Book description
Valuable tips and tricks for using the latest version of Google Analytics
Packed with insider tips and tricks, this how-to guide is fully revised to cover the latest version of Google Analytics and shows you how to implement proven Web analytics methods and concepts.
This second edition of the bestselling Advanced Web Metrics with Google Analytics is the perfect book for marketers, vendors, consultants, and Webmasters who want to learn the installation, configuration, tracking techniques, and best practices of Google Analytics.
Google Analytics is a free tool that measures Web site effectiveness and helps users better understand how web site performance; this book is a detailed usage guide written by one of the software's original creators
Explains what filters keep data accurate, how to measure Flash usage and tag for e-mail marketing, and what visitor segmentation provides the most useful feedback
Examines principles and practices of Web analytics, then shows how to use GA's reports and how to track dynamic Web pages, banners, outgoing links, and contact forms
Discusses advanced setups for configuring goals and filters, how to integrate GA with third-party systems, and how to leverage the new API
Advanced Web Metrics with Google Analytics, Second Edition is valuable for both novice and experienced users of Google Analytics.
Table of contents
- Praise for Advanced Web Metrics with Google Analytics, Second Edition
- Copyright
- Acknowledgments
- About the Author
- Foreword
- Introduction
-
I. Measuring Success
-
1. Why Understanding Your Web Traffic Is Important to Your Business
- 1.1. Website Measurement—Why Do This?
- 1.2. Information Web Analytics Can Provide
- 1.3. Where to Start
- 1.4. Decisions Web Analytics Can Help You Make
- 1.5. The ROI of Web Analytics
- 1.6. How Web Analytics Helps You Understand Your Web Traffic
- 1.7. Where Web Analytics Fits In
- 1.8. Where to Get Help
- 1.9. Summary
-
2. Available Methodologies and Their Accuracy
- 2.1. Page Tags and Logfiles
- 2.2. Cookies in Web Analytics
-
2.3. Understanding Web Analytics Data Accuracy
- 2.3.1. Issues Affecting Visitor Data Accuracy for Logfiles
- 2.3.2. Issues Affecting Visitor Data from Page Tags
- 2.3.3. Issues Affecting Visitor Data When Using Cookies
-
2.3.4. Comparing Data from Different Vendors
- 2.3.4.1. First-Party versus Third-Party Cookies
- 2.3.4.2. Page Tags: Placement Considerations
- 2.3.4.3. Did You Tag Everything?
- 2.3.4.4. Pageviews: A Visit or a Visitor?
- 2.3.4.5. Cookie Timeouts
- 2.3.4.6. Page-Tag Code Hijacking
- 2.3.4.7. Data Sampling
- 2.3.4.8. PDF Files: A Special Consideration
- 2.3.4.9. E-commerce: Negative Transactions
- 2.3.4.10. Filters and Settings: Potential Obstacles
- 2.3.4.11. Time Differences
- 2.3.4.12. Process Frequency
- 2.3.4.13. Goal Conversion versus Pageviews: Establishing Consistency
-
2.3.5. Why PPC Vendor Numbers Do Not Match Web Analytics Reports
- 2.3.5.1. Tracking URLs Missing PPC Click-throughs
- 2.3.5.2. Slow Page Load Times
- 2.3.5.3. Clicks and Visits: Understanding the Difference
- 2.3.5.4. PPC Account Adjustments
- 2.3.5.5. Keyword Matching: Bid Term versus Search Term
- 2.3.5.6. Google AdWords Import Delay
- 2.3.5.7. Losing Tracking URLs through Third-Party Ad Tracking Redirects
- 2.3.6. Data Misinterpretation: Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics
- 2.4. Improving the Accuracy of Web Analytics Data
- 2.5. Privacy Considerations for the Web Analytics Industry
- 2.6. Summary
-
3. Google Analytics Features, Benefits, and Limitations
-
3.1. Key Features and Capabilities of Google Analytics
-
3.1.1. Standard Features
- 3.1.1.1. Full Campaign Reporting—Not Just AdWords
