What We're Talking About...Making Better Use of Google Analytics

He's known as the man who invented modern business management, and for this quote:

"If you can't measure it, you can't improve it."

When you think about it, Drucker means that you can't know whether or not you are successful unless success is defined and tracked. But how? When it comes to modern marketing, the answer is Google Analytics.

Knowing how to navigate and analyze the complex data and features within Google Analytics can be a task for an entire marketing team! So if you're looking for help making better use of this extensive platform, here's what we're talking about...

Articles

The Absolute Beginner's Guide to Google Analytics via Moz

“Do you have a blog? Do you have a static website? If the answer is yes, whether they are for personal or business use, then you need Google Analytics.”

Everyone needs to start somewhere! Google Analytics is complex, so you need to have the basics down first before you can slay the dragon. This is the perfect resource to refresh your memory and sharpen your digital sword.

15 Google Analytics Tips to Speed Up Your Website Data Analysis & Optimization via Kissmetrics

"If you don’t know what you need to solve, how can you decide where to start? It’s simply impossible. You can literally lose days of time if you don’t take a structured approach in your data analysis and website optimization efforts.”

This resource provides you with 15 in-depth and actionable tips you can use with Google Analytics to speed up your data analysis and website optimization. One great tip is to take a structured approach to adding “big” events to your Google Analytics account in the form of annotations. Find out more great tips by reading!

8 Powerful Google Analytics Tips to Increase Your Conversion Rate via CognitiveSEO

“To keep track of your conversion rate, use reporting tools. Google Analytics is the most popular free tool you can use to measure the success of your inbound marketing efforts.”

As Digital Marketers, we understand that conversion rates are kind of a big deal. This resource will show you how to increase your conversion rate by monitoring the bounce rate, by measuring the quality of your SEO traffic, by identifying slow loading pages, and so much more!

20 Underused Features in Google Analytics via LunaMetrics

“There are a lot of great reports in Google Analytics with useful information, but sometimes people avoid reports because they’re just not sure how to use them.”

In order to truly make the most out of Google Analytics, it's important to dig deep and understand all of it's features. That means knowing all about the underused and overlooked ones, too! This resource will show you how to use those features and might even convince you that sometimes the underdog can save the day.

Video

Google Analytics Mastery: Turn Data Into Powerful Insights In 15 Minutes via Gabe Wahhab INBOUND17

In this recorded talk from Inbound17 in Boston, Gabe Wahhab breaks down 10 key reports in Google Analytics and explains how to turn them into immediate marketing optimization actions. But what's even better for us busy digital marketers is that you can set this all up in 15 minutes or less! Watch to find out how.

Podcast

How to Get Actionable Data from Google Analytics in 10 Minutes via Marketing School

Neil Patel and Eric Siu are two expert marketers and influencers bringing you the latest marketing news and advice via the Marketing School podcast. One piece of advice they give is to track your bounce rate religiously. Once you know the reason for your bounce rate, you can search for ways to lessen them with Google Analytics. Listen to this for more.

We hope that these resources will help you on your journey to becoming a better marketing data analyst! Keep in mind that when you're analyzing data on Google Analytics, you need to have an idea of what metrics you need for when it comes time to report your findings to the people that matter - your bosses! Download our infographic, Your Essential Marketing Metrics, for the 6 essential marketing metrics your boss actually cares about.