How Web Analytics works is incredibly complex so it is important to get a basic understanding of what it is and how it works BEFORE you start making decisions based on what you see. Since Google Analytics is free it is the most commonly used Web Analytics program. I encourage anyone reading this far to keep reading because we’ll be explaining analytics so that anyone can understand it.
The first thing I recommend is signing up for the completely free Mastering Google Analytics ecourse offered by ValueGuardian. The link takes you to a sales page that explains what is in their complete book which we’ll be reviewing in the next few days. Simply leave that page or wait for an offer page to appear. Enter your first name and a valid email address and they’ll send you the ten part free email course.
The reason we’re recommending their course is that they explain Analytics in a way that anyone can understand. The lessons come every other day so they won’t overwhelm even the most busy.
Here is what the free email ecourse covers:
- Lesson 1: Why Web Analytics is important; Why unique visitors is more important than page views
- Lesson 2: Standard Metrics – A metric is simply anything you can measure. This lesson covers some major metrics used in analytics programs such as visits, page views, referring sources, etc.
- Lesson 3: How to set up Goals in Google Analytics
- Lesson 4: Monetizing Your Goals
- Lesson 5: Conversion Funnels – An easy explanation of an advanced way to increase conversions
- Lesson 6: Explains the original and “new” versions of Google’s tracking code
- Lesson 7: Benchmarking – This is new to even me and I’ve taken high dollar Google Analytics training courses. It gives you an advantage I used to have when I could access data for dozens of ecommerce stores: a way to see if changes are affecting only you, you and your competitors, or your niche and any other you want to compare. This is important information especially during economically challenging times.
- Lesson 8: Top Ten Reasons to track MORE than page views. Why? Because they don’t tell you whether your marketing efforts are working; they don’t even measure unique visitors or real traffic!
- Lesson 9: What if you could do more: what else can you do with Google Analytics?
- Lesson 10: Further Study: there is so much more to learn.
When you finish the free ecourse you’ll only have a basic understanding of what Web Analytics can do for you and why you need to know more. The lessons give you a good big picture view of Google Analytics and what it can do for you in plain English.
WHAT THIS COURSE DOESN’T DO
You will NOT be an expert on analytics or know how to install and set up Google Analytics. You will know more about how to use it. To really get the most out of Google Analytics you’ll need either training or to buy the book.
I contacted the author and specifically asked to review their course and book because I already know how complicated Google Analytics is.
I completed the one hour Free Google Analytics Webinar offered by ROI Revolution and also their extensive Google Analytics Webinars which they apparently no longer offer. When I was done I advised the client who paid for it to hire them to properly configure Google Analytics because of the complexity of his business.
Back then there was no Mastering Google Analytics book to guide us. I’ll be reviewing the entire book in one or more upcoming posts so you’ll know exactly what it covers and what it doesn’t. I can tell you that the free ecourse is representative of how the book is written. If you understand those emails you WILL understand the book too.
If you have a blog, Web site, or online store you really do need to know more about Web Analytics so you may as well take advantage of the free Mastering Google Analytics ecourse.
DISCLAIMER: The links for this course contain an affiliate link. If you decide to buy the book we may earn a commission. That is NOT why we’re recommending the course or the book. If you decide you like the book you may wish to recommend it and if you are recommending something anyway you may as well join the affiliate program and use an affiliate link. Just be clear in your own heart WHY you’re doing it.
I know that some object to bloggers using affiliate links because they feel the potential income may color their judgement. There are enough products and services of quality to recommend that ethical bloggers do not have to resort to recommending anything just for the money. If you disagree feel free to leave a comment.
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Twitter: @AussieSire
I’ve often wondered about the ’setting up of goals’ and other options that are offered in Google Analytics but I’ve never really looked into it. I know I should but I just find it all too boring.
Sire’s last blog post..In Search Of Fame And Glory
Twitter: @GrowMap
@Sire I know what you mean. Some of that is more important to ecommerce stores than bloggers, but there is a lot more you can get out of Analytics than any of us are currently using.
We can increase our income if we learn more about first analytics and then split testing. Even if we don’t hone those kinds of advanced skills there are simple things to learn like seeing where your visitors go on your site and using the overlay feature originated by ClickTracks.
Twitter: @AussieSire
Yes, perhaps when I retire and have more time on my hands I can whittle away at those stats and use it to my advantage, but for now I will just plod on and have fun blogging.
Sire’s last blog post..Woopra Analytics Providing Real Time Stats
Excellent post. thanks for sharing. I’ll love to learn about more and more google analytics..
Twitter: @GrowMap
@Sire LOL – when you retire you won’t need to know anything about analytics and they will not be any more interesting when they don’t have a benefit for you. You might be one who would benefit more from some short blog posts on specific things to look at and actions to take. What do you think? Would that be more interesting for you?
