaigns• NavigatingandinterpretingGAreports• Measuringyourresults• Optimizingforcontinuousimprovement

Today’s Presentation

Implement a Google Analytics measurement plan

Agent Dashboard

Non Agent Dashboard

GA Basics: Getting Started

SelecttheAdmin tabtoaccesstheGoogleAnalyticscontrolpanel

The Google Analytics Admin Interface

GA Basics: Setting up an account

It’sreallyeasytogetupandrunning withGoogleAnalytics,justinsertthecodeintothepagesyouwanttotrack.

Managing Google Analytics Accounts

Linking AdWords and the Search Console

• IfyouaremarketingwithGoogleAdWords,youmustlinktheaccountsforbettertracking.• TheSearchConsoleprovidesdeepinsights intoyourwebsiteandshouldbelinked.

Remove internal traffic – setup an IP Filter

Neglecting to optimize your filter setting means that internal traffic from your campus gets lumped in with your overall results-

Removeinternaltraffic– SetupanIPFilter

Optimizing Your Setup

GoogleAnalyticsprovidesmanylevelsofpermissions forsharingaccess

Sharing access to GA accounts will allow key team members to collaborate when reviewing your strategy-

Segment and Measure Your Web Traffic

• Underthesystemtab,youwillfind22segments tochoosefrom.Thepurpleonesaresomeofmyfavorites.

• Customsegmentscanalsobecreatedforadvancedusers!

Setting up Website Goals

TherearefivegoaltypesinAnalytics-

• DestinationGoals(pagesusersseewhentheycompleteanactione.g.Thankyoupages)

• EventGoals(e.g.viewedavideo,downloaded apdf prospectusetc.)

• DurationGoals(timespentonsite)

• Pagesviewedpersession

Setting up a Request Info Goal

TherequestinfogoalisverycommononEDUwebsites.ToconfiguresuchagoalinGoogleAnalytics,youwillneed2URLs:

1. TheURLof theForm2. TheURLof theThankYoupageusersseeoncetheyfillouttheform

Setting up Website Goals

The Google Analytics Reporting Interface

Othercoolfeaturesareavailable:exporting,emailscheduling, etc.

The GA Reporting interface contains various command options and pathways to specific reports-

The Google Analytics Reporting Interface

The four main GA reports sections are-

• Audience- Provide insight into user characteristics (e.g. demographic info, location, etc.)

•Acquisition- Help you understand how users find your site and compare different marketing channels

• Behavior – Provide useful information about how users interact with your site

• Conversions- Monitor your conversion page performance, as well the success of your ongoing goals

The Overview Report

TheOverview reportunderAudience, isthereportyou landononceyoubeginyourGoogleAnalyticsjourney.

The Location Report

TheLocation reportunderAudiencecantellyouwhereyour trafficiscoming from:countries, states,cities,etc.

Thiscanbeusefulfor:Geotargeted campaigns,personadevelopment

The Mobile Overview Report

TheMobile OverviewreportunderAudience, cantellyoumoreaboutthetypesofdeviceswhichareaccessingyoursite,whichcanhelpdriveimprovements inmobile

marketingandwebdevelopment.

The Channel Report

TheChannels reportunderAcquisition, givesyoumacrolevelinsightsintothevariouschannelsyouareusing toattracttraffictoyourwebsite.

• OrganicSearch:SEOTrafficfromsearchengines• Email:linksinemailcampaigns• Direct:usersentertheURLdirectlyinthebrowser• Referral:trafficfromothersitesyoursislinkedon• Social:Facebook,Twitter,LinkedIn,etc.• PaidSearch:GoogleAdWords,Bingads,etc.TheChannelReportiscrucialtohelpingyouascertainwhichofyourmarketinginitiativesarehavingthemostsuccess.

What are the main Channels?

The All Traffic Report

TheAllTrafficreportunderAcquisition, givesyoumicrolevelinsights intothevarioussourcesoftrafficyourwebsiteisreceiving.Noticehowweareabletotrackoff line

NewspapertrafficandPPCinitiativesonFacebook.

The AdWords Campaign Report

NoticehowAdWords hasafullsectionofreportswhichareavailableunderAcquisition.YouwillneedtolinkGoogleAdWordsandGoogleAnalyticstohavethesereportspopulated.ForthoseofyouusingAdWords, itwouldbeimportantnottorely

onlyon thedataavailableintheGoogle AdWords interface.

The Social Overview Report

TheSocialOverviewreportunderAcquisition, givesyouasnapshotofhowyoursocialmediachannelsareperforming.

The Queries Report

TheQueries reportunderAcquisition, providesorganicorSEOkeywordlevelinformation.Youcanseewhatkeywordsyourwebsiteisgeneratingimpressionsand

clicksfrom,andknowwhatisyouraverageposition onGoogle.YouwillneedtolinktheSearchConsoleandGoogleAnalyticstohavethesereportspopulated.

The All Pages Report

TheAllPagesreportunderBehavior,givesyoupagebypageinsights including howoftenit’sbeenviewed,theaveragetimespenton thatpage,thebounce rateandthepagevalue.Thepagevaluegivesyouanindicationofthepropensityofauserto

convertononeofyourgoalsafterseeingthatparticularpage.

The Landing Pages Report

TheLandingPagesreportunderBehaviorprovides information onthefirstpagesusersseeorlandon.Thedefinition oflandingpageisthefirstpageauserlandson.

The All Pages Navigation Summary Report

TheAllPagesNavigationSummaryreportunderBehaviorprovidesdetailedinsightsonwhichpagesusersvisitedbeforeandafteraparticularpage.Youwillalsoknowwhatpercentageofusersenterandexitthatpage.ThisisoneofmyfavoritereportsJ

TheGoalsOverviewreportunderConversions,providesasummaryviewofthetotalnumberofconversionsandconversion rate.

The Goals Overview Report

TheReverseGoalPathreportunderConversionstellsyouwhichpageswereseenpriortoconverting, whichcanhelp indicateyourmostvaluableandengagingcontent.

The Goals Overview Report

TheFunnelVisualisationreportunderConversionsgivesyouinsightsonhoweffectiveyourconversionpageis.Inthisexample,54%ofsessionsdecidedtofillouttheform

andconvert!

The Funnel Visualization Report

Google Analytics URL Builder

• UsetheURLbuilder tomanuallytagURLsyouwilluseinspecificcampaigns.

• Bycreatingunique URLsforspecificcampaigns,thedatawillbesenttoGAaccounteveryauserclicksoneoftheselinks

• YoucanuseURLshorteners orredirectstomakethesemoreuserfriendly!

Tracking your Campaigns with the URL Builder

TheyellowtrafficsourceswereallbuiltusingtheURLbuilder.Noneofthemwouldbegeneratednativelywithout thehelpofthistool.

Tracking your Facebook Ads Campaigns

• UsetheURLbuildertomanuallytagURLsyouwilluseinspecificcampaigns.

• UsetheCampaignSecondarydimensiontoknowwhichareperforming

• MeasurementPlan:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpDA3XaELqs&feature=youtu.be

• URLBuilder:• https://ga-dev-tools.appspot.com/campaign-url-builder/

• GoogleAnalyticsTraining:http://www.google.com/intl/en/analytics/learn/

Google Analytics Resources

• I’m easy to reach at:

Philippe Taza

Tel: 514-312-3968 ext:104

ptaza@higher-education-marketing.comwww.higher-education-marketing.comhttps://twitter.com/PhilippeTaza

Have questions about Google Analytics?