@nickroshon

/ COVARIO

November 29th – AMA Phoenix SIG

GETTING THE MOST OUT OF THE NEW GOOGLE ANALYTICS

@nickroshon

WHO AM I?

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NICK ROSHONAccount Director, Covario• Looks like Amir from College Humor• Formerly Sr. SEO Strategist, iCrossing• Editor of “Search and Social: The Definitive

Guide to Real-Time Content Marketing” by Rob Garner (Wiley/Sybex)

• Blogger at NickRoshon.com• Also Blogs at NicksCarBlog.com• Ohio Native / Scottsdale Transplant• Dog Lover• Race Car Driver

@nickroshon

FIRST, A JOKE…

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@nickroshon

AGENDA

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• Why and WHAT to track?

• Setup Best Practices

• What’s new in GA 5?

• Finding Opportunity

• Additional Resources

@nickroshon

WHY AND WHAT TO TRACK?

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@nickroshon 6

“If you cannot measure it, you cannot improve it.”

– Lord Kelvin

@nickroshon

WHY ELSE?

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• Understanding what works, what doesn’t

• Tracking success of marketing campaigns

• A/B testing and Tracking ROI

• Understanding your visitors – demographics, interests, keywords, etc.

• Seeing trends – mobile, local, social, etc.

• Finding opportunities for growth and optimization…

Why not?• FREE!• Easy to setup• Easy-to-use

@nickroshon

NOT WHY, BUT WHAT?

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Key Performance Indicators (KPIs):

• As a marketer, KPIs define what success is to our clients/bosses

• Measure outcomes, not behaviors

• Marketing Analytics vs. Web Analytics

@nickroshon

WHAT ARE YOUR KPIS?

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Basic KPIs:

• Page Views

• Unique Visitors

• Form Completions

Better KPIs:• Increase Conversion Rate by 10%• Improve Average Order Value• Increase Visitor Loyalty (Return

Visitors) by 20%• Increase Time Spent on Site by 5%• Increase Pages Viewed per Visit by

100%• Reduce Abandonment Rate by 15%• New RSS Subscribers

Pro tip: try to focus on only a few.

“Collecting more information, just because you can, inevitably leads to more confusion, not clarity. “ – Brian Clifton

@nickroshon

REMEMBER: SALES AREN’T THE ONLY KPI…

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Macro Conversions

• Sales

• Orders

• Coupon Redemptions

Micro Conversions• Download white paper• Return visit• View product detail page• Customer Service Contact• FAQ page view• Store lookup• Tweet/Like/+1• Email sign-up• RSS Subscriptions• Comment/Review Added

@nickroshon

FACTORING IN SALES LIFECYCLES

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“On average it takes 14 days to convert for travel - visitor loyalty is key here.” – Avinash Kaushik

Metrics to consider for long sales cycles:

• Visitor loyalty & repeat visits

• Multi-channel funnel analysis

• Pages viewed per visit

• Time spent on site

• Repeat visitors vs new visitorsA photo of me, sitting in front of a computer, holding an iPad, taken from my iPhone. 3 devices = 1 user = 3 “unique visitors”

@nickroshon

SETTING KPIS

“Why does my website exist?”

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@nickroshon

SETUP BEST PRACTICES

@nickroshon

INITIAL CODE SETUP

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CENSORED

CENSORED

Log in and go to Admin – Tracking Info to find code

Copy & paste in the header OR footer of each web page you want tracked

Asynchronous code = loads independent of the rest of the page, doesn’t matter if it’s in the header, footer or elsewhere

Audit your tag presence quarterly…

@nickroshon

ACCOUNTS, PROPERTIES & PROFILES

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• Setup one master profile, which contains no filters and tracks all visitors and all sections of your site – consider this your “raw data”

• Setup additional profiles to filter, or segment by section of your site, etc. for analysis

• The master profile is useful for historical needs, while your other profiles may be more useful for day-to-day analysis

• Different users may prefer different profiles & customizations, so this provides great flexibility at the enterprise level…

Image credit: https://developers.google.com/analytics/resources/concepts/gaConceptsAccounts#profiles

@nickroshon

CROSS-DOMAIN TRACKING

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• By default, GA will treat each subdomain separate• Tracking code can be customized to have all subdomains as well as new domains

(blogspot, wordpress, microsites, etc) under one property• View https://

developers.google.com/analytics/devguides/collection/gajs/gaTrackingSite for setup best practices & code examples for cross-domain tracking

@nickroshon

FILTERS

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• Filter out by IP (company IP addresses)• Filter out by ISP (an entire ISP you don’t want included)• Filter out by subdirectory (good for restricted content)• Filter out by hostname (filter out server calls/applications)

@nickroshon

GOALS

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• 20 goals included in the free version

• Goal Types:– URL Destination – visit a URL

(exact URL or wildcard)– Visit Duration – visit for X

amount of time (or more)– Page/Visit – visit X number of

pages (or more)– Event – used with event

tracking code (click a button, send a form, etc.)