@Ella No matter how much your learn there is still more to know. All we can do is focus on what is most important to us and keep building on our knowledge.
I’ll be doing many more posts reviewing the book mentioned in this post in detail and posting my observations on the pitfalls of taking action on invalid data. I hope you subscribe so you’ll get to read them all.
@Eric Thanks for linking to this post. I hope you see this comment as no one can leave comments in your blog. You may want to check your settings and remove the requirement to log into your blog to leave a comment.
InternetStrategist’s last blog post..Question: When Does Entering a Blogging Contest Give You More Than You Contribute?
Twitter: @AussieSire
@ IS – I don’t know, I still hope to be blogging by then and perhaps the extra time on my hand can be consumed by analyzing those boring stats. Of course, if I become a blogging millionaire I will be too busy touring the world finding interesting tales to blog about.
Sire’s last blog post..WassupBlog’s February Stats
@old man – err – Sire, she may be under the impression, you’re a little younger then you are.
I don’t currently use GA, but I may someday. Should I read it now anyway?
Dennis Edell’s last blog post..Google Closes Adsense Account – Google Gets Sued – Google LOSES!
Twitter: @AussieSire
@ He With The Loose Lips- err Dennis- She, Gromap is a she? See that is why I dislike keywords. How the heck was I suppose to know she was anything other than a bloke? Luckily for me I’m always a perfect gentleman.
Sire’s last blog post..Chitika The Mark Of A Good Affiliate
Umm oops?
Dennis Edell’s last blog post..Google Closes Adsense Account – Google Gets Sued – Google LOSES!
Twitter: @GrowMap
@Sire It isn’t boring when you see those big spikes in traffic. It REALLY isn’t boring when you see SALES increases! Knowing which posts are most popular and where your traffic comes from isn’t bad either. The click overlay they “borrowed” from ClickTracks is pretty cool too.
@Dennis I’d love to see another analytics company figure out how to compete with free GA. ClickTracks would be worth using for those who can afford it. But until then we’ll probably be learning more and more about Google Analytics.
Yahoo stores now have analytics in them; however, I’m not sure they’re free for all users. They may be free as part of one of their upgrades. The stats in GA don’t match YA don’t match affiliate programs. I’ll be posting why soon.
I can’t wait to read your last blog post because they just banned one of my favorite bloggers and he has no idea why. He is taking a sabbatical and isn’t even active right now. No new changes could have caused it and he is certainly intelligent enough to know better than to click his own ads. He has appealed; no answer yet.
@Sire LOL You’re not the only one who assumes that I’m male. Sorry to disappoint.
InternetStrategist’s last blog post..Why You Should Enter These Contests and Giveaways – Send Us YOUR Contest NOW
Twitter: @AussieSire
@ IS- Not disappointed, I actually have a great liking of the opposite sex. I just wish I knew so that I could have displayed some of my natural charm on you
As for the stats, sure perhaps the results of studying them would be exiting, but the analyzing stats themselves for me would be a chore.
Sire’s last blog post..In Search Of Fame And Glory
OK maybe you’re finally the one to ask. I use Statcounter (www.statcounter.com) and have since the very beginning. I cannot think of a single thing they could add to make it better…and yet they are always improving lol.
Every time someone posts (boasts) about how GA is oh so much better I ask the same HOW WHAT WHERE question as to comparisons.
95% never even respond. They’re obviously the ones just spouting off what “they heard” and have no clue.
The few that have tried have been wrong. “SC don’t have this this and that but GA does”…Umm yea they do, it’s here here and here…every time.
Now, if you would like to pick up my gauntlet of challenge and run a true comparison test…I’d be more then happy to listen.
Oh btw, the fact that the free SC only logs 500 or so visitors at a time is not nearly enough of a road block to get me or 10’s of others to switch (that’s usually the main “complaint” and it’s not much of a complaint in my eyes).
Dennis Edell’s last blog post..Google Closes Adsense Account – Google Gets Sued – Google LOSES!
Twitter: @GrowMap
@Dennis The very likely reason your questions are not getting answers is that they don’t know. The only way to accurately compare analytics programs is to have extensive experience with those being compared.
Analytics programs are incredibly complex. Each one stores data in different places, tracks differently, often even names the same metric differently. It is a major task to become even passably competent with one of them never mind knowing enough about more than one to compare them.
You’re far better off using whatever analytics you are most familiar with than changing unless you find a very good reason to make that change. If you’ve found Statcounter gives you what you want I’d stick with it.
You may have noticed (or not) that I have serious concerns about the ubiquitousness of Google. There is truly no such thing as free. See http://www.growmap.com/not-free/
The ONLY reason everyone uses Google Analytics is that it is FREE (except it isn’t – see above link). The less Google-ized you are the better in my book. I seek out alternatives for every service they offer whenever possible.
