Google Analytics
What is Google Analytics?
GoogleAnalytics is a web analysis service that providesessential tools and statistics for search engine optimization (SEO) andmarketing purposes. This service is free and available to all users who have aGoogle account.
Google Analytics can be used to monitorwebsite performance and gather visitor insights. It is used to track websiteperformance and collect visitor insights. Small and medium-sized retailwebsites often use Google Analytics to obtain and analyze various customerbehavior analytics, which can improve marketing campaigns, drive websitetraffic and better retain visitors.
What is Google Analytics?
Google Analytics collects data abouteach visitor to a website using page tags. Each page has a JavaScript page tagthat is embedded into its code. The title is embedded in each page’s code andcollects data from the visitor. Google Analytics can then generate customizablereports to track and visualize data such as the number of users, bounce rates,average session durations, sessions by channel, page views, goal completions,and more.
The page tag functions as a web bug orweb beacon to gather visitor information. However, because it relies oncookies, the system can’t collect data for users who have disabled them.
Google Analytics features can be used toidentify patterns and trends in visitors’ interactions with websites. Thesefeatures allow data collection, analysis, and monitoring.
They also provide visualizations,reporting, and integration with other apps.
These features include:
data visualization and monitoring tools, including dashboards, scorecards, andmotion charts that display changes in data over time;
· Datafiltering, manipulation, and funnel analysis
· datacollection application program interfaces (APIs);
· predictiveanalytics, intelligence, and anomaly detection;
· segmentationfor the analysis of subsets, such as conversions;
· Customreports for advertising, acquisition, and audience behavior;
· Email-basedcommunication and sharing;
· Integrationwith other products: Google Ads and Google Data Studio, SalesforceMarketing Cloud. Google AdSense, Google Optimize 360. Google Display &Video 360. Google Ad Manager.
Google Analytics dashboard allows users to save profiles formultiple websites.
They can either view details for thedefault categories or choose custom metrics to display on each site.
Tracking categories include trafficsources overview, keyword overview, keywords, referring websites, visitorsoverview, and map overlay.
You can view the dashboard on GoogleAnalytics.
It is also available via a widget or pluginthat can be embedded into other websites.
Independent vendors can also offercustomized Google Analytics dashboards.
Important metrics
A metric refers to a standard forquantitative measurement. Google Analytics allows users to track 200 metrics toassess the performance of their websites.
These are themost common metrics. While some metrics might be more valuable for certainbusinesses than others, they are still important.
· Users,the user is an individual or new visitor to the site.
· Rateof bounce. This is the percentage of visitors that viewed one page only. Thesevisitors only made one request to Google Analytics.
· Sessionsgroup of interactions between visitors that occur in a 30-minute window.
· Averagesession duration. What average time each visitor spends on the site.
· Percentageof sessions that are new. The rate of first-time website visitors.
· Pagesper session. This is the average page view per session.
· Completedgoals this is the number of times a visitor completes a desired action. This isalso called a conversion.
· Pageviews.Total pages viewed.
Dimensions vs. Metrics
Google Analytics reports includedimensions and metrics. It is essential to understand the differences betweenthem to interpret words correctly.
Dimensions These are labels or qualitativeattributes that describe and organize data. If the average session length iscalculated across multiple regions, the dimension would be “Region.” An exampleof a metric is “Average Session length,” which is a quantitative measure.
Google Analyticsallows you to customize dimensions. Here are some examples of standard sizes:
· Language
· Typeof browser
· Cityand country
· Modelsof devices
· Theage group of the user
Metrics. These metrics are quantitative measures of one type ofdata. Metrics include page views, average session lengths, average time onsite, and pages per session. Metrics can be used to compare measurements acrossdimensions.
Benefits and limitations
Google Analyticscomes with its own set of limitations and benefits. The platform’s power,freedom, and ease of use are the main benefits for users. Google Analyticsoffers the following benefits:
· Itis easy to use, free of charge, and beginner-friendly.
· GoogleAnalytics provides a wide range of metrics and customizable dimensions. Thisplatform can capture many different types of valuable insights.
· GoogleAnalytics includes many other tools such as data visualization and monitoring,reporting, and predictive analysis.
GoogleAnalytics has had some issues in the past that could affect its accuracy. Theseinclude:
· Overalldata accuracy can be compromised by users who block Google Analytics cookies,specific browser extensions, ad filtering programs, and private networks.
· Toreduce server load, reports are created by sampling 500,000 randomly selectedsessions. These reports only include the number of visits. Small segments ofdata could have large margins for error.
User acquisition data vs. user behavior data
Google Analytics provides businesseswith multiple types of data that can be used for marketing purposes.
User acquisition data gives insight intohow customers arrive at the website. Customers can come from many sources,including paid search engine results and unpaid pages, social media links, orjust typing the URL. It is crucial to understand user acquisition data tomaximize website traffic.
User behavior data shows customers whatthey are doing on the site and how they interact with it.
This data includes how long they spendon each page and how many pages they visit. It also shows if they use videos orgraphics.
These data can be used for web layoutsthat connect visitors to the content they want, resulting in a better userexperience. Optimized user experiences based on user behavior data are morelikely to convert sales and customers.
Google Analytics 4
Google Analytics 4, also known as GA4,is the latest iteration. It was launched in October 2020. GA4 is a significantupgrade to previous versions of Google Analytics. The new interface is entirelydifferent, and it shifts away from third-party cookies to machine learning toimprove data accuracy.
Google Analytics4 features that are brand new include:
· machinelearning and artificial intelligence (AI) tools;
· Integrationwith Google Ads is possible;
· Customer-centricreporting based on lifecycle data
· Additionalcodeless tracking options that provide data with lower latency are available.
· Datamanagement and regulatory compliance are enhanced with data control features.
