Google Analytics – the what, the why and the how?
Having a website to advertise your businesses’ services and products is essential to helping your business get noticed and grow. It’s also fundamental to monitor that website. Websites are a form of advertising, even though it is not always the original motive for having a website. Advertising is about results and numbers, and that’s why you need the statistics from your website.
And guess what? Google Analytics is probably the easiest and low cost way to get these statistics.
If you have a website and you’re not using Google Analytics (GA) or any analytic programme, then after reading this, you will want it ASAP.
So, here is a brief run-down of what GA is all about.
What is Google Analytics?
Google Analytics is a free product offered by Google which monitors your website. Google brought an analytical programme called Urchin and turned it into GA, which has made a lot of website owners very happy. As soon as Google launched this analytic programme, thousands upon thousands, started using the programme.
It basically generates statistics about a website. So if you have a website and you want to know how many visitors you get per day, week or month, then Google Analytics is for you. It can tell you more in depth metrics such as Unique Visitors, Average Visit Duration, Bounce Rates and many more.
Why use Google Analytics?
Every website should use an analytic programme. GA is free and that’s the main reason why you should use Google’s analytic programme rather than any other.
Google Analytics makes it easier for website owners to monitor the behaviour of visitors on their website.
GA also provides:
- Accurate data about trends and website traffic
- Where visitors actually come from and how they interact with a site
- Tools to measure conversions
- Which keywords convert to customers
- Which online advert is the most profitable
- Where people exit the site
- Pages where visitors stay the longest
How much is Google Analytics?
As I’ve said before, Google Analytics is completely free. However, if you’re lucky to have a site that has more than 10 million visitors a month, then you will have to pay for Google Analytics Premium (now part of Google’s 360 suite).
How does Google Analytics work?
The answer to this question could get really techie and geeky, which could be confusing for a person who just wants a brief introduction to Google Analytics, so here’s a simple explanation:
When you sign up for Analytics, you have to apply a tracking code (JavaScript code) to every page on your website. When the tracking code (JavaScript code) is installed and visitors start viewing your site, you will then notice data on your GA reports.