If I were recommending an analytics program for a small business I’d suggest they seriously consider ClickTracks (unless they get acquired by another Corporation). Google Analytics “borrowed” their overlay idea and other features and it is more visual so probably easier to learn. (Note: easier NOT easy. No analytics program is “easy” to learn.)
I’ll be posting much more on what I believe people need to know about using analytics programs. Here’s a preview: they measure what they measure – NOT what you THINK they measure. More on that soon!
Benchmarking , I never thought that google analytics have so much features which I don’t know of
Twitter: @GrowMap
@Florida Web Design This is only a tiny look into what you can do with Web Analytics. I’ll be reviewing the Mastering Google Analytics book in depth in future posts because there is so much to know.
First I better warn readers how not to make decisions based on data that does NOT indicate what they THINK it does.
When i started my blog i used google analytics. Now i use statcounter that i find more friendly. I’m gonna see if with the aid of this e-book i can take advantage of the many features google analytics has.
Joe’s last blog post..Dirt Cheap Airline Tickets in 2009
Twitter: @GrowMap
@Joe Once you know more about Google Analytics maybe you can come back and let us know how it compares to Statcounter. I see your blog is about cheap airline tickets. I used to run some advertising campaigns for providers of Discount International Airline tickets. Do you cover any International flights or just domestic?
As long as there are some cheap airline tickets to talk about, domestic or international makes no difference for my blog
Twitter: @GrowMap
@joe If you haven’t come across those sites specifically offering International flights cheap let me know. I’ll see if I can remember where they are and share them with you.
Twitter: @AussieSire
Google Analytics is not free? Damn, now I will have to read that post to see how they are ripping me off this time.
Sire’s last blog post..Seven Things About Me You May Not Know
Twitter: @GrowMap
@Sire YES Google Analytics is officially free – but nothing is REALLY free. I know you read that post so I’ll go answer your questions in that post too.
Twitter: @AussieSire
I knew that, even when people offer you something for nothing there is always a catch, even if there is a hope that you like the sample and make a purchase at a later date.
Sire’s last blog post..Googles Interest-Based Advertising Sucks
Twitter: @GrowMap
@Sire Yes and when I review them I mention any catches in getting the free part. The good thing about this ecourse is it is useful and totally free. Yes the book author hopes some who read the emails will decide to buy the book – and I’ll be reviewing the book shortly so that potential buyers will know more about it.
I shouldn’t say NOTHING is free because many bloggers do give away their time and experience. All that we’ve shared in the past was free; however, even we have to eat so we’re going to VERY SELECTIVELY offer what we feel is valuable.
Any of our readers who would like to support our work and can use what we share will have our blessing.
Twitter: @AussieSire
In a sense though, even though we give our time away for free, there is always the expectation that someone will leave a comment of appreciation or that someone else may accidentally click on as ad or something.
Sire’s last blog post..Googles Interest-Based Advertising Sucks
Twitter: @GrowMap
@Sire True, we may hope to eventually monetize or visitor might support something we offer; however, if that were the primary motivator there would be a lot less blogs, wouldn’t there?
Internet Strategist’s last blog post..REVIEW: Mastering Google Analytics – Easy to Understand FREE eCourse
Twitter: @AussieSire
True, but perhaps the blogs would be of a higher quality.
Sire’s last blog post..Googles Interest-Based Advertising Sucks
Twitter: @GrowMap
@Sire Poor quality blogs eventually go the way of the dodo and hopefully so do the scraper sites. They are potholes in the Internet highway; we’ll just have to keep avoiding them.
InternetStrategist’s last blog post..Don’t Make ANY Changes Based on Web Analytics Until You READ THIS FIRST
I just signed up for the e-course. I will read each day and try to get a more in-depth understanding of Google Analytics. I use Analytics every day, however never took a course before. I would like to learn how to setup different types of goals. Can you have a goal just for time on the website?? For one client, the sales is all through the phone and no easy way to setup conversions.
Twitter: @GrowMap
@Brian The e-course is best for a good overview. You’ll need the book if you want an in-depth understanding. I do hope to review the entire book in a series as time allows so you may want to subscribe to be sure you see those posts.
When a site sells almost completely through the phone they are not going to be able to track those the way online sales are tracked. There are several options including paypercall type systems, offering individual codes on the site that the phone operators ask for or creating some other advanced way to correlate phone buyers with their Web visits.
InternetStrategist’s last blog post..WordPress 2.7 Threaded Comments Works In Thesis
In my opinion, it’s one of those “must-haves” if you use GA. Proper implementation and setup are critical factors in getting decent traffic insights. I’ve been using GA for several years now, and after reading this e-book, I discovered several areas where I needed to make implementation adjustments. Obtain knowledge, gain wisdom and spend the ten bucks!
