trendspotting: using google analytics to track and react to website visitor patterns hashtag:...

Trendspotting: Using Google Analytics to Track and React to Website Visitor Patterns

Hashtag: #iumetrics

Chris BrownAssistant DirectorIU Communicationschrmbrow@iu.edu

Bob MolnarWeb Production ManagerIU Communicationsrmolnar@iu.edu @bobmolnar

2Twitter Hashtag: #iumetrics

Web AnalyticsA Definition

“measurement, collection, analysis and reporting of internet data for purposes of understanding and optimizing web usage”

Analytics at IUWeblogs

Page Counters

Analog

Google Analytics

Urchin

Analytics at IU

• Raw server logs of all “hits”

• Difficult to read and interpret

• Difficult to cultivate pageviews

Weblogs

Analytics at IU

• First attempt at any organized way to count visitors

• In-page analytics• Easily manipulated

and reported only how many “visitors” a page had (often incorrectly)

Page Counters

Analytics at IU• IU’s first enterprise-wide

analytics solution • Extracted from server

logs, but organized • Limited in scope: Cannot

show visits, how website visitors went through the site, how they left the site, how much time they spent on the site, etc.

• Available for all webserve accounts:http://www-reports.iu.edu/

Analog

Analytics at IU• Sophisticated client-side,

Javascript-based analytics solution

• Free to use, but requires a Google account

• Data is processed on Google servers

• Aggregate data reporting• No way to re-process data

once it is collected• Cannot track users who use

browsers without Javascript enabled/non-Javascript browsers

Google Analytics

Analytics at IU• Also a Google product• Server-side solution• Data is processed on

locally owned servers• Aggregate &

individual data reporting

• Allows for re-processing of old data

• In evaluation phase at IU

Urchin

Web AnalyticsThe Process

Web Analytics

Measure

Web AnalyticsHow Google Analytics Works

Web AnalyticsBlind Spots• JavaScript Disabled• Cookies Blocked• Cookies Removed• Private Browsing

• Multiple Devices• Multiple Browsers• VPN Connections• iFrame Content

Web AnalyticsProfile Filters• Limits and modifies

traffic data within a profile.

• Only contains data starting from the date created.

• Can be applied to multiple profiles, but each must be viewed separately.

• Never apply to RAW DATA profile.

• Limit profile data to certain account users.

Web AnalyticsProfile Filters• Predefined Filters• Exclude traffic from

the domains• Exclude traffic from

the IP addresses• Exclude traffic to the

subdirectories

• Custom Filters• Exclude/Include

Pattern• Search & Replace• Uppercase / Lowercase• Advanced

Web AnalyticsGoals & Funnels• A goal is a website

page that serves as conversion for your site – i.e. completion of call to action.• Form confirmation• Downloads• Purchase

• A funnel represents the path that you expect visitors to take on their way to converting to the goal.• Conversion rate• Visitor goal

abandonment• Bottlenecks

Web AnalyticsCampaign Links• Use for online and

offline campaigns• Direct Mail• E-mail• Banner Ads• Search

• URL Builder Tool

• Provides UTM parameters for performance tracking• Campaign Source• Campaign Medium• Campaign Term• Campaign Content• Campaign Name

Web Analytics

Analyze

Web AnalyticsUnderstanding Your Audience

Where are your audiences originating from?• Internal vs. External• Geographies• Traffic Sources• Direct• Organic Search• Pay-Per-Click (PPC)• Pay-Per-Impressions (PPI)• Off- and Online Campaigns• Social Media• External Sites

How can web analytics help you better understand your audience(s)?

How do your audiences access the site?• Browser• Operating System• Network• Mobile• Which devices?

How do your audiences behave on the site?• New vs. Returning• Visit Frequency• Visit Recency• Visit Duration• Page Depth

Web AnalyticsUnderstanding Your Content

How are your pages performing?• Pageviews• Unique Pageviews• Time on Page• Bounce Rate• Exits

How can web analytics help you better understand your site’s content?

How are your pages performing?• Page Popularity• Content Drilldown• Landing Pages• Exit Pages

What are audiences searching for?• Search Volume• Search Exits• Search Refinements• Time After Search• Search Depth

Web AnalyticsAdvanced Segments

• Allows viewing and comparison of multiple advanced segments side by side in reports.

• Not available for absolute unique visitors, goal and funnel reports. Use filters for these areas.

• Used to isolate and analyze specific kinds of traffic.

• Non-destructive and can be applied on historical data.

Web Analytics

Under the Hood:Goals & Funnels

Goals & FunnelsAny specific, measurable action performed by a site user that you determine is more valuable than a standard pageview. You can define the desired path to the Goal and track that path using Funnel Reports.

You can have up to 20 goals across 5 goal tabs

What is a Goal (a.k.a. “Goal Conversion” or “Conversions”)?

