google analytics for public relations professionals - prsa nashville
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Google Analytics for PR ProfessionalsBrannan Atkinson, APR
About Me• Started PR career in 1992
• City of Richmond, Va.
• Atkinson Public Relations
• Raven Internet Marketing Tools
• Amy Atkinson Communications
@AmyAComm
amyacommunications.com/ google-analytics
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Where to start?
Google Analytics is mile wide and a mile deep.
GA in a Nutshell• How visitors came to your website
• What they did on your website
• Whether visitors did anything that helps your business
Data Analysis
Aggregate data can tell if something is happening.
Avinash Kaushik!Google Analytics Fellow Author of multiple books
“All data in aggregate is crap.”
Avinash Kaushik!Google Analytics Fellow Author of multiple books
Segmented data can tell you what is happening.
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Observation #1:!Adverse change in AdWords campaigns
Google AdWords Email Everything else
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Observation #1:!Adverse change in AdWords campaigns
Google AdWords Email Everything else
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Observation #2:!Positive impact of email
Google AdWords Email Everything else
Language of GA
Mediums tell you how visitors arrived at your
site
Important Mediums• Organic — any search engine, e.g. Google or Bing
• Referral — any website with a link to yours
• Social media — links in Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.
• Direct — use your website address or a bookmark — good indicator of brand strength
• Email — all campaigns
• RSS — blog subscription feed
• CPC — cost-per-click advertising, e.g. AdWords
Sources tell you where visitors clicked a link to your site.
Sources• Anywhere there is a link to your website
• Search engines
• Other websites, e.g. Chamber of Commerce
• Email campaigns
• Text and display ads
• None = direct traffic
Mediums and Sources
#AA 1843 Amtrak Bus
#WN 249 Long Island Rail Road Uber
Mediums
Sour
ces
A landing page is where a user entered
your website.
Goals are activities important to your or your
client’s business.
Three types of goals• Time on site
• Number of pages visited
• Visits to a specific page!
• Completing a contact form
• Downloading a report
• Registering for an event
Goal value• Always add a goal value, e.g $100
• Even it it is arbitrary
Navigating!GA
Acquisition!How visitors arrived
* Show where to find
Behavior!What visitors did
Conversions!Important activities, e.g Goals
* Show where to find
Date ranges
* Show where to find
Changes Date Range
Add Comparison
GA for PR
Three scenarios• Media relations
• Social media campaigns
• Awards
Truth in Segmentation• Medium
• Source
• Landing pages
• Goals
GA for Media Relations
GA for Media Relations
News Release
Your WebsiteMedia
Did the news release generate traffic to the
website?
Set the date range
Acquisition -> Channels
Acquisition -> Channels -> Referral
Acquisition -> Channels -> Referral -> Sources
GA for Social Media
GA for Social Media
Content
Your Website
ContentContent Content
Facebook Twitter
Which social media is sending the most traffic
to the website?
Set the date range
Acquisition -> Channels -> Social
Acquisition -> Channels -> Social
Enhance insights with landing pages
Enhance insights with landing pages
Dark!Social
Dark Social is social media traffic
that GA thinks is direct traffic.
Example of Dark Social
Did they really type http://www.amyacommunications.com/!
brannan-atkinson-apr-joins-firm-as-partner/?
Landing Page = http://www.amyacommunications.com/ brannan-atkinson-apr-joins-firm-as-partner/
Campaign Variables• Use them every time you share a link for your
company or a client
• Lets you set:
• Medium=Social
• Source=[social network]
• Campaign=[campaign name]
Campaign Variableshttp://www.amyacommunications.com/brannan-atkinson-apr-joins-firm-as-partner/?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social& utm_campaign=announcement
Google URL Builder
www.gaconfig.com
GA for Awards
GA for Awards
Content
Your Website
ContentContent Content
Social Media!Relations Email
GA for Awards• Use goals to track conversions - add a goal value
• Add annotations
• Monitor channels regularly
• Monitor landing pages for your PR campaign
• Use campaign variables on all social media links
• Use date comparison to show change
• Create custom reports for landing pages
Channels with Landing Pages
Campaigns
Goal -> Goal Value
amyacommunications.com/google-analytics
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email: [email protected] Twitter: @AmyAComm LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/brannanatkinson