• Setup funnels to track abandonment

@nickroshon

E-COMMERCE TRACKING

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Requires investment in coding & development, but free to track in Google Analytics…

• Enable e-commerce tracking in Google Analytics

– http://support.google.com/analytics/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=1009612

• Modify website code to include GA e-commerce tracking parameters

– https://developers.google.com/analytics/devguides/collection/gajs/gaTrackingEcommerce

@nickroshon

CAMPAIGN TRACKING

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• By default, Google tracks Organic Search, Direct, AdWords and Referral sources as mediums

• By customizing URLs, you can also have separate reports for email, social media, PPC (non Google), etc.

• As simple as adding parameters to the end of a URL

• URLs are case sensitive, so be deliberate…

• Use Google Analytics URL Builder: http://support.google.com/analytics/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=1033867

@nickroshon

CUSTOM SEGMENTS

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• Segments data by type

• Good uses: geography, referral source, campaigns, etc.

• Quickly drill down to the data you are most interested in

@nickroshon

EVENT TRACKING

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Common uses for event tracking:

• Any Flash-driven element

• Embedded AJAX page elements

• Video plays & File downloads

• Gadgets/widgets/on-page experiences

• A/B test different calls to action (different buttons, same URL for conversion)

• Affiliate links

Check out this event tracking code generator: http://gaconfig.com/google-analytics-event-tracking/

@nickroshon

ENABLE SITE SEARCH & PROFILE SETTINGS

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Go to: Admin - Profile Settings

Enable Site Search, set default URL, ensure all settings are correct…

Useful for learning user behavior, improving UX, understanding when people search

@nickroshon

CUSTOM REPORTS

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• Allow you to setup specific reports/metrics to be accessed later– Set a dimension first, then metrics to plot within that dimension

• Dimension: category of metric you want to see• Metrics: actual number that would be plotted

• Get started here: http://nickroshon.com/internet-advertising/awesome-custom-reports-for-google-analytics

@nickroshon

OTHER FEATURES TO CHECK OUT…

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• Custom Variables - classify visits on page-level (category), session level (logged in, logged out), or visitor level (premium visitor, free visitor)

• Sync with Google Webmaster Tools – good for SEO & site health metrics in one place

• Sync with AdWords or AdSense • Account Administration – add users to help analyze data, set

roles• Mobile App tracking – track the usage of your apps, too!• Cross-domain tracking – especially useful for ecommerce sites• Check out the full setup checklist from Google:

http://www.google.com/analytics/learn/setupchecklist.html

@nickroshon

WHAT’S NEW IN G.A. 5?

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@nickroshon

WHAT’S NEW IN GA 5?

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• GA 5 launched in 2011, now standard for everyone

– Old version finally killed off in July, 2012

• Useful additions:– Multi-channel funnels– Customizable dashboards– Event Goals– Ability to plot additional rows

(metrics) in charts– Site speed report– Intelligence alerts– Improvements to custom reports, map

overlay, mobile reports– Easier goal & filter creation workflows

4.0

5.0

@nickroshon

CREATING DASHBOARDS…

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A pain the butt to setup – but only needs done once. • Good for high-level metrics to keep a finger on

the pulse of your site…• Use “Add to Dashboard” shortcut in reports to

build quickly…

Sharable & importable, like custom reports…• Basic Blog Dashboard:

https://www.google.com/analytics/web/permalink?type=dashboard&uid=5QS16SB7QA2ymSu75PBAZQ

• Site Performance Dashboard: https://www.google.com/analytics/web/permalink?type=dashboard&uid=0pLYNL9eTO6EbusjAm12kQ

@nickroshon

MULTI-CHANNEL FUNNELS…

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Good for understanding ROI of channels that don’t frequently convert directly (e.g. social media) and determining channel mix and budgeting priorities.