Web AnalyticsExamples of Goals• Downloading a

specific PDF• Visiting a specific

sub-site (e.g., Current Projects, Alumni Giving, etc.)

• Engagement goals (e.g., commenting on a blog post, sharing a site asset via social media, etc.)

• Purchasing an item

Web AnalyticsThe Importance of Goals• Single most important measurement• Helps to define website success: completion of a Goal• Also measures how close visitors who did not complete

the Goal came to completion• “Negative Goals” – tracking how people get to error

pages, etc.

Web AnalyticsFunnel Reports• Funnel - the path a visitor takes to complete a Goal• Funnel Reports • Trace the visitor path to a Goal• Not ideal for every Goal (e.g., Pages/Visit)• Use for Goals that have a clear linear path

• Expect to lose visitors at each step in the path (thus, the term “Funnel”)

Web AnalyticsTypes of Funnels

Adapted from Clifton, B. Advanced web metrics with Google Analytics.

Web AnalyticsCylinder Shape

This shape represents 100% Goal completion. It is unrealistic, if not unattainable.

The most common shape. Represents a sharp decrease in visitors with each step in the Funnel.

Web AnalyticsTraditional Funnel

The “bulge” represents an ill-designed path, where there is a sharp increase in visitors in the middle of the path.

Web AnalyticsThe “Bulge” Shape

The shape of the Funnel can tell us a lot.

A shape depicting a large number of visitors leaving early in the process. Represents poor conversion and significant barriers to progress.

Web AnalyticsThe “Birdbath” Funnel

This is the ideal shape. Represents a well-optimized path, with a gradual decrease in visitors with each step in the Funnel.

Web AnalyticsThe “Flowerpot” Funnel

• New feature in the latest version of Google Analytics

• Shows the path to a Goal from multiple channels (e.g., social media, banner ads, email blasts) for up to 30 days prior to Goal achievement

• For more information:• http://bit.ly/ga-mcf• http://bit.ly/ga-mcf-vid

Web AnalyticsThe Multi-Channel Funnel Report

Web Analytics

Under the Hood:Campaigns

• Campaign Reporting is a way to track a marketing campaign’s results under a single category.

• Link Tagging is a process by which you can customize URLs to track website visits that comprise a campaign.

What is a campaign?

Web AnalyticsCampaigns

• utm_campaign (required) – The name of the specific marketing campaign (e.g., “2011_Comm_Mrktg_Conf”)

• utm_medium (required) – The marketing medium by which a visitor came to visit the website (e.g., “email”, “postcard”, “billboard”, “banner ad”, “twitter”, “facebook”)

Web AnalyticsParameters for Link Tagging

• utm_source (required) – A specific source for the website visit (e.g., “vp_email_2011_10_19”, “tweet-10192011”)

• utm_content (optional) – Used to differentiate ads within a campaign

• utm_term (optional) – Used only for paid keywords (e.g., Google AdWords)

Web AnalyticsParameters for Link Tagging

http://bit.ly/ga-url-builder

Web AnalyticsGoogle’s URL Builder

http://admit.indiana.edu/discover?utm_source=research_admit_email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=AdmitAcademicOptions

Web AnalyticsDeconstructing the Resulting URL

Web AnalyticsThe Source

Web AnalyticsThe Medium

Web AnalyticsThe Campaign Name

• Shorten the URL when sending it to visitors:http://admit.indiana.edu/myoptions/admit

• Methods for shortening URLs• Use bit.ly: http://bit.ly (requires free account activation for

customizing URLs)• Use go.iu.edu (IU’s URL-shortening service, requires CAS

login):http://go.iu.edu/

• Add custom, shortened URL to your website’s .htaccess file (not for the faint of heart!)

Web AnalyticsShortening the URL

Web Analytics

Under the Hood:Virtual Pageviews

• A method for making reading a report “cleaner”

• Replaces longer URLs in a report with a readable format

• Similar to Events (covered later)

What is a virtual pageview?

Web AnalyticsVirtual Pageviews

Some dynamically-generated URLs may contain a long string of parameters used for connecting to databases:http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Being+lucky+Herman+Wells&x=0&y=0

Databases need those parameter values, but the associated URLs are hard to read and decipher in Google Analytics reports.

Web AnalyticsLong URLs and Reporting

Google Analytics includes the ability to create Virtual Pageviews to replace confusing URLs in reports.

You can also use Virtual Pageviews for items that are not normally tracked as pageviews, but have similar actions (e.g., opening a PDF file).

