{"id":13478,"date":"2011-01-18T06:06:29","date_gmt":"2011-01-17T19:06:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/problogger.com\/?p=13478"},"modified":"2011-01-18T13:51:24","modified_gmt":"2011-01-18T02:51:24","slug":"my-5-favorite-but-often-ignored-analytics-features","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/problogger.com\/my-5-favorite-but-often-ignored-analytics-features\/","title":{"rendered":"My 5 Favorite, but Often Ignored, Analytics Features"},"content":{"rendered":"

This post was written by the Web Marketing Ninja\u2014a professional online marketer for a major web brand, who\u2019s sharing his tips undercover here at ProBlogger. Curious? So are we!<\/em><\/p>\n

The wonderful thing about working online is that our work is just so measurable.<\/p>\n

In just about every other industry, a lot of decisions are based on sample data, or assumptions, or just on gut feel. But online, we can measure just about everything for 95%+ of our visitors\u2014yay for us!<\/p>\n

In our world of pretty graphs and statistics, we have are a stack of options to ensure we\u2019ve got our eyes on the numbers. But when it comes to bang for buck (i.e. lots of value for no outlay) there really is no equal, in my opinion, to Google Analytics\u2014and it just keeps getting better.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m sure a lot of you are already feeling the Google love with Analytics\u2014and if you\u2019re an addict like me, you\u2019re using it on a daily basis. So I thought I\u2019d share my five favorite, but often ignored, features of Google Analytics.<\/p>\n

1. Custom Reports<\/h2>\n

There are so many levels, layers, and measures in the Google Analytics interface that I often used to waste time attempting to find my first stop in the system: reports.<\/p>\n

\"My<\/a>
\nCustom Reports changed that. Not only does this feature allow for a myriad of different perspectives and data, but you can also save each report and head back to it at a moment\u2019s notice. This video<\/a> is a good starting point to understanding how to make the most of custom reports.<\/p>\n

2. Scheduled Reports<\/h2>\n

Actually remembering to jump into Analytics to make sure you\u2019re across everything can be a challenge. Scheduled Reports make the job much easier.
\n\"My<\/a><\/p>\n

You\u2019ll probably have certain reports you\u2019ll look at more often than others. If you click on the little email icon on the top-right of a report, you\u2019ll be able to set up a schedule so that that report\u2019s delivered to you via the inbox.<\/p>\n

This is a great way to ensure that your busy schedule is not getting in the way of you knowing what\u2019s happening on your site.<\/p>\n

3. Navigational Summary<\/h2>\n

In December I wrote about the concept of sales funnels<\/a>, and a lot of you asked how on Earth you can manage to measure all those steps. Well, the Navigational Summary report will get you started.
\n\"My<\/a><\/p>\n

It covers the essential details for each page view, including where the user came from (another page, external site), and then where they went to (exit, another page)\u2014plus everything in between. This is a key report to start understanding browsing behaviors on your critical pages. You can access the navigational summary through the Content section. I tend to use the Content Drilldown report to find the specific pages I\u2019m after, then click the Navigational Summary for their specific metrics.<\/p>\n

4. eCommerce and the $ Index<\/h2>\n

When you set up ecommerce tracking in Google Analytics, you open up a whole new world of insight. It\u2019s a feature that\u2019s only useful for those selling online, but it\u2019s scarily accurate and amazingly insightful.<\/p>\n

\"My<\/a>

Goals Overview<\/p><\/div>\n

With eCommerce set up, not only can you see reports on the products you\u2019re selling, and how much money you\u2019re earning, but you can also start to track them back to other pages in your site. You might find that particular types of blog post generate more revenue per page view\u2014and that\u2019s where the $ Index kicks in.<\/p>\n

With this metric you\u2019ll know the average income per visit to each page or collection of pages on your site. Unfortunately setting this up is not straightforward, and you might need a little help. There\u2019s a good article on the Analytics blog<\/a> that will help get you moving. Sorry I can\u2019t show a good screen shot of this\u2014the information was too sensitive for the other sites I have access to.<\/p>\n

5. Goals and Funnels<\/h2>\n

Almost all websites have some sort of desired visitor action. It might be to buy something, to fill out a contact form, to download a sample, or even just look at a bunch of other pages. Setting up goals in Google allows you to track these goals like a fox. You get insight into the overall performance of your site, but you can also track back every step of the way.<\/p>\n

\"My<\/a><\/p>\n

Unfortunately, like eCommerce, this feature can be a little tricky to set up and is something you might wish to get help with. I won\u2019t go into too much detail on how to do this\u2014it\u2019s all covered on the Analytics blog<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Warning: Analytics is Like Quicksand<\/h2>\n

I often tell people that Google Analytics is a little like quick sand. Once you make that first step, it starts to really suck you in, and a short time later you\u2019re stuck for good. More time passes and all of a sudden your head goes under\u2014everything goes dark and you have no idea where you are.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s at that point that too many people go back to assumptions and guesswork, murmuring something about leaving \u201call that statistics guff\u201d to the eggheads. If you\u2019ve fallen into the Analytics quicksand, my recommendation is to keep things simple. Identify ten key metrics you want to measure, create a report or set of reports that deliver you those metrics, and review them over time. Once you\u2019re comfortable, move a little deeper.<\/p>\n

The more you understand about your business, the better-informed decisions you can make\u2014and it\u2019s the decisions that will make or break your business, not the numbers.<\/p>\n

As I mentioned, Google Analytics in my favorite stats package, but I\u2019d love to hear about any other stats packages you\u2019re using and how you\u2019re finding them in the comments. Or perhaps you can highlight your favorite functions of Googe Analytics that I\u2019ve not covered…<\/p>\n

Stay tuned from most posts by the secretive Web Marketing Ninja\u2014a professional online marketer for a major web brand, who\u2019s sharing his tips undercover here at ProBlogger.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This post was written by the Web Marketing Ninja\u2014a professional online marketer for a major web brand, who\u2019s sharing his tips undercover here at ProBlogger. Curious? So are we! The wonderful thing about working online is that our work is just so measurable. In just about every other industry, a …more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nMy 5 Favorite, but Often Ignored, Analytics Features<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This post was written by the Web Marketing Ninja\u2014a professional online marketer for a major web brand, who\u2019s sharing his.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/problogger.com\/my-5-favorite-but-often-ignored-analytics-features\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"My 5 Favorite, but Often Ignored, Analytics Features\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This post was written by the Web Marketing Ninja\u2014a professional online marketer for a major web brand, who\u2019s sharing his tips undercover here at ProBlogger. 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