You know success when you track it.
Google Analytics helps you do this.
I thought it would be really hard to implement Google Analytics, with you know, all the coding and whatnot. But thankfully it was easier than I thought.
Since then, I became certified in Google Analytics (beginner and advanced) by Google.
Read below for an in-depth review of how I implemented Google Analytics on Listaspace.com, then read on for reasons why you need Google Analytics.
Listaspace.com
Listaspace.com is a Boone-based website for the owner or rentee looking for a renter or subletter and for the renter or subletter looking for a space to live.
It connects the two by letting the renter list their space for a cost and letting viewers look and send a message to the lister for free.
It received good traffic when it had live listings, but has since tapered off (because there are no current listings).
How I implemented Google Analytics with Listaspace.com
Here’s how I did it:
Create a Gmail account
Before anything can happen on Google Analytics, you first need a Google account. Create an account then open Google Analytics.
Open Google Analytics and click the “admin” gear icon at the bottom left of the dashboard
This is where you’ll find the three layers: Account, Property, and View.
It looks like this:
Account
This is your designated account with your websites attached to it. Never share your account username and password with anyone. You’re able to share Google Analytics data with the next secondary layer on the platform. The maximum number of accounts you can have is 100.
Property
A Property in Google Analytics is a website, mobile application, or device (e.g. a kiosk or point-of-sale device). You can have up to 50 properties on one account.
View
A view has its own unique configuration settings that’s sharable to whomever you want to view it. The max number of views is 25.
Create a new account by pressing “Create Account” on top left of the admin screen
By doing this, you will be taken to a new screen where you can add a name, tell Google what you want to measure (website, application, or both), and further information.
Get a tracking code from Google Analytics
After an account is created, you’re set to get a tracking code. You’ll be given a tracking code as you walk through the steps, but if you need to exit and come back later, you can still find this information under “Tracking Info” under Property.
Install tracking code in each header of the site
The tracking code should be installed in each of the headers of your website pages (a simple plugin can do this easily or you can install Yoast and enter your tracking ID number).
The code looks like this (I blocked my UA code):
Once you install this on your site, you’re good to go with tracking! It may take a few hours for it to populate, but when it does, you can see stats for audience, acquisition, behavior, and conversions.
What Google Analytics can do
Google Analytics is a powerful tool used by website admins and application creators. It’s amazing what this platform can do. Here’s a short overview to get you started:
Audience
Who’s looking at your website, where are they, and what are they looking at on your site?
That’s what this tab in Google Analytics answers. Here’s a quick list breakdown of the categories in this set:
Users
How many total users came to the site.
New Users
How many new users came to the site.
Sessions
When a users interacted with the site.
Average Session Duration
How long the user interacted with your site.
Pageviews
How many pages the user visited.
Bounce Rate
The percentage of how many people came to your site and left without interacting with it.
Acquisition
Where is your audience coming from, what are they doing on your site, and are they converting goals?
This is the subset where you track goals. When a user visits a specific site, a goal can “fire” and it’s tracked in Google Analytics. This is helpful to know if your audience are buying things, sending a contact form, reserving a time slot, or other “goals.”
Behavior
How is your audience interacting with your site and which pages are they visiting?
This is insightful because you’ll learn very quickly which pages are most important to your audience. The most visited page on a routine basis should be the homepage. This means Google understands your website to be an authority in the domain you’re in.
Conversations
The amount of goals that are “fired.”
This is a further detailed look at your goals and where your audience comes from.
Realtime
See realtime stats of how many are on your website, which pages they’re on, where they were referred from, and where they’re located in the world.
Custom dashboards and reports
Create your own custom dashboards and reports for further stats.
How much does Google Analytics cost?
Nothing. It’s free to create an account.
Really?
Yup! It’s free for users.
Why you need to create a Google Analytics account
You’ll be able to see who your audience is, where they come from, see what pages they visit, how long they’re on your site, and what they do while there. This is helpful if you’re an e-commerce site needing to know what pages users visit.
How Google Analytics can help your business
Knowing where users came from can give you direction about where to spend your marketing. If many customers came to your site through social media, maybe that’s a good place to market. Or if they came from a referral site, then consider partnering with them to further your business’ sales.
How often should you check your Google Analytics?
The short answer: every day. It’s okay, however, to check it every few days if you don’t have predefined goals.
If you’re attempting to reach goals over a long period of time though, then set them and check it daily to track progress.
Let’s build something together.
Want me to help you with your Google Analytics implementation, tracking, and reporting?
Seth Kingdon 