A Beginners Guide To

google analytics

executive summary
Expectations have risen for marketing departments abilities to track, measure and
optimize different marketing operations. In todays world of measured marketing,
analyzing data is essential for businesses but can become overwhelming due to the
endless amount of data available. When used effectively, web analytics tools can
help marketing directors make better-informed business decisions by determining
how user search behavior impacts ROI.
The Google Analytics platform has been rebuilt from the ground up in an effort to
make it as intuitive and helpful as possible. Google has added a number of new
value-add features while keeping the old favorites such as eCommerce reporting,
conversion goals and custom reporting. These new features are proving to be more
valuable than anything offered previously by the platform.
As part of the new feature sets, Google provides the option to integrate Webmaster Tools into Google Analytics to access search optimization data and site performance metrics. Multi-Channel Funnels, In-page Analytics, Visitor Flow, Social
Plugins, and other new features will help marketers find new ways to improve their
websites and understand how users interact with them.
This guide will enable digital marketers to measure ROI more efficiently and
accurately, allowing them to make informed decisions using the robust features
in Google Analytics.

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a beginners guide to google analytics | p4

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Section 1

Initial Steps & Best Practices

Learn about various access permissions, SSL encryption and why you should link
Webmaster Tools to your Google Analytics profile

Section 2 Tracking Code

How to implement GA tracking code across your website

Section 3 Profiles and Filters

How to maintain data accuracy by setting up multiple profiles

How to filter your profile based on multiple parameters: IP address, subdomains, location, etc.

Section 4 Custom Advanced Segmentation

How to create custom advanced segments, including four segments that every SEO
should track

Section 5 Conversion Goals

How to define conversions such as: filling out a form, placing an order, time spent on site, etc.

Section 6 Automated Reporting & Annotations

How to automatically send reports in PDF, XML, Excel, TSV, or CSV

Why you should annotate any major events or changes to your Google Analytics account

Section 7

eCommerce Tracking Basics

How to set up one of the most useful features of GA to track transactions and order values

Section 8 Additional Features

How to find the most influential channels that convert on your website using
Multi-Channel Funnels

Learn newer GA features such as: search engine optimization, visitor flow, site speed
and content experiments

Section 9 Additional Resources

How to deepen your understanding of Google Analytics by taking the GAIQ exam.

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Section 1

initial steps &

best practices
Make sure those using your Google Analytics

account have appropriate access (user or admin)

SSL Encryption blocks keywords users search when

logged into any Google platform, or when using
Firefox v14. Be aware that when reporting traffic
figures, you will have to adjust for the keyword
(not provided) data.

Google has discontinued the use of the old version,

v4. All profiles have been updated to version 5.

To gain access to more features and reports,

make sure Webmaster Tools is enabled and linked

to Google Analytics.

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Section 1

Initial Steps & Best Practices

This guide is written from the perspective of an inbound marketing agency and
is meant to aid in communication with clients and address common issues that
agencies encounter when tracking analytics data.
Each of the following sections will address common issues and provide instructions on how to get the most out of
Google Analytics.

Administrative versus User Access

There are two access levels in Google Analytics, which have different restrictions. Administrative access grants full
control of all account profiles. User access restricts some of the profile capabilities. The differences are outlined in
the table below.

description

administrative

user

Create & Edit Goals

View Goals
Create & Share Advanced Segments
Grant Users Access
Create & Edit Filters
View Filters
View & Edit Profile Settings
View & Edit Property Settings
View & Edit Social Settings
View Tracking Code Settings
Create & Share Annotations
Create New Profiles

It is important to manage user access restrictions to make sure the appropriate email accounts are either intended
to be users or administrators. Check the Users tab in the account overview to view the list of email addresses that
can view your analytics profile, as shown below.

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HOW TO GRANT SOMEONE ACCESS

TO YOUR ANALYTICS PROFILE
1. Login to a profile with Administrative access. To
Login, go to www.google.com/analytics and click
Sign In.

HOW TO KNOW IF YOUR ANALYTICS

ACCOUNT HAS ADMINISTRATIVE ACCESS
1. Login to a Google Analytics account. To Login, go to
www.google.com/analytics and click Sign In.
2. Click Admin in the top right corner.

2. Choose the account that you wish to grant someone

access to.

3. If the following tabs appear, then the profile has

administrative access: tracking code, property

3. Click Admin in the top right corner (see figure 1.1).

settings, social settings, goals, users, filters,

4. Under the Profiles section, click on the Users tab.

profile settings.
4. If those tabs did not appear next to Profiles, then

5. Click + New User.

6. Enter the Email Address of the user you wish to add

the account only has User access.

to the profile.
7. Select the radio button for the type of role for the
new user.
8. Click Create User.

