Optimizing your Google Analytics setup in 9 steps

@AlhanKeser Send questions: alhan@bluefountainmedia.com

October 2, 2012 PRNews Social Media Measurement Conference NYC Alhan Keser, Blue Fountain Media

www.bluefountainmedia.com

Blue Fountain Media

Web Design / Development / Online Marketing

Why a good GA setup matters

•  Gather accurate data

•  Make GA work for you

•  Out-of-the-box vs. advanced setup

When it’s decision making time, you’ve got the data you need.

Get the basics right •  Implement all the way •  Filter out internal visitors •  Only track your website

9 steps to a successful GA setup

Track more with GA •  404s •  Docs & external links •  Social actions •  Smartphone actions •  Tag all URLs •  Connect with AdWords

Implement all the way

Why: •  It’s easy to get it wrong

•  Track all visitors

•  Avoid incomplete visitor paths

How: •  The right account number

How: •  The right account number •  Asynchronous code

•  In <head> tag of html

•  In <head> tag of html •  On all pages, only 1x

How: •  The right account number •  Asynchronous code •  In <head> tag of html

•  On all pages, only 1x

•  http://bit.ly/ga-troubleshooting

Filter out internal visitors

Your website

Your staff Your target audience

Why: •  Making “real visitor” data less accurate

Why: •  Making “real visitor” data less accurate •  Leading to potentially erroneous conclusions

How: •  Filter by IP (most common)

•  Filter by Custom Variable (more clever)

_gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-XXXXXXX-1']); _gaq.push(['_setCustomVar', 1, 'Internal Visitor', 'Exclude', 1]); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']);

Step 1: Create a visitor-level custom variable on a page that only your internal visitors would visit. (Intranet, special URL, admin area, etc.)

_gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-XXXXXXX-1']); _gaq.push(['_setCustomVar', 1, 'Internal Visitor', 'Exclude', 1]); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']);

Step 1: Create a visitor-level custom variable on a page that only your internal visitors would visit. (Intranet, special URL, admin area, etc.)

Step 2: Create a filter to exclude these visitors.

•  Filter by Custom Variable (more clever)

Only track your website

Your website Copycat 1 Copycat 2

Why: •  It’s easy for your GATC to be “hijacked”

•  Hurts accuracy

•  Easy to fix

How: •  Create a filter to only track your domain(s)

Track 404s via GA

Page Not Found

Track 404s via GA

Why: •  Seeing error page ≠ good experience

Track 404s via GA

Why: •  Seeing error page ≠ good experience •  Become self-reliant

Track 404s via GA

How: •  Modify the GATC on your 404 page template

_gaq.push(['_trackPageview','/404error/' +document.location.pathname+document.location.search']);

Track 404s via GA

How: •  Modify the GATC on your 404 page template

•  404 views show up in Content reports

_gaq.push(['_trackPageview','/404error/' +document.location.pathname+document.location.search']);

Track docs & external links

Why: •  Better view of user paths

•  Ability to attribute value to non-html content

•  Easy to implement

How: •  Track links as virtual Pageviews

Link without virtual Pageview tracking:

Link without virtual Pageview tracking: With:

Track social actions

Why: •  Different from social sources

Why: •  Different from social sources •  See trends & impact over time

•  Attribute value to button actions

How: •  Use GA’s trackSocial method

_gaq.push(['_trackSocial', 'Facebook', 'Like', targetURL]);

How: •  Use GA’s trackSocial method

_gaq.push(['_trackSocial', 'Facebook', 'Like', targetURL]); •  Instructions & examples:

•  http://bit.ly/gablog-social-plugin •  http://bit.ly/ga-social-interactions

Track smartphone actions

Call Locate

•  Attribute value to smartphone visitors

•  Set-up goals specifically for smartphones

•  Add event tracking to phone number and map links

Without tracking:

Without tracking:

With tracking:

Tag every URL

http://yoursite.com/page.html?

utm_source=newsletter-customers

&utm_medium=email

&utm_content=50offallMensCardigans

&utm_campaign=FallSale2012

Tag every URL

•  Gather campaign-level information, across channels

Tag every URL

•  Gather campaign-level information, across channels

•  Find optimal ad copy/creative/messaging

Tag every URL

•  Campaign

Tag every URL

•  Campaign

2012 Fall Sale

Photo Contest

Tag every URL

•  Campaign > Medium

2012 Fall Sale

Photo Contest

Tag every URL

•  Campaign > Medium

2012 Fall Sale

Photo Contest

social

Tag every URL

•  Campaign > Medium > Source

2012 Fall Sale

Photo Contest

social

Tag every URL

•  Campaign > Medium > Source

2012 Fall Sale

Photo Contest

social

Customer Newsletter

Facebook

Tag every URL

•  Campaign > Medium > Source > Content

2012 Fall Sale

Photo Contest

social

Customer Newsletter

Facebook

Tag every URL

2012 Fall Sale

Photo Contest

social

Customer Newsletter

Facebook

Lowest Prices

Tell Us Your Story

Send us

Your Photo

Tag every URL

•  Use Google’s URL Builder: http://bit.ly/gurl-builder

Tag every URL

•  Use Google’s URL Builder: http://bit.ly/gurl-builder

•  Use tagged URLs when shortening:

Turn this: http://mysite.com/?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_content=try%2Bus%2Bfree&utm_campaign=Free%2BTrial%2B2012

into: http://bit.ly/ex-free-trial

Tag every URL

•  Use it for:

•  Social shares •  Emails – lists & signatures •  Digital documents •  QR Codes •  Non-Google advertising (such as adCenter)

Connect with AdWords

•  Integrate cost data, placement, & more into GA

•  Manage access

•  Need user profile that is Admin in both AdWords and Analytics

•  In AdWords, under Tools and Analysis > Google Analytics > Admin

•  Select profiles with which you wish to integrate

Track more with GA •  404s •  Docs & external links •  Social actions •  Smartphone actions •  Tag all URLs •  Connect with AdWords

Thank You. Alhan Keser, Blue Fountain Media Send questions to alhan@bluefountainmedia.com

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