An Introduction to Google Analytics
by Susie D'Entremont, Project Manager
09/25/2007
Initially released in November 2005 as beta, Google Analytics formally launched in September of 2006. The software is a page-tagging program that requires some JavaScript be placed on every page to be tracked. The purpose of this article is to provide a brief overview of some of the key features inherent in Google Analytics.
After creating an online Google Analytics account, and copying some pre-made JavaScript into the universal footer of your website, setup is complete. This script allows for certain information about the visitor and the page visited to be collected and passed back to a server to be processed by Google Analytics. Exactly how this data is processed and more importantly presented back to the website owner is where the value of Google Analytics lies.
The Dashboard
Once a user has signed in and chosen which URL they would like to view the reports for, the dashboard is loaded. There is a date range at the top, which by default is the past 30 days, and a line graph beneath highlighting the number of visits for each day. There is a summary of the vital statistics for the 30 days below that include pages per visit, average time on the site, and percent of new visits. By adjusting the date range, all data refreshes, making it easy to observe trends. The date field also allows for a second date range to be entered, allowing the user to compare data from two different timeframes. When a second date range is applied, the graph is updated with a second line for visits and the other data on the dashboard displays the difference in green (positive change) or red (negative change).
Map Overlay
For site owners who target audiences within different geographic locations, or who wish to track the effects of PR on a local audience, the map overlay is an excellent tool. A world map on the dashboard highlights countries with visits to your site, allowing the user to drill down by clicking on a region and then a state. Cities within the state are displayed as dots with varying shades of orange to signify the number of visits from an IP address in that city for the given date range. Mousing over these dots will give the exact number of visits for that date range as well as the name of the city. Use this feature to help track a particular marketing effort within a region.
Site Overlay
Going beyond the demographics of who is visiting your site and when, Google Analytics manages to put the page views and paths into context. In other programs this is often displayed as a list of pages on your site with the number of entries and exits to this page. Google improves upon the usability of these listings by visually applying this data to every link on each page of your site. When a user clicks on the "Site Overlay" feature, the homepage is loaded in the browser with bar graphs next to each link relative to the number of visitors that clicked on the link. When a user clicks on a link from this homepage, the subsequent page loads with the site overlay, allowing a user to follow frequent user paths. Anyone who manages a web site tries to put themselves in the mindset of a new visitor or a returning visitor and imagine what they would be drawn to or turned off by, but guessing a reaction or recreating a first impression are not very definitive. The site overlay feature makes it easy to follow the actual behaviors of users, and presents an opportunity for the web master to make adjustments as needed.
About This Report
A nice safety feature for a new user, there is a link in the left column labeled "About this Report", which offers a quick 3 -5 sentence description of what data you are looking at and links to other Google reference pages that are applicable. With all of the SEO terminology that exists, a quick refresher is always helpful.
Summary
Google prides itself on leading the search engine industry and offering its knowledge to its users through various forms of free software. Google Analytics is relatively easy to implement on a web site and makes it easy to learn the basics, but it also offers a level of sophistication to more experienced users who want to do more.