Figure 1.1

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SSL Encryption
In October 2011, Google announced that it would start encrypting searches for users logged in to any Google
platform. This means if a user is logged in to Gmail, Google+, YouTube or another Google platform while searching,
Google will perform the search on a secure socket layer (SSL) and will not pass the search term referrer data to
Analytics.
Also, other analytics platforms such as Adobe SiteCatalyst and IBM Coremetrics will not be able to provide keyword
information for searches done when logged into a Google platform. The search term will be identified as organic
and coming from Google, but the term will be displayed as (not provided). Search terms used to visit your site
through pay-per-click (PPC) ads will still be available.
In July 2012, Firefox started encrypting Google searches by default in the newly released version, Firefox 14. As of
June 2012, Firefox controls roughly 25% of the desktop browser usage share, according to StatCounter.

Old Versions of Google Analytics

In July 2012, Google discontinued version 4 of Google Analytics and made the transition to version 5 for every profile.
This guide reflects features and instructions for Google Analytics version 5.

Linking Webmaster Tools To Analytics

In order to access some of the newer reports in Google Analytics, Webmaster Tools must be enabled. You must
connect a site you own in Webmaster Tools to your Analytics property. This can be done by logging into the
Webmaster Tools home page, clicking Manage site next to the site you want, and then by clicking Google
Analytics property. Select the web property you want to associate with the site, and click Save.

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Section 2

tracking code
Make sure the UA code that identifies your

analytics account is implemented on every

page of your domain and/or subdomains.

When using the asynchronous code, place it

before the closing </head> tag.

When using the traditional code, place it before

the closing </body> tag.

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Section 2

tracking code
There are multiple types of tracking code available to implement Google Analytics.
The two codes used most often are the traditional and asynchronous javascript
code, and it is important to note the distinctions between the two.
Google recommends using the asynchronous code because it facilitates faster overall page load times, improved
collection for short visits to script-heavy pages and collects user clicks that occur before the tracking code loads.
It is an improvement on the traditional code used previously.
An example asynchronous tracking code is shown below.
<script type=text/javascript>
var _gaq = _gaq || [];

_gaq.push([_setAccount, UA-XXXXXXX-1]);

_gaq.push([_trackPageview]);
(function() {

var ga = document.createElement(script); ga.type = text/javascript; ga.async = true;

ga.src = (https: == document.location.protocol ? https://ssl : http://www) + .google-analytics.com/ga.js;

var s = document.getElementsByTagName(script)[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s);

})();

</script>

The asynchronous code should be placed before the closing </head> tag because the tracking snippet can execute
without blocking other code or content.
If the site chooses to use the traditional JavaScript snippet, it should be placed at the bottom of the page, just
before the closing </body> tag. The traditional code is meant to track after the content has already loaded.
It is okay to have the asynchronous and traditional tracking codes on different pages of your site, but do not place
both the asynchronous and traditional tracking codes on the same page. This will not allow Google Analytics to track
effectively and will result in inaccurate data.

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HOW TO VIEW AND IMPLEMENT YOUR TRACKING

1. Create or Login to a profile with Administrative

7. Copy this tracking code and paste it onto every page

access. To Login, go to www.google.com/analytics

you want to track immediately before the closing

and click Sign In.

</head> tag. The code provided by Google Analytics

is the updated, asynchronous version.

2. Choose the account that you wish to track.

3. Click Admin in the top right corner.

8. View the source code on the site to make sure the

account ID (e.g. UA-1234567-1) is associated
with the proper Google Analytics account.

4. Click on the Tracking Code tab.

5. This page shows the Tracking ID Number and asks
if you are tracking (see figure 2.1):

Note: Tracking subdomains and multiple top-level

domains will need additional lines of tracking

code, which will be provided in the Google Analytics

A single domain.
One domain with multiple subdomains.

account of the main domain.

Multiple top-level domains.

6. Select the appropriate radio button. The tracking
code will appear in the box below.

Figure 2.1

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Section 3

profiles & filters

Create and maintain clean account profiles by setting
up one master profile and multiple other profiles that
you can apply filters to.

Filter out certain IP addresses to exclude those who

may be skewing your data.

