BASIC GOOGLE ANALYTICS Babi Hammond, Digital Experience Consultant, - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

WEEDING YOUR WEBSITE with BASIC GOOGLE ANALYTICS Babi Hammond, Digital Experience Consultant, Colorado State Library 
 CLiC Workshop, Grand Junction, 21 March 2017

SPIDERS!

‘BOTS!

COOKIES!

What’s Most Important on Your Website? (Google Analytics won’t really tell you)

Analytics is only a part of your decision-making; but it’s an important part

Behavior > Site Content > All Pages

Google Mesa County Libraries Hours & Location Central Library Mesa County Libraries

Fred = New User http://mesacountylibraries.org/ 1 pageview; 1 unique pageview …/aboutus/hours/ 1 pageview; 1 unique pageview 1 Session …/aboutus/hours/central-library/ 1 pageview; 1 unique pageview http://mesacountylibraries.org/ 1 more pageview

Fred Google = Acquisition channel (Organic Search) http://mesacountylibraries.org/ 1 pageview; 1 unique pageview …/aboutus/hours/ 1 pageview; 1 unique pageview 1 Session …/aboutus/hours/central-library/ 1 pageview; 1 unique pageview Where did Fred http://mesacountylibraries.org/ go when he left? 1 more pageview ???????

User Session PAGEVIEW PAGEVIEW PAGEVIEW PAGEVIEW Session PAGEVIEW PAGEVIEW Session PAGEVIEW PAGEVIEW PAGEVIEW

User Sessions Pageviews

Use the right data for your question How many times did someone look at this page? • best data: pageviews

Use the right data for your question How many times did someone look at this page? • best data: pageviews How many visits to the site had at least one look at this page? • best data: unique pageviews

Use the right data for your question How many times did someone look at this page? • best data: pageviews How many visits to the site had at least one look at this page? • best data: unique pageviews How many people have looked at the site? • best data: users

How Are Users & Sessions Determined?

COOKIES!

User Cookies: expire 2 years after the last activity

User Cookies: expire 2 years after the last activity Fred ~ a User ~ Client ID: 618725461.1483031645

Session Cookies: by default set to expire 30 minutes after the last activity

Session Cookies: by default set to expire 30 minutes after the last activity SESSION NEW SESSION 30 minutes of inactivity

but… How accurate are these numbers, anyway?

Does 1 User = 1 Patron? Home Desktop

Does 1 User = 1 Patron? Home Desktop Work Laptop iPad iPhone

So, 1 User probably ≠ 1 Patron But the error rate is likely constant So comparisons still valid

SPIDERS!

‘BOTS!

Exclude Known Bots and Spiders

Analytics by itself won’t tell you what’s important; only what’s being used

User Sessions Pageviews

COOKIES!

Ways to Get Better Analytics Data • Eliminate known ‘bots and spiders • Filter by geographic location

Regular Weeding & Analytics • Spend an hour a month looking at your analytics—to explore, not to decide

Regular Weeding & Analytics • Spend an hour a month looking at your analytics—to explore, not to decide • Weed less frequently—once a year, maybe; once a quarter at most

Weed Wisely • Look at the data for answers you know it can help provide

Google Analytics Resources Google’s Analytics Academy 
 https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/4553001

Google Analytics Resources Google’s Analytics Academy 
 https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/4553001 Kristi Hines, “Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Google Analytics” (2015) 
 https://moz.com/blog/absolute-beginners-guide-to-google-analytics/

Google Analytics Resources Google’s Analytics Academy 
 https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/4553001 Kristi Hines, “Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Google Analytics” (2015) 
 https://moz.com/blog/absolute-beginners-guide-to-google-analytics/ Google search will bring up lots more, but be sure what you’re looking at is recent.

My Contact Info: Babi Hammond Digital Experience Consultant, Colorado State Library hammond_b@cde.state.co.us 303-866-6906