Introduction to Google Analytics

Do you know about Google Analytics? Have you installed it on your website? After installation, did you have checked your data? Let me tell you, you’re in the right place. In this blog, you’ll learn everything that you need to know about “Google Analytics.” This post will help both beginners and experts who are already using Google Analytics.

What Is Google Analytics?

It is an online platform that enables website owners to track the performance of their website or blog in one place. It can help track the performance of both personal and business blogs. Moreover, you can monitor the success or progress of your SEO and marketing efforts.

It is the most dominant tool as it provides complete information about the traffic to your website such as behaviour , acquisition, and conversions.

Why Do You Need Google Analytics?

Google Analytics can help you answer the following questions about your website:

• How many people have visited your website?
• Where do the visitors live?
• From which websites I am getting traffic?
• My website is mobile-response or not?
• Which marketing practice brings most traffic?
• How many visitors were converted into customers?
• How can I improve the speed of my website?
• What blog post or content is most liked by website visitors?

Moreover, Google Analytics answer lots of other questions.

How Does Google Analytics Work?

Google analytics tool gathers data using a combination of JavaScript code, browsers, and cookies. You must include the JavaScript code into your website to allow this program to collect information from cookies generated when a visitor reaches your website through a browser.

It helps Google Analytics to monitor all the activities of a user from entering to leaving. Moreover, this tool converts it into a report and graphical presentation to make it easier to evaluate. This process consists of three steps:

1. Collection of data
2. Processing of the data
3. Generation of reports

However, you need to set some objectives to start the process.

Data Collection

Google Analytics tool uses JavaScript code to gather information from websites. This Google Analytics code allows recording the user’s visit each time a user views your page or website. However, in mobile applications, you need to add additional code of the activity that you want to track.

How Data Collection Process Works?

1. When a user wants to visit a page, it requests a browser, and
   browser sends it to the server. Browser analyses this data and contacts other servers to respond to the requested page. In this way, JavaScript code works.
2. When the data is collected, JavaScript code creates cookies on the computer of the visitor.
3. Once the cookies are defined already, the code sends this information to the Google Analytics server and requests an invisible
   GIF file.
4. Finally, it creates a file with the name File Logs and creates the information of each page viewed. This type of data includes different aspects, such as the search engine, date and time, the number of visits, etc.

This step-by-step guide will give you ideas about the data collection process.

Data Collection Process

Once the data collection process is completed, the Google Analytics process this data and converts it into useful data so that you can get information. Moreover, it analyses all the sections separately and divides the attributes.

These attributes are then transformed into fields. For example, the IP address then becomes the visitor’s IP address. Each field provides different information that is stored in different areas.

You might have heard the term “Attribution Model” it helps you get value from the available data. You can get the best results when you define the model well.

Google Analytics applies the filter to raw data. Once the data is processed and inserted into the database, it can’t be changed. It allows you to change how data must appear in the Analytics profile that you have created in your account.

Report Generation

You can consult this report either with the Google Analytics Web itself or from other spaces. This tool generates reports based on field comparison. For example, a visitor’s place of living or the conversion rates are taken into account. When the data is stored in the database, the process is finished.

What Kind of Data Are Available on Google Analytics? What Can You Do With Them?

Google Analytics allows you to collect two types of data.

1. User Acquisition Data
2. User Behavior Data

The first one provides you data about the users before they visit your website, and the second one provides data about when they visit your website.

User Acquisition Data

Before a user visits your website, it allows to access data about demographics, such as gender, age, and interests. Moreover, it provides you information about where they came from, such as Google search, Facebook, or other websites. This data can help you which user group you need to target.

You can’t do much to change these attributes. Even though you can’t change these characteristics but you can choose a specific group of users you want to target. You can run targeted ads on platforms like Google, Facebook, and other advertising platforms. This user
acquisition data can help set your digital marketing activities and strategies.

User Behavior Data

It tells you about the user’s stay on your website. It includes:

• The time of users stay on your website
• Their first and last visit to your website
• The pathway they used to visit your
  website

You can use this data to make changes to your website. Identify the pages that make your user stuck. Fix these pages and improve the user experience so that a user can move seamlessly. In the case of e-commerce sites, a better user experience will convert them to leads or customers. Use this user behavior data to make changes to your website so that you can get more leads.

The Most Important Metrics in Google Analytics

You have installed the Google Analytics tool, but you don’t know how to get the most out of it, then it’s useless. We’re going to discuss the most important metrics that can help to optimize your results.

• Average Time Spent on the Page

This metric calculates the amount of time visitors spend on your website. It gives you information about the average time users spend on your website, and it doesn’t provide information about the each user. This information can help you know about:

• Reader’s interest
• Page reading speed
• The engagement level of visitors

Moreover, when these elements are combined, they can help improve performance. For example, you have extensive content, but users don’t stay for more than a minute, it means something is wrong. A long stay on the page is the key to success.

• References

It will tell you from where the user came to your website? References will let you know the source the reader came from. Moreover, it provides you a table from where you get most traffic.

Additionally, it tells the number of users that come from different sites. It tells about the organic traffic as well. Referral sites are essential because they provide you traffic, and you can build bridges with them. If you want to improve your ranking, you need to get valuable links. References can provide you this data.

• Interests

The most critical aspect of marketing is to identify the users interested in your offer. For content marketing, the first thing you need to know is understanding the issues and interests of your customers.

You can connect with your customers when you know about them. Along with other metrics, Google Analytics will provide you information about the reader’s interest. You can use this information to specify the use of keywords on your website. Moreover, it can help you generate marketing campaigns to target an interested audience.

For example, if you’re getting lots of traffic but conversions are low, you need to re-assess your conversion funnels in Google Analytics. This interest metric can help you identify which pages attract your readers and where you need to make changes.

Conclusion

In simple words, Google Analytics is a tool that helps measure and analyzes your website’s traffic. You can use this information to make changes to your site and for online marketing campaigns. Especially, if you are just building your website, you need to implement Google Analytics immediately.

Moreover, if you want to be successful in the digital marketing field, you must know how to interpret the data you get from Google Analytics. The more you explore Google Analytics’s result, the more successful you can be in digital marketing. In short, it provides you all the information you need to improve your website.