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Section 3

profiles & filters

It is important to have multiple profiles set up for one account/domain so that the
data is clean, well organized and available for quick access. However, creating a new
profile does not collect data retroactively. It only collects visitor information starting
24-48 hours after the tracking code is implemented.
Digital Relevance recommends having the following profiles set up for organizational purposes.
1. DO NOT TOUCH profile. This profile is meant to hold all of your historical data just in case data is lost. Do not
apply any goals or filters to it. Once data is lost, it cannot be retrieved. Google Analytics only tracks data starting
from the date you set up the profile.
2. Master profile. This is meant to be the main profile used for reporting, filtering and goal conversion
tracking. You will want to set up filters to exclude the IP addresses of those working on your site, as well as
any office IPs.
3. Organic only profile. This profile should only have traffic information from organic search. PPC and
referral data should be excluded. This is used for faster reporting and its a good way to segment your data.
Step-by-step instructions on how to create this profile are shown below.
4. PPC only profile. This profile should only have traffic information from PPC ads. Step-by-step instructions
on how to create this profile are shown below.
5. If you have other subdomains that you wish to track, you should create another profile unique to that
subdomain, one profile unique to the top domain, and let the master profile contain both the domain and
subdomain in the same profile. Google combines domain and subdomain information by default.

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HOW TO CREATE A NEW PROFILE

1. Login to a profile with administrative access.
To Login, go to www.google.com/analytics and click Sign In.
2. Click the Admin button in the top right corner.
3. Under the Profiles section, click + New Profile.
4. Enter a name for the profile.
5. Choose a time zone country or territory.
6. Click Create Profile.

You can use filters to restrict your Google Analytics data based on nearly every parameter: a specific IP, a
geographical location, domain and even by keyword. Filtering is essential for maintaining clean profiles because it
allows you to exclude traffic sources that could skew your results and to organize your information more effectively.
Examples of traffic sources you wish to exclude are: your office IP addresses, a development company working on
your site in another country, your marketing managers home IP or another vendor you are working with. Filters are
also how you can limit profiles to organic only or ppc only. Below are step-by-step instructions on how to set up
these filters.

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HOW TO CREATE AN ORGANIC ONLY PROFILE USING FILTERS

1. Create a new profile following the steps above.

7. Choose the radio button for Custom filter.

2. Click the Admin button in the top right corner.

8. Choose the radio button for Include.

3. Under the Profiles section, click on the Filters tab

9. In the Filter Field dropdown, choose

(see figure 3.1).

Campaign Medium.

4. Click + New Filter.

10. In the Filter Pattern text box, enter organic.

5. Choose the radio button that says Create new

11. Next to Case Sensitive, choose the radio

Filter for Profile.

button for No.

6. Name the Filter, Organic Only.

12. Click Save.

Figure 3.1

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HOW TO CREATE A PPC ONLY PROFILE USING FILTERS

1. Create a new profile following the steps above.

7. Choose the radio button for Custom filter.

2. Click the Admin button in the top right corner.

8. Choose the radio button for Include.

3. Under the Profiles section, click on the Filters tab

9. In the Filter Field dropdown, choose

(see figure 3.2).

Campaign Medium.

4. Click + New Filter.

10. In the Filter Pattern text box, enter ppc|cpc.

5. Choose the radio button that says Create new

11. Next to Case Sensitive, choose the radio

Filter for Profile.

button for No.

6. Name the Filter, PPC Only.

12. Click Save.

Figure 3.2

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HOW TO FILTER TO INCLUDE ONLY THE MAIN DOMAIN

1. Create a new profile following the steps above.

8. Choose the radio button for Include.

2. Click the Admin button in the top right corner.

9. In the Filter Field dropdown, choose Hostname.

3. Under the Profiles section, click on the Filters tab.

10. In the Filter Pattern text box, enter www\.domain\.

com Be sure to replace domain with your actual

4. Click + New Filter.

domain name.

5. Choose the radio button that says Create new

Filter for Profile.

11. Next to Case Sensitive, choose the radio

button for No.

6. Name the Filter, Main Domain Only.

12. Click Save.

7. Choose the radio button for Custom filter.

HOW TO FILTER TO INCLUDE ONLY THE SUBDOMAIN

1. Create a new profile following the steps above.

8. Choose the radio button for Include.

2. Click the Admin button in the top right corner.

9. In the Filter Field dropdown, choose Hostname.

3. Under the Profiles section, click on the Filters tab.

10. In the Filter Pattern text box, enter subdomain\.

domain\.com Be sure to replace domain and

4. Click + New Filter.

subdomain with your actual site names.

5. Choose the radio button that says Create new

Filter for Profile.

11. Next to Case Sensitive, choose the radio

button for No.

6. Name the Filter, Subdomain Only.

12. Click Save.

7. Choose the radio button for Custom filter.

In your master profile, you may wish to view your most popular pages. However, by default, Google does not show
the full URL that is receiving traffic. For example, the traffic reports would show visits to /about-us or /services
instead of www.domain.com/about-us or subdomain.domain.com/services. The user does not know which
domain the page is associated with. To fix this issue, an advanced filter can be created to show the full URL.