Twitter: @GrowMap
Welcome and thanks for taking the time to comment. Since GA shows numbers as soon as it is installed many do not realize that they really need to do at least some basic customization to eliminate common issues. Reading the book is a good investment.
Internet Strategist’s last blog post..Select Keywords First to Make Your Content Easy to Find
GA is really great cz it’s free
I alway attach it to my site if I create new one. But there is some feature I don’t understand. It is benchmarking. I don’t know what it use for.
Twitter: @GrowMap
Hello Sama,
Benchmarking is simple recording a snapshot of data for a particular timeframe, especially before starting a new strategy or making a change so you can compare the effects.
Few businesses understand change management and they really need to so I’ll had that to my future posts list. Every change should be recorded including the date and specifically what was altered so that analytics data can be compared to changes.
There is a latency period between when something is changed and when the full effects are seen so data analysis requires knowing when changes were made.
Internet Strategist’s last blog post..How to Get Your Free Business Listing in Yelp
Twitter: @BTL_Mortgages
I am a big fan of Google Analytics, I check it every day and I truly believe that it is a must tool, which some people ignore. I have to admit I never listened to a course, but certainly will do now. I have spent quite a bit of time on Google site, reading about AdSense and one of their suggestions is to integrate it with Google Analytics. I have also checked archives of Google Webinars, but for some reason, quality of the sound was terrible, but I have to admit understandable. I think goal conversion feature is a great one as it allows to see what is actually working and you really can learn so much about your visitors and it is all for free. I will be looking forward getting that e-mail course.Thanks.
Twitter: @GrowMap
Hello Kate,
Analytics is a complex subject so learning more about it is necessary to truly get the most out of what you see. Keep in mind that analytics measures what it measures and that is often not what it APPEARS to measure.
Internet Strategist’s last blog post..How to Add Your Free Business Listing to infoUSA
Twitter: @RBTBPoker
I do happen to believe that there are those out there who will recommend any janky product or service for a buck, because I’ve seen it. However, I don’t feel that you would fall into that category. I have seen your name all over the web, and your articles and recommendations are constantly and consistently well researched, useful, and honest. Your reputation alone is good enough for me to take your word, and the disclaimer at the end here only adds to the credibilty of this article, IMHO.
I’ve been hearing so much about google analytics lately, I think it’s time for me to look into it. I’ve been using other tracking methods, but with all that GA has to offer according to your article, I can’t see any reason not to give it a shot. Thanks alot for the informative post. Hopefully the course can help me to get the absolute post possible out of GA.
Rob’s last blog post..Semi-Bluffing in Poker
Twitter: @GrowMap
Hello Rob,
Thank you for the vote of confidence. If you check the posts here you’ll find that I only recommend what I believe is very useful. While I have added some ads in the left sidebar each one is for a business I either personally know and work with or use.
The e-course will give you a good overview but to really get the most out of GA you’ll need to buy the book or do further research in the many analytics blogs available online.
The reason I recommended the book is that although there are many blogs dedicated to discussing analytics most of them are written at such a technical level that business owners and bloggers are not going to be able to understand most of what they share. This book is better for anyone who is not already an analytics expert.
Internet Strategist’s last blog post..How to Add Your Business to Merchant Circle
Twitter: @joolwe
wow..this course is exactly what i need for my jewelry store. thanks!
Twitter: @GrowMap
Welcome Ryan,
Glad to be of service. I hope you find what you need in the course. I suspect that you will need the book eventually to really get the most out of any analytics program you choose to use. Many of the concepts and much of the terminology is the same in all analytics programs.
Internet Strategist’s last blog post..How to Get Your Free Business Listing in Yelp
Twitter: @marketraise
I have been using GA since the past few months.Its free of cost and extensively used service all over the net.The one feature taht i like the most is the Custom Reporting in GA which provides you with the ability to create, save, and edit custom reports that present the information you want to see organized in the way you want to see it.
Twitter: @GrowMap
Hello Andy,
So you already figured out how to set up Custom Reporting? Good for you. I suspect most never get that far and only view data in the default views.
Internet Strategist’s last blog post..DMOZ Now Largely a Waste of Time
Thanks for the post once again.
Twitter: @ankushsnv
i was waiting for such a course.Its a very good one.
Twitter: @saurabhsnv
Really wonderful piece of information and I appreciate it that you share something so useful with the readers of this blog.thanks.
Twitter: @alinkbuilder
Google analytics are very helpful in know much about the visitors, it provides the full information about the browser and browser capability, which helps in improving the visitors visibility,
thanks for the resource.
Hello,
Thank you for the vote of confidence. If you check the posts here you’ll find that I only recommend what I believe is very useful.