evaluate your content with google analytics
DESCRIPTION
A presentation targeted specifically at CoP members publishing content to the eXtension public site that explains how to use Google Analytics to view pages in their individual content areas.TRANSCRIPT
Evaluate Your Content with Google Analytics
(by category)
Ben MacNeillUser Interface Designer, eXtension
• Website traffic analysis tool
• It's free (but you need a google account. unfortunately no public view.)
• Visitors, Traffic, Content
Google Analytics
Whereare yourvisitors
coming from?
How areyour
readers finding
your content?
What's the most popularcontent?
How many visit your page and leave?
(and is that good or bad?)
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What about my content?• the Public site GA data is aggregated
• No way to look at a single category of content(until recently!)
Top-Level Categories Now in GA
• Available in content reports
• Top Content (Most Popular)
• Top Landing Pages (Arrivals)
• Top Exit Pages (Departures)
• Look at all content or limit to specific types (Articles, FAQs, Learning Lessons, Events)
What Does it Look Like?
How it works
• Actual url: http://www.extension.org/faq/824
• We pass an extra parameter to GA when the visit is recorded
• Extra parameter = Top-level categories
Using the 'Find Page' Filter
• Select a report: Content > Top Content
• Choose any CoP resource area tag
• No spaces. "beef_cattle" not "beef cattle"
• View all content: fire_ants
• View only FAQs: (faq).*(fire_ants)
• View only Articles: (pages).*(fire_ants)
Analysis: Bounce rate• the percentage of visitors to a page who leave
without visiting any other page
Bounce rate: 41.46%
Bounce rate: 90.91%
Let's Go to the Browser
Be Careful When Evaluating Your Pages
• Don't make decisions based only on our star rating system
• it can be gamed
• may or may be statistically significant
• doesn't show up in search
Under-performers?
• Don't unpublish a piece of content
• Destroys all the Google page rank built up for that page
• Generates a "Page not found" for all new visitors coming from search
• Damages the reputation of the site
• Breaks all links that point to your page
Get Reports by Email
• If you need access to GA, send me your gmail address or the email associated with your google user ID.
• thanks!
Getting Access to GA