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HOW TO FILTER YOUR MASTER PROFILE TO SHOW THE FULL

1. Create a new profile following the steps above.
2. Click the Admin button in the top right corner.
3. Under the Profiles section, click on the Filters tab
(see figure 3.3).

10. In the Field B -> Extract B dropdown, choose

Request URI and type (.*) into the text box.
11. In the Output To -> Constructor dropdown, choose
Request URI and type $A1$B1 into the text box.
12. Choose the radio button for Yes next to

4. Click + New Filter.

Field A Required.

5. Choose the radio button that says Create new

Filter for Profile.

13. Choose the radio button for No next to

Field B Required.

6. Name the Filter, Show Full URLs.

7. Choose the radio button for Custom filter.

14. Choose the radio button for Yes next to

Override Output Field.

8. Choose the radio button for Advanced.

15. Next to Case Sensitive, choose the radio button for No.

9. In the Field A -> Extract A dropdown, choose

16. Click Save.

Hostname and type (.*) into the text box.

Figure 3.3

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HOW TO FILTER TO EXCLUDE TRAFFIC FROM A SINGLE IP

1. Create a new profile following the steps above.

7. Choose the radio button for Predefined Filter.

2. Click the Admin button in the top right corner.

8. In the first dropdown, choose Exclude.

3. Under the Profiles section, click on the Filters tab.

9. In the second dropdown, choose traffic from

the IP addresses.

4. Click + New Filter.

5. Choose the radio button that says Create new
Filter for Profile.

10. In the third dropdown, choose that are equal to.

11. Enter the IP address in the text box.

6. Name the Filter, Exclude IP.

12. Click Save.

A company may also use a range of IP addresses that are consecutive in number. These IPs can also be excluded
quickly without having to make a new filter for each IP address.
For example, Digital Relevance uses the following IP addresses:
174.165.34.1
174.165.34.2
174.165.34.3

174.165.34.13
The filter pattern that can be used to filter out these IP addresses is: ^174\.165\.34\.([1-9|1[0-3])$
To generate a regular expression like this for a range of IP addresses, please use this tool provided by Google:
http://support.google.com/googleanalytics/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=55572
This RegEx filter pattern can be used to create a custom filter. Step-by-step instructions are shown on the
following page.

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HOW TO USE A REGEX FILTER PATTERN TO EXCLUDE A RANGE OF IP ADDRESSES

1. Create a new profile following the steps above.

9. In the Filter Field dropdown, select Visitor

IP Address.

2. Click the Admin button in the top right corner.

3. Under the Profiles section, click on the Filters tab.

10. Type the Filter Pattern into the text box. Filter
patterns should be a string of RegEx code that
include the chosen range of IP addresses.

4. Click + New Filter.

5. Choose the radio button that says Create new Filter
for Profile.

Note that filter patterns follow RegEx logic.

11. Next to Case Sensitive, choose the radio button

6. Name the filter, Exclude IPs.

7. Choose the radio button for Custom filter.

for No.
12. Click Save.

8. Choose the radio button for Exclude.

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Section 4

Advanced Segments
Create advanced segments using Regular

Expressions to quickly analyze data sets for

your targeted campaign.

Learn how to share segments with anyone with

a Google Analytics account.

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Section 4

advanced segments
Creating Segments
Advanced Segmentation allows you to create custom segments of data from
an analytics profile after it has already been filtered. It allows you to analyze
smaller subsets of data and compare how these specific segments are producing
over time.
For example, if youre a multinational corporation with both domestic and international target markets, advanced
segmentation allows you to create separate segments to track web traffic from the U.S. and U.K. Then, you can make
the most of your web analytics by analyzing trends and making comparisons between the two markets.
Another great use of advanced segmentation involves segmenting social networks like Twitter, Facebook and
YouTube. By tracking traffic from these sites, you can gain insights into how specific social media campaigns
impact your bottom line.
Other useful types of advanced segmentations could show you the differences between short tail and long tail
search traffic or comparisons between paid and organic traffic.
Google Analytics offers a number of segments by default for quick access to selected data. It is also helpful
to create advanced segments that are customized to track your websites unique analytical needs.

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Four recommended custom advanced segments for SEO are:

1. Organic, Non-branded Keywords (see URL below to use the segment on your profile)

Purpose

To separate non-branded keywords being used to visit your website.

URL

https://www.google.com/analytics/web/permalink?uid=YAq4FE40SkKUGAsBSIXMlA

Make sure to exclude all brand variations and misspellings when customizing this segment.