Web AnalyticsWhen should you use virtual pageviews?

http://www.iucat.iu.edu/uhtbin/cgisirsi/t45rMDnjOO/I-UNIVLIB/17211593/9

Web AnalyticsReporting with Virtual Pageviews

In any pageview reports, only the folder path and parameter string (depicted in red below) will appear:

http://www.iucat.iu.edu/uhtbin/cgisirsi/t45rMDnjOO/I-UNIVLIB/17211593/9

Web AnalyticsReporting with Virtual Pageviews

Virtual pagviews make reporting folder paths easier to read:

/books/Herman Wells - Being Lucky

<a href="http://www.iucat.iu.edu/uhtbin/cgisirsi/t45rMDnjOO/I-UNIVLIB/17211593/9" onclick="_gaq.push(['_trackPageview', '/books/Herman Wells - Being Lucky']);">Being Lucky by Herman B Wells</a>

Web AnalyticsVirtual Pageviews - Creating the URL

Web Analytics

Under the Hood:Events

Web AnalyticsEvents

• An event is any action a visitor is capable of performing while visiting a website.

• Practical definition for Google Analytics: Any in-page action that does not cause a pageview

• Help to reduce high bounce rate on a page that would otherwise generate a single pageview

What is an event?

Web AnalyticsEvents

• Watching an embedded video:• Playing the video• Stopping the video

• Navigating an in-page slideshow

• In-page gadgets (AJAX)

• File downloads

Event examples

• category (required) – a value describing a group categorized under a common name (e.g., “Homepage Slideshow”).

• action (required) – a value describing what the user did to trigger an event (e.g., “click”, “press play”, “stop”).

• optional_label – an optional value you can use to provide additional text information (e.g., “Slide 1: State of the University Address”, “Play Alumni Video”)

• optional_value – an optional numeric (integer only) value that use can use to provide additional numeric information. Google Analytics will sum all aggregate values.

Web AnalyticsEvent Components

Web AnalyticsTagging an Event

Web AnalyticsExample of a tagged Event

Web AnalyticsEvents vs. Virtual Pageviews

• Since Events do not generate pageviews, use them only to track actions that would not count as a pageview normally (e.g., interacting with a video, AJAX application, slideshow, external links, etc.).

• Virtual Pagviews do count as pageviews. Use them to track actions that you would consider a pageview under most circumstances (e.g., downloading a PDF, Word document, etc.)

Web Analytics

Under the Hood:New Features

• Access the reports using Audience » Mobile• Overview – Simple report showing breakdown of mobile

vs. non-mobile visitors.• Mobile Devices – Presents visitors broken down by

mobile device. You can also segment by service provider, input selector (e.g., touchscreen, joystick, stylus), operating system, and other dimensions. Also includes visitor location segmenting (using the Map Overlay feature).

Web AnalyticsMobile Reports

• Access the report using Audience » Visitors Flow• Uses nodes and connections to graphically represents the

paths visitors used to navigate your website.• “A node represents: one metric of the dimension by which

you’re filtering the visualization (first column); or a single page or collection of pages (for example, all pages in the wearables directory).”

• “A connection represents the path from one node to another, and the volume of traffic along that path.”

Web AnalyticsVisitors Flow Report

• Access the reports using Home tab » Real Time (BETA)• Overview - shows referrals (websites and keywords) of

visitors who are currently viewing your website. • Locations - the geographic locations of current visitors.• Traffic Sources – depicts mediums and sources of

current visitors. Good for monitoring campaigns.• Content – reveals the pages with which current visitors

are interacting.

Web AnalyticsReal Time Data Reporting

• Access the reports using Visitors » Social section• Engagement – Compares how people who used social

media (SM) on your site performed vs. people who did not use SM.

• Action – compares each SM channel and the action performed

• Pages – Compares social interactions across pages in your site

Web AnalyticsSocial Engagement Reports

Web Analytics

Web AnalyticsThe Process

Web AnalyticsMeasure – Best Practices• Establish your site goals (macro and micro).• Define the audience(s) and metrics associated to each

goal.• Update your site privacy policy.• Create a Google Account.• Create a RAW DATA profile.• Create filters for isolating and analyzing subgroup traffic.• Map goal funnels.• Utilize “UTM” parameters in hyperlinks for campaigns.

Web AnalyticsAnalyze – Best Practices• Establish a scheduled review period (monthly, quarterly,

semester, annually) for each goal.• Review metrics defined for each goal.• Raw Data• Filters• Advanced Segmentations

• Determine trends, performance bottlenecks, and new growth opportunities.

• Identify actionable insights.

Web AnalyticsAct – Best Practices• Make it a priority.• Dedicate resources for action.• Implement site changes to better align with goal

objectives reflective of analytics findings.• Content• SEO• Site/Page Usability• Process/Workflow• Design Elements

Send us an Email: metrics@iu.edu

Follow us on Twitter: @iumetrics

Analytics Resources: http://bit.ly/iumetrics

Web AnalyticsFor More Information

Web AnalyticsSpecial Thanks

Tadas PaegleNew Media DeveloperIU Communications

Greg PolitDirector, Informational &

Emerging TechnologiesIU Communications

Nancy Clensy Assistant for Special Projects

Vice President for Public Affairsand Government Relations

Web Analytics

Thank You!

trendspotting: using google analytics to track and react to website visitor patterns hashtag:...

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