Posted Thu, 05/14/2009 - 10:10
If things don't seem quite right, these articles can show you where to look for answers. There are red flags to watch for in your reports that signal that your implementation is wrong or perhaps that somebody is using your code on their site.
If something goes wrong on Google's end, these articles show you how to avoid disruptions and negative visitor experiences.
These also answer common questions and concerns about Google Analytics and the impact of having it on your website.
Posted Tue, 05/12/2009 - 09:29
Go beyond logging into your Google Analytics to review saved reports. Move to the next level of web analytics. Export data. Mash it up with other metrics. Look at the horizon of the industry and find the next mountain to climb.
These articles focus on ways to extend Google Analytics' basic functionality and on where the web analytics industry is moving.
Posted Tue, 05/12/2009 - 09:26
The ultimate goal of web analytics is to improve your site and marketing. To do this, you need to know what's working and what's not. And if something isn't working, you need to understand why not and how you should begin optimizing it. In other words, you need to come away from your analysis with a list of to-do's.
Many Google Analytics users read the reports without knowing what to do with them. For most people, reports seem to satisfy curiosity more than inform any kind of action.
Posted Mon, 05/11/2009 - 17:09
NOTE: This article refers to an old feature, which has been deprecated in favor of
multiple custom variables. Users are encouraged to use the new, more powerful code.
When to Use User-Defined Variables
Google Analytics gathers all the information it can about each visit: location, network speed, browser, operating system, screen resolution, traffic source, number of previous visits to the site, etc. But these variables are all generic. They apply to every site, and some of them are meaningless to yours. Using a custom variable makes reports much more useful.
Posted Mon, 05/11/2009 - 16:50
The code is installed. The data is clean. Now let's make the reports actionable before finally beginning to analyze the data.
Posted Mon, 05/11/2009 - 16:49
The code is in place and raw data is coming into your Google Analytics account. Now it's time to make the reports relevant by cleaning out obvious things, like your own visits to the site. There are also a number of other things to go through that may not be obvious. Without cleaning up your data, you may be led to inaccurate conclusions about what is working or how your visitors interact with your site.
These articles discuss different things you can do to make your reports more relevant and tools you can use to get there.
Posted Mon, 05/11/2009 - 16:48
Implementing the tracking code for Google Analytics is relatively simple. However, most problems users have with Google Analytics are the result of incorrect coding. Also, some situations require more specialized coding changes.
These articles will step you through basic issues like getting the code on the site and then testing it. They also cover customizations that you can do to the main code. You need to know common customizations for things like e-commerce tracking and multiple subdomains. You can also fine-tune your reporting with advanced customizations to the code that are not well known, even among Google Analytics experts.
Posted Mon, 05/11/2009 - 16:47
Google Analytics is marketed as being free and easy. Free it is, but with the depth of available information, analyzing your reports is not as simple as just looking at the colorful graphs. Before beginning to analyze your reports, you need to have the right expectations about what web analytics is meant to do and how you should go about it. Many troubles can be avoided by setting the right expectations and establishing an understanding of how Google Analytics works.
Posted Fri, 05/08/2009 - 12:38
This is what happens when you use multiple domains on your site:
- A user visits your site, and the tracking code places cookies on their machine.
- The user clicks a link to a page of yours on another domain. The tracking code looks for cookies, but it can't read the other domain's cookies. Assuming this is a new visitor, it attributes the visit to a referral from your other domain.
- As the visitor continues to move between domains, their single visit will count as multiple visitors from different sources.
- You will get angry and smash a keyboard.
Posted Wed, 05/06/2009 - 16:39
If you want to create filters, perform searches or set up goals in Google Analytics, you need at least a basic understanding of regular expressions. This article is a basic refresher. You can also use our free regex tester to test your own regular expressions.
On the other hand, if you don't intend to do any of those things, this article isn't for you.