Tip

Put a pipe, |, between each keyword when using regular expression match to exclude

branded terms.

2. Organic, Targeted Campaign Keyword Categories Including Long-Tail

Purpose

To track how well your site is performing for SEO-targeted keyword categories, including
long-tail variations.

URL

https://www.google.com/analytics/web/permalink?uid=mUtGJQVoTCq0jfqKjkQNng

Tip

The SEO industry recognizes phrase traffic as exact match + Long-Tail traffic. When

making segments, be sure to specify which type of traffic is being reported and label them

to avoid any confusion.

3. Organic, Exact Match Targeted Campaign Keyword Categories (Not Including Long-Tail)

Purpose

To track how well your site is performing for exact-match SEO-targeted keyword categories.

URL

https://www.google.com/analytics/web/permalink?uid=KzwVqcOcTxCwaE4dTpwZ8Q

Start your RegEx string with a carrot, ^, and put all keywords within parentheses with

Tip

a pipe between each keyword and a $ sign at the end. Example:^(keyword|keyword|

keyword)$ This will include only those exact keywords that you have specified within the

string, not including long-tail.

4. Social Media Referrals

Purpose

Google Analytics offers an area for social traffic reporting with default segments already set up,

but you may want to set up your own social segment to track referral traffic from social networks.

URL

https://www.google.com/analytics/web/permalink?uid=uKOfrQacTru5NSFPPkOQFw

Tip

Decide what websites from which you wish to track referral information and enter them into

the RegEx text box, being sure to escape periods with a backslash. Example: twitter/.com|

facebook\.com|pinterest\.com. Periods are regular expression characters that match

any single character. The backslash is needed so that the segment can treat the period as a

true period, and not a RegEx character.

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Sharing Segments
When a custom advanced segment is created, it is specific to the username/log-in
account information that created it. Other accounts cannot see the advanced
segment that you create even if both users have administrative access.
However, you can share custom advanced segments with other users without sharing any of your information.
They do not have to be granted access to your account in order to see them. For example, the urls above are
advanced segments that we have created. You can use on your own profiles by copy and pasting the URL into
your browser.
You should be able to use this advanced segment on your own Google Analytics profile.

HOW TO SHARE ADVANCED SEGMENTS THROUGH A URL

1. Once you have created an advanced segment that you wish to share, click Admin in the upper right corner.
2. Select the profile in which you created the segment.
3. Under the Assets tab, click Advanced Segments.
4. You should now see a list of advanced segments that have been created under your account.
5. Under Conditions on the right side, click share.
6. You will be provided with a URL to share the advanced segment configuration.

Note that you will not be sharing any traffic data. You can paste the URL in an email to whomever you wish

to see the advanced segment.

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Section 5

Goals

Create conversion goals to track actionable insights

that add increased value to your business.

Learn the difference between exact match,

head match, and regular expression match URL

destination goals.

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Section 5

goals
It is important to define conversion goals to reflect actionable insights that add
increased value to your business. Goals should be used to track what you want
a user to ultimately achieve on your website. These will vary across different
businesses and industries. Examples of possible goals are listed below:
eCommerce transactions/purchases

Downloads

Newsletter subscriptions

Watching a video about a service or product

Free trial subscriptions

Viewing 5+ pages on the website

Email list subscriptions

Viewing 10+ pages on the website

Upgrades

Job application forms

Contact or Quote requests

Contact forms

When eCommerce data is linked to GA, the customer transaction costs (conversion values) will be assigned to each
transaction. It would be helpful to assign conversion values to non-eCommerce goals as well. Each of these goals
will be more valuable to some websites than others, so it is important to determine which add the most value to
your business.
Once meaningful goals are set up and after data has been collected over a certain period of time, conversion paths
can be analyzed in greater detail with multi-channel funnels.

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EXACT MATCH vs. HEAD MATCH vs. REGULAR EXPRESSION MATCH

A useful goal to set up is a URL desination goal. This tracks every time a user lands on a specific page, such as
a thank-you page after an event, a form submission or another area on your website that you ultimately want
users to reach.
When defining URL destination goals, it is important to understand the difference between exact match, head
match and regular expression match. Here are three different scenarios that help explain the difference between
these goal types:

EXACT MATCH
Example: If the URL for a completed goal is http://www.domain.com/careers/thanks.html
Exact Match matches the exact goal URL that you specify without exception. There are no unique values in this
URL (the goal URL is the same for every user), so we use Exact Match. (Note: to make reporting easier, Google
recommends removing the protocol and hostname from the URL