Google™ Analytics 2.0

Chapter 9. Advanced Topics

There are two aims to this book. The first is to take the beginner through basic proficiency. The second is to ease the now competent beginner into expertise. To that end, this chapter will cover the beginnings of expertise — the hurdles that most new users of Google Analytics have to surmount before they feel completely comfortable with their understanding of analytics and how to use analytics to improve web site performance.

Monetizing Goals

It’s one thing to set up your “thank you” page as a goal, and quite another thing to know what reaching it is worth. For an e-commerce site, the value of a goal is fairly easy — it’s the value of the transaction. For a content site, it’s not so apparent what the value of a particular page of content is, or how much a new subscriber to the mailing list is worth.

Overwhelmed? or is this is All Too Simplistic?

At this point, some readers are going to be completely overwhelmed by the sheer volume of skills they’re expected to master. That’s okay. Some of this stuff is rocket science. Don’t feel dumb if you’re not getting it. Meanwhile, other readers may be saying “This stuff is too simple, I really need XYZ, why aren’t those stupid authors giving it to me?! My company needs professional level analytics help, not this dumb book.”

Both kinds of readers need professional intervention, which you get from companies such as ROI Revolution www.ROIRevolution.com. ROI Revolution offers high-end services to companies that need more ...