@nickroshon

PLOT ADDITIONAL ROWS…

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• Add extra rows of data to any standard report to get more granular• Useful for understanding behaviors and demographics• Better to create custom reports for frequently referenced rows/additions

@nickroshon

SOCIAL REPORTS – YAY!

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Shows top referring social sites, assisted conversions, and many other useful metrics for understanding social media behavior, influence & value…

@nickroshon

INTELLIGENCE ALERTS

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• Provides automated alerts & analysis of major changes shifts• Access through Home – Intelligence Alerts• Available on Daily, Weekly or Monthly basis• Setup Custom Alerts for major changes to KPIs• Alerts can be sent via email when they hit certain sensitivity thresholds

@nickroshon

FINDING OPPORTUNITY

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@nickroshon

GOOD REPORTS TO VIEW DAILY…

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• Dashboard

• Custom Reports

• Visitors Overview

• Traffic Sources Overview

• Conversions & Goals Overview• Referring Sites• Keywords• Top Content• Intelligence Events Overview

@nickroshon

GENERAL TIPS FOR EFFECTIVE ANALYSIS

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• Check in regularly, daily if possible• Compare time periods for trends• Filter out words/URLs (e.g. Exclude

/products/) to diagnose SWOT• Plot a second metric to compare

against (e.g. Unique Visitors vs Page Views)

• Use Sort Type = Weighted to sort results by most importance

@nickroshon

FILTER OUT BRANDED TERMS

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• Create an Advanced Segment– Include - Medium - Containing organic and/or paid– Exclude – Keyword – branded term

• Can be done to filter out any terms from SEO or SEM traffic…

• Can also be setup as a profile to view entire GA account

@nickroshon

CUSTOM REPORT: KEYWORD GROUPS

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Grouping keywords into categories gives a better breakdown of how each set of keywords is performing. This will allow you to identify possible low hanging fruit.

@nickroshon

CUSTOM REPORT: KEYWORD LENGTH

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The keyword length report breaks down keywords by the length of the phrase to help ID low hanging fruit: • 1 Word Phrase - ^\s*[^\s]+\s*$• 2 Word Phrase - ^\s*[^\s]+(\s+[^\s]

+){1}\s*$• 3 Word Phrase- ^\s*[^\s]+(\s+[^\s]

+){2}\s*$• 4-10 Word Phrases – ^\s*[^\s]+(\s+

[^\s]+){x}\s*$...Replace the “x” up with digits up to 9.

@nickroshon

PAGES WITH HIGH BOUNCE RATES

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• Find by going to Content – Site Content – Content Drill Down– Sort by Bounce Rate and choose Sort Type = Weighted– Consider applying custom segments (e.g. Search) when drilling down

• Fix or optimize content to reduce bounce rate, make your site more sticky– For more CRO tips, check out this link: http

://www.kaushik.net/avinash/tips-for-improving-high-bounce-low-conversion-web-pages/

@nickroshon

FIND YOUR BEST PERFORMING CONTENT

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• Use the “Content Efficiency” custom report to find top performing content

• Export and sort by author, or content type, to understand your best performing content

• Replicate & expand style of content or authors that are most successful

@nickroshon

PAGE LOADING SPEED

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• A one second delay in loading time can cause a 7% drop in conversions – Avinash Kaushik

• Find page speed by page through: Content – Site Speed – Page Timings

• Use Google PageSpeed plugin for Chrome to help find ways to improve loading speed

• Typically very easy to find improvements and get your site to load faster…

@nickroshon

REFERRING SITES

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• View standard report: Traffic Sources – Sources – Referrals• Use Advanced Filter to remove Google, Bing, etc.• Find sites sending traffic, and continue to partner/invest there (for instance,

forums that may send traffic, blogs you comment on or guest post for, etc.)

