Introduction to Google Analytics Reports
Overview of Analytics Reports
In this module you'll learn about the Google Analytics reporting structure, and how you can manage and interpret your reports.
Creating and Running Analytics Reports
To start viewing your Analytics reports, you'll need to have your Google Analytics Tracking Code properly installed on your website. Wait about 24 hours after you've installed it for data to start appearing in your reports.
To look at any of your reports, just click on any of the report names underneath the six categories listed in the side navigation bar.
Interpreting Google Analytics Reports
Google Analytics provides dozens of detailed reports, but how do you how to process all the information? The suggestions below can serve as helpful criteria when you read and interpret your Analytics reports.
Creating context for your data
When analyzing your traffic, avoid focusing on just a single metric. A single pageviews result for Page A itself isn't nearly as actionable as when you look at Page A's pageviews in the context of other metrics. A good metric to consider is the Bounce Rate. It could be that half of the time people entered the site through Page A, they left the site without looking at any other pages. By comparing the pageviews to the site average, we can see what percentage Page A accounts for in comparison to the overall pageviews.
You can also look at the performance of the page over time. If Page A is receiving 20% fewer visits than it did last week, people are spending 10% less time on it, and the Bounce Rate has doubled -- then that's an indicator that your site is beginning to perform poorly. You can also use the visualizations from the graphs and charts to get an at-a-glance look at your week-to-week performance.
When analyzing your traffic, avoid focusing on just a single metric. A single pageviews result for Page A itself isn't nearly as actionable as when you look at Page A's pageviews in the context of other metrics. A good metric to consider is the Bounce Rate. It could be that half of the time people entered the site through Page A, they left the site without looking at any other pages. By comparing the pageviews to the site average, we can see what percentage Page A accounts for in comparison to the overall pageviews.
You can also look at the performance of the page over time. If Page A is receiving 20% fewer visits than it did last week, people are spending 10% less time on it, and the Bounce Rate has doubled -- then that's an indicator that your site is beginning to perform poorly. You can also use the visualizations from the graphs and charts to get an at-a-glance look at your week-to-week performance.
Looking for trends
Analyzing trends is another useful way to bring context into your analysis. Use the graphs in your reports to show sudden peaks during a certain week, spot the difference between an increase in visits versus an increase in pageviews per visitor, etc. You can also graph two metrics at a time with the 'Graph Mode.' For example, if you compare Visits and Pageviews, you can tell whether or not visits increased proportionally to pageviews.
Analyzing trends is another useful way to bring context into your analysis. Use the graphs in your reports to show sudden peaks during a certain week, spot the difference between an increase in visits versus an increase in pageviews per visitor, etc. You can also graph two metrics at a time with the 'Graph Mode.' For example, if you compare Visits and Pageviews, you can tell whether or not visits increased proportionally to pageviews.
No comments:
Post a Comment