Google Analytics

What Is Google Analytics?

Google Analytics is a website tracking and analytics platform that helps website owners understand how people use their site.

The latest version of Google Analytics, Google Analytics 4, was launched in July 2023. It replaced the popular Universal Analytics version, which Google has now retired.

Google Analytics 4 uses machine learning and AI to track user behaviour across your websites and apps.

It was specifically designed to improve event tracking and data analysis reporting.

It shows you important data like-

But that’s just the very basics…

Google Analytics also offers advanced tracking features like sales, conversion tracking, and user behaviour analysis.

It categorises traffic based on its source, location, and even demographics.

To say that Google Analytics is powerful would be an understatement.

It records everything that happens and gives detailed reports about how your users engage with your site.

You can use this information to improve your website user experience, increase conversions and create better content.

Is Google Analytics free?

Yes, Google Analytics is completely free. All you need is a free Google account (like Gmail) to add your website or app to the platform.

There is also a paid version called Google Analytics 360, but most website owners won’t need it.

What Does Google Analytics Do?

Google Analytics collects data about how users engage with your site, enabling you to make better decisions about your site and business.

Some of the benefits include:

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg! At its core, Google Analytics is a data aggregator, which means it primarily collects and stores the data for you.

Then, it’s up to you to decide what reports you need and what data will help you grow your business.

How Does Google Analytics Work?

Google Analytics works by collecting, processing, and displaying data about your website visitors.

The data is collected using a JavaScript code you add to the site or app.

Let me explain in more detail:

Setup and Installation

You first need a Google account to create a Google Analytics property. Think of property like an account specifically for your website.

You can create as many properties as you need for all your different websites and apps.

After creating the property, Google gives you a tracking code to add to the site. This code collects data about user interactions.

Data Collection

The Javascript code is added to each page on your site. This gives Google Analytics the power to monitor user behaviour.

Monitoring includes things like-

But that’s not all…

Google Analytics can also track and record more technical data about each individual user.

This gives you a better idea of the types of people visiting your site, where they came from, and even their location.

The most common technical data is:

The more insights you have about your audience, the better you can optimise your site.

Processing and Storage

Google Analytics 4 handles data differently from other versions.

It processes all data it collects into events. Every user interaction becomes an event that can then be analysed.

The platform uses machine learning to understand user behaviour and identify patterns.

The goal is to make the collected data as practical as possible.

That means you can use it to improve your site, maximise conversions, and make better business decisions.

Powerful, right?

Reporting

By default, Google Analytics comes with some basic reports:

These are good to start and give you some base insights about your audience and traffic.

But the real power comes when you create your own reports. You customise reports for specific insights and track the data that you want.

The more you understand about how Google Analytics works, the more you can take advantage of the data it collects.

What Are Metrics And Dimensions In Google Analytics?

Metrics and dimensions are the building blocks of reports inside Google Analytics. They let you customise which data is displayed in each report.

Think of metrics as quantitative data measurements and dimensions as more qualitative.

Dimensions describe your data.

They’re the “what” in your reports, like:

Metrics measure your data.

They’re the real “numbers” in your reports, like:

For example, if your site has 10,000 visitors, you can use the City as your dimension and the Number of Users as the metric.

Google Analytics would then break down the Number of Users by City.

This is just a basic example of how metrics and dimensions work together. The sky is the limit on what’s possible!

How To Use Google Analytics

Here are 5 powerful ways to use Google Analytics 4 for your website and business:

1. Search Traffic Overview

The traffic acquisition report gives you a high-level view of your organic search performance.

This helps you understand if your SEO efforts are working and how your search traffic changes over time. You can even compare search traffic trends based on any data range you set.

Here’s how to do it:

Click on “Reports”, then click “Acquisition” and select “Traffic Acquisition”.

This gives you an overview of how your traffic is acquired, broken down by medium, such as organic traffic, social media traffic, direct traffic, etc.

Click on the data range in the top right and toggle “Compare” at the bottom.

Now, you will see a comparison of your traffic over the last 28 days compared to the previous 28 days.

Use this to see if your traffic has increased or decreased over time.

2. SEO Performance By Individual Page

The landing page report breaks down your search traffic by individual URLs.

This helps you identify which pages are performing well in search and which ones need improvement.

You can see exact traffic numbers for every page on your site.

I spend a lot of time looking through these reports at the beginning of the month. The goal is to identify pages and blog posts that are losing traffic and need updating.

Click on “Reports”, then click “Engagement” and select “Landing page”.

Next, you need to filter to only see organic search traffic.

Click “Add Filter” and select “Session Medium”. Choose “exactly matches” and select “organic”. Finally, click “Apply”.

This will filter out all the other traffic sources for each page.

For example, if your page received a visitor from social media, it won’t be included in the report results.

Why do this?

Short answer – To see how much organic search traffic each page receives.

Use the date comparison to spot pages with significant traffic drops that might need SEO attention.

3. Search Traffic Conversion Rate

Getting traffic through SEO is one thing.

But the real value is ensuring traffic converts into sales and leads.

This next report shows whether your organic traffic converts into leads, sales, and other important events. Google Analytics 4 sets up some events by default.

But to really get the most value from this report, you need to set up custom events and goals.

This will give you a more accurate view of your SEO performance.

Click “Reports”, then “Acquisition” and select “Traffic Acquisition”.

Click the pencil icon and add key metrics you want to view.

This will be different for everyone based on the events you have set up. But some of the key ones will be-

Choose the metrics that are important to your business.

Now, you can see the true conversion rate of your organic search traffic and get an idea of what’s working best for your business.

Cool, right?

4. Filter Key Events By Landing Page

Now it’s time to take this to the next level…

Google Analytics lets you track which pages convert visitors into leads best. This helps you prioritise your pages that drive real business results.

Click “Reports”, then “Engagement” and select “Landing Pages”.

Click “Add Filter” and choose a dimension that you want to track.

In this example, I will select “Affiliate Link Click” (which I set up manually), then choose “exactly matches” and then select the value.

For you, this could be anything like a lead, purchase, or even a specific button click. It depends on what is important for your business.

5. SEO Traffic Alerts

Wouldn’t it be helpful if Google Analytics notified you if you suddenly had a significant traffic drop?

Well, it can!

You can set up automatic notifications when your organic search traffic drops significantly. This helps you catch and address SEO issues quickly before they become major problems.

Click “Reports”, then “Report Snapshot” and select “Insights”.

Click “Create”, then scroll down and select “Create New”.

Now, you need to set your conditions.

Set the evaluation frequency to Monthly, click “Change Segment” and select-

Click “Apply”.

Now, set the following conditions:

Give your Insight a name and add your email for the notification.

You will automatically be notified if your organic search traffic drops by more than 30% compared to the previous month.