@nickroshon

FUNNEL ANALYSIS

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• Conversions – Goals – Funnel Visualizations

• Drill down by each goal and look for goals with high abandonment

• Analyze pages to find room for improvement:

– Removing steps from funnel– Testing calls to action– Adding incentives to complete action– Reducing friction to complete

• Keep testing & optimizing…

@nickroshon

CONVERSION PATH ANALYSIS

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• Found in Conversion – Multi-Channel Funnels – Top Conversion Paths

• Useful for understanding customer journey

• Good starting point for attribution modeling and budget mix decisions

• Use channel groupings to do the same for brand vs non-brand keywords

@nickroshon

DEMOGRAPHICS/AUDIENCE REPORTS

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• The standard Audience reports have lots of useful data • Find most popular demographics – target them more in Facebook, AdWords• Learn timing of when people like to view your content – share via social/email

at that time• Good for understanding your visitors better…

@nickroshon

MOBILE REPORTS

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• Audience – Mobile – Devices (or Overview)

• Overview – understanding percent of mobile vs non-mobile visitors

• Devices - Most popular devices – consider an app, or at least ensure mobile experience is flawless on those devices…

• Drill down by goals and custom segments to find most valuable mobile users

@nickroshon

SOCIAL REPORTS

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• Traffic Sources – Social• Conversions & assisted conversions help justify social media investment• Find most valuable social media traffic sources by drilling down by goal,

efficiency from each hub

@nickroshon

ANNOTATIONS

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• Useful for understanding correlation & impact of major events

• Annotation-worthy events may include: new content posted, redesign of important content/templates, web development sprints, seasonal promotions, offline marketing initiatives, etc.

@nickroshon

PANGUIN REPORT BY BARRACUDA

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• Check it out at http://www.panguintool.com/• Creates annotations for major Google Updates & changes• Good for seeing if you were hit by an algorithm update

@nickroshon

EMAIL REPORTS

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• Set important reports to be emailed on a regular basis

• Click “Email” button near top of the report you’d like sent and configure options

• Great for sending to managers or those who do not normally login but want to get a regular update on performance…

@nickroshon

KEY TAKEAWAYS

@nickroshon

KEY TAKEAWAYS• Agree upon KPIs• Setup Goals based on those KPIs• Setup Dashboards & Custom Reports to track progress & measure against those KPIs

• Use advanced segments & filters to drill down on data that matters the most

• Check in regularly for best results…

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@nickroshon

LEARN MORE…

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• Google Analytics Training (and Certification!) by Google: http://support.google.com/adwords/certification/bin/static.py?hl=en&page=examstudy.cs&exam=reporting

• Google Analytics Video Training by Google: http://www.google.com/intl/en/analytics/iq.html?&rd=1

• Market Motive Training: http://www.marketmotive.com/internet-marketing-training-and-certification-signup?top=home&topic=WebAnalytics

• Google Analytics Blog: http://analytics.blogspot.com/

• Occam’s Razor by Avinash Kaushik: http://www.kaushik.net/avinash/

• SEOmoz: http://www.seomoz.org/blog/category/8?show=50

• Conversion Optimization: http://www.bryaneisenberg.com/

• Event Tracking Guide: https://developers.google.com/analytics/devguides/collection/gajs/eventTrackerGuide

• KissMetrics Google Analytics Top 50: http://blog.kissmetrics.com/google-analytics-resources-2011/

@nickroshon

BOOKS TO CHECK OUT…

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• Web Analytics 2.0 – Avinash Kaushik

• Web Analytics: An Hour a Day – Avinash Kaushik

• Advanced Web Metrics with Google Analytics – Brian Clifton

@nickroshon

THANK YOU!

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NICK ROSHONAccount Director, Covario@nickroshon+Nick RoshonNickRoshon.comCovario.com

@nickroshon

APPENDIXSlides that didn’t make the cut…

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@nickroshon

HAVE A KPI/METRIC FRAMEWORK

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Visits & Awareness

Metrics

(Acquisition)

Consideration & Engagement

Metrics

(Behavior)

Conversions & Sales Metrics

(Actions)

Advocacy & Repeat Sales

(Loyalty)

@nickroshon

WHAT IS THE ROI OF MEASURING YOUR ROI?

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Image credit: http://www.leadformix.com/blog/2011/02/damn-roi/

@nickroshon

TRACKING BEHAVIORS VS. OUTCOMES

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Image credit: http://blog.trilibis.com/the-acquisition-behavior-outcome-method-of-mobile-analytics-01211

@nickroshon

A GOOD ROI CALCULATION CONSIDERS…

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• Calculated value of micro-conversions

• Actual value of sales

• Lifetime value of new customer

• Sales lifecycle

• Multi-channel attribution

• Branding value

• Actual costs of inputs– Media spend– Human effort– Time for analysis

Image credit: http://next.inman.com/2012/09/can-an-agent-truly-prove-the-roi-of-social-media/