Google Analytics also provides statistics relevant to sales but should be augmented by data available from an Ad Server like Double Click for Publishers Small Business (dfp Small Business) as these give much more detailed information about the performance of an advertiser’s campaign.
Setting up a Google Analytics account is free. Simply visit the service and register.
In various projects from regional, niche, to national we have encountered some common mistakes that can generate false reports or give an incomplete picture of what your audience is interested in or looking for. So, here are 4 things to review they are set up properly.
1. Ensure that the Google Analytics code is copied everywhere on your site
This may sound obvious but I've seen this several times in projects where we were brought in to consult for our Vanguardistas division clients who had not copied the analytics code into all templates. I'll never forget a particular client project where we discovered that they where missing the analytics code in one of the most important templates. The result: over 1 million page views per month were not being counted!
If you are running a custom CMS (in particular Open Source systems) double-check pages to make sure the analytics code is included everywhere it needs to be. If you are a client of our Metro Publisher service, the good news is you just need to copy and paste the Analytics ID in one place. Our software will make sure it shows up automatically throughout the site.
2. Check the Time Zone Settings in Analytics
I've discovered several clients who had left a default setting for a time zone, or where the consultant who set up their analytics was in a different time zone.
If you’re based in the Eastern time zone in the United States for example make sure it's not set to Pacific Time. Otherwise your analytics will give you a skewed report for peak times on your site.
3. Set the Default page
For most systems, including Metro Publisher, the default page is index.html. Enter index.html here so that Google Analytics can combine hits to www.yourdomain.com and www.yourdomain.com/index.html. These are the same page but if the default page isn't specified, these would be reported as two separate pages in Google Analytics again skewing your results.
4. If you are using Google's Custom Search Engine service integrate it with analytics
Google Custom Search Engine let's you offer a search only for your site but using Google's technology. This service comes in two flavors: one paid (starts at $100 per year) and another that is free. In any case using this search has another major benefit. You can integrate it with Google Analytics to provide you with very valuable information; such as what people are searching for within your site.
This is not to be confused with keyword terms that Google Analytics tracks out of the box. These key words are searches people did that led them to visit your site. By integrating Google Analytics with a Google Custom Search Engine you can track what people were looking for within your site. This is incredibly valuable information, especially for editors looking for new story ideas that appeal to your audience.
To set this up do the following:
Log in to your Google Analytics account.
Click “Edit” in the Website Profiles summary box for your sites profile.
Click “Edit” from the “Main Website Profile Information” section of the Profile Settings page.
Select the “Do Track Site Search” radio button in the Site Search section of the Edit Profile Information page.
If you are using a custom built or other commercial CMS you have to find out first what parameters to exclude and then you would need to also read these instructions by Google.
For our Metro Publisher clients: in the entry field for 'Query Parameter' simply enter the letter q. That’s it. You’re done! Analytics will take one day before it provides you with Site Search information including the searches your audience did on your site.
One thing to note about Google’s Custom Search Engine is that indexing of your content doesn’t happen instantly. So if your content doesn’t show up right after you publish it, don’t be alarmed. It can take a few days.
Latest Comments