- 3.1.1.2. Advertising ROI—Integration with AdWords and AdSense
- 3.1.1.3. E-commerce Reporting
- 3.1.1.4. Goal Conversions (Key Performance Indicators)
- 3.1.1.5. Funnel Visualization
- 3.1.1.6. Customized Dashboards
- 3.1.1.7. Site Overlay Report
- 3.1.1.8. Map Overlay Reports
- 3.1.1.9. Cross Segmenting Drill-Down
- 3.1.1.10. Data Export and Scheduling
- 3.1.1.11. Date Range Slider
- 3.1.1.12. Site Search Reporting
- 3.1.1.13. Multiple Language Interfaces and Support
- 3.1.1.14. High Scalability
- 3.1.1.15. Multiline Graphing
- 3.1.1.16. Administrator and Individual Access Controls
-
3.1.2. Advanced Features
- 3.1.2.1. Advanced Segmentation and Advanced Table Filtering
- 3.1.2.2. Secondary Cross-Segmenting Drill Down
- 3.1.2.3. Motion Charts
- 3.1.2.4. API and Developer Platform
- 3.1.2.5. Analytics Intelligence
- 3.1.2.6. Mobile Reporting
- 3.1.2.7. Pivot Views
- 3.1.2.8. Custom Reports
- 3.1.2.9. Benchmarking Reports
- 3.1.2.10. Event Tracking
- 3.1.3. Did You Know...?
-
3.1.1. Standard Features
- 3.2. How Google Analytics Works
- 3.3. What Google Analytics Cannot Do
- 3.4. Google Analytics and Privacy
- 3.5. How Is Google Analytics Different?
- 3.6. What Is Urchin?
- 3.7. Summary
-
3.1. Key Features and Capabilities of Google Analytics
-
1. Why Understanding Your Web Traffic Is Important to Your Business
-
II. Using Google Analytics Reports
-
4. Using the Google Analytics Interface
- 4.1. Discoverability and Initial Report Access
-
4.2. Navigating Your Way Around: Report Layout
- 4.2.1. Dimensions and Metrics
- 4.2.2. Date Range Selector
- 4.2.3. Changing Graph Intervals
- 4.2.4. Changing Table Views
- 4.2.5. Moving through the Data
- 4.2.6. Table Filters
- 4.2.7. Tabbed Report Menus
- 4.2.8. Segmentation View
- 4.2.9. Chart Options
- 4.2.10. Export and Email Features
- 4.2.11. Chart Display and Annotation
- 4.2.12. Secondary Dimensions
- 4.2.13. Table Sorting
- 4.3. Summary
-
5. Reports Explained
- 5.1. The Dashboard Overview
-
5.2. The Top Reports
- 5.2.1. Intelligence Report
- 5.2.2. Visitors: Map Overlay
- 5.2.3. Ecommerce: Overview Report
- 5.2.4. Motion Charts
- 5.2.5. Benchmarking Report
- 5.2.6. Goal and Funnel Reports
- 5.2.7. Traffic Sources: AdWords
- 5.2.8. Traffic Sources: AdWords Keyword Report
- 5.2.9. Traffic Sources: AdWords Keyword Positions Report
- 5.2.10. Content: Top Content Report
- 5.2.11. Content: Site Overlay Report
- 5.2.12. Site Search: Usage Report
- 5.3. Understanding Page Value
- 5.4. Understanding Data Sampling
- 5.5. Summary
-
4. Using the Google Analytics Interface
-
III. Implementing Google Analytics
-
6. Getting Up and Running with Google Analytics
- 6.1. Creating Your Google Analytics Account
- 6.2. Tagging Your Pages
- 6.3. Back Up: Keeping a Local Copy of Your Data
- 6.4. Using Accounts and Profiles
- 6.5. Agencies and Hosting Providers: Setting Up Client Accounts
- 6.6. Getting AdWords Data: Linking to Your AdWords Account
- 6.7. Getting AdSense Data: Linking to Your AdSense Account
- 6.8. Common Pre-implementation Questions
- 6.9. Summary
-
7. Advanced Implementation
- 7.1. _trackPageview(): the Google Analytics Workhorse
- 7.2. Tracking E-commerce Transactions
- 7.3. Campaign Tracking
- 7.4. Event Tracking
- 7.5. Customizing the GATC
- 7.6. Summary
-
8. Best-Practices Configuration Guide
- 8.1. Initial Configuration
- 8.2. Goal Conversions and Funnels
- 8.3. Tracking Funnels for Which Every Step Has the Same URL
- 8.4. Why Segmentation Is Important
- 8.5. Choosing Advanced Segments versus Profile Filters
- 8.6. Profile Segments: Segmenting Visitors Using Filters
- 8.7. Report Segments: Segmenting Visitors Using Advanced Segments
- 8.8. Summary
-
9. Google Analytics Hacks
- 9.1. Why Hack an Existing Product?
- 9.2. Customizing the List of Recognized Search Engines
- 9.3. Labeling Visitors, Sessions, and Pages
- 9.4. Tracking Error Pages and Broken Links
- 9.5. Tracking Referral URLs from Pay-Per-Click Networks
- 9.6. Site Overlay: Differentiating Links to the Same Page
- 9.7. Matching Specific Transactions to Specific Referral Data
- 9.8. Tracking Links to Direct Downloads
- 9.9. Changing the Referrer Credited for a Goal Conversion
- 9.10. Roll-up Reporting
- 9.11. Summary
-
6. Getting Up and Running with Google Analytics
-
IV. Using Visitor Data to Drive Website Improvement
-
10. Focusing on Key Performance Indicators
- 10.1. Setting Objectives and Key Results
- 10.2. Selecting and Preparing KPIs
- 10.3. Presenting Your KPIs
-
10.4. KPI Examples by Job Role
- 10.4.1. E-commerce Manager KPI Examples
- 10.4.2. Marketer KPI Examples
- 10.4.3. Content Creator KPI Examples
-
10.4.4. Webmaster KPI Examples
- 10.4.4.1. Volume of Visitors, Visits, and Pageviews
- 10.4.4.2. Percentage of Visits without English-Language Settings
- 10.4.4.3. Percentage of Visits Not Using Microsoft
- 10.4.4.4. Percentage Visits with Broadband Connection
- 10.4.4.5. Percentage of Error Pages Served
- 10.4.4.6. Internal Search Performance
- 10.4.4.7. Internal Search Quality
- 10.4.5. Using KPIs for Web 2.0
- 10.4.6. Why the Fuss about Web 2.0?
- 10.5. Summary
-
11. Real-World Tasks
- 11.1. Identifying and Optimizing Poorly Performing Pages
- 11.2. Measuring the Success of Site Search
- 11.3. Optimizing Your Search Engine Marketing
- 11.4. Monetizing a Non-E-commerce Website
- 11.5. Tracking Offline Marketing
- 11.6. An Introduction to Google Website Optimizer
- 11.7. Summary
-
12. Integrating Google Analytics with Third-Party Applications
- 12.1. Extracting Google Analytics Information
- 12.2. Working with the Google Analytics Export API
- 12.3. Call Tracking with Google Analytics
- 12.4. Integrating Website Optimizer with Google Analytics
- 12.5. Summary
-
10. Focusing on Key Performance Indicators
- A. Regular Expression Overview
- B. Useful Tools
- C. Recommended Further Reading
Product information
- Title: Advanced Web Metrics with Google Analytics™, Second Edition
- Author(s):
- Release date: March 2010
- Publisher(s): Sybex
- ISBN: 9780470562314
You might also like
book
Google Analytics Integrations
Get a complete view of your customers and make your marketing analysis more meaningful How well …
book
Sams Teach Yourself Google Analytics™ in 10 Minutes
Sams Teach Yourself Google Analytics™ in 10 Minutes gives you straightforward, practical answers when you need …
book
Google Analytics Breakthrough
A complete, start-to-finish guide to Google Analytics instrumentation and reporting Google Analytics Breakthrough is a much-needed …
book
Web Analytics Action Hero: Using Analysis to Gain Insight and Optimize Your Business
Companies need more than just web analysts and data-savvy marketers to be successful–they need action heroes! …