Site Analytics
4 Great Reasons to use Google Analytics
By Sasch Mayer (c) 2007
Having used a large number of web site visitor trackers over
the years, I first approached Google Analytics
(http://www.google.com/analytics/) some time ago, with the
somewhat jaded attitude of someone who's 'seen it all' or
at least 'seen most of it'. What could possibly make this
particular utility stand out in such a large crowd of
competitors?
But first... What is Google Analytics?
Analytics is Google's very own visitor tracking utility,
allowing webmasters to keep tabs on traffic to their site,
including visitor numbers, traffic sources, visitor behaviour &
trends, times spent on the site and a host of other information
gathered via two pieces of JavaScript embedded in the
source-code.
Unlike other free visitor trackers, which insist on displaying
annoying and often amateurish badges or buttons when they are
being used, Google Analytics simply runs quietly in the
background, gathering the necessary information without any
visible signs of its presence.
Which brings me quite neatly to Analytics' first major
plus-point; the price.
What webmasters are effectively getting, is a fully fledged
visitor tracking utility without all the irritations and
limitations normally associated with free products of this type.
Ok, so its free; but is it any good?
In a word; yes.
The sheer depth of information gathered, really leaves very
little to be desired. From search engine analysis to page views,
bounce-rates and more, the available data is presented so as to
give users an easy overview of the most essential elements, with
the ability to 'drill down' to less commonly accessed or more
in-depth statistics and figures.
Additionally, on the 18th of July 2007, the Google Analytics old
user interface was discontinued, making way for a newer, more
ergonomic look which makes reports more accessible and the
interface itself more intuitive for the user.
The new Dashboard provides 'at a glance' visitor statistics for
the previous month, as well as a graphical breakdown of your
visitor's geographical locations in the form of a world map. A
pie chart clearly shows what proportion of visitors reached the
site through search engines, by referral or through direct
access, whereas the 'Content Overview' provides a list of the
most commonly accessed pages.
What makes Google Analytics special though?
Although Analytics boasts all the features and statistical data
to be expected from a top-class keyword analysis and statistics
tracker, it also features a number of additional tools which put
it ahead of most of the pack where ease-of-use and
depth-of-information is concerned.
1. The Map Overlay
Essentially, this feature brings up a map of the world,
highlighting the countries a site's visitors stem from. Clicking
on a country produces a close-up view, along with a geographical
breakdown according to the region and/or city from which
visitors accessed the site. This tool in itself is invaluable
for all those webmasters with geo-specific sites, concentrating
on a particular catchment area.
2. The Site Overlay
This is conceivably Google Analytics' single most important
feature from a webmaster's or online business owner's
perspective, as it provides a hands-on view of visitor
behaviour. When clicked, 'Site Overlay' opens the tracked
web site in a new window and, after a moment's loading time,
overlays each link on the screen with a bar, containing
information about clicks to the target page and goal values
reached [more about goal values in a moment]. Since it
allows the webmaster or site owner to navigate his or her site
and see exactly how visitors flow through it, it is difficult to
imagine a more effective tool than this as far as raising a
site's conversion rates is concerned.
3. Goals and Funnels
Unless the site being tracked is an information site which does
not rely on generating sales or enquiries, conversion rates are
as important as sheer visitor numbers. The 'Goals & Funnels'
feature allows users to set up specific goals for their site,
such as tracking a visitor to the 'Thank you for your enquiry'
page for instance. It also allows the user to set up specific
monetary values for each goal, and thus track the site's
financial performance and profitability during any given period
of time.
The term 'Funnels' refers to the specific path a visitor takes
to reach the goal's target page. Since most web sites sell a
number of different product ranges or feature a number of ways
to enquire, all of which lead to a single 'Thank You' page, the
funnel allows for the tracking of each individual path with a
minimum of fuss.
4. Graphical Representations
A great many visitor trackers out there will present the
collected information in a certain way, be it a list, graph, pie
chart, flow-chart or whatever. Whilst all these methods of
presentation are of course valid, it is nevertheless a fact that
most users are different, and a pie-chart is not necessarily
ideal for those users preferring to work with graphs or vice
versa. Google Analytics, however, allows users to choose between
views on many of its reports. Although this may seem like a
relatively minor point, it nevertheless makes things easier, as
it allows the user to work with the view he or she is most
comfortable with.
In Conclusion:
Google Analytics provides webmasters and site owners with a
highly effective means of tracking visitors and analysing
statistical data, easily the equal of most subscription based
services in the industry.
Although some concerns have been voiced amongst more paranoid
internet users, that Google puts everyone's collective data to
its own evil demographic uses, there really are precious few
reasons not to recommend this fantastic tool as one of the best
means to boost any web promotion and marketing campaign.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
As a technical writer with over a decade's experience, Sasch
Mayer has been living and working in the Republic of Cyprus
since 2005.
Currently under contract to IceGiant Web Design
(http://www.icegiant.co.uk) and Promotion Services, he mainly
covers topics such as SEM and Site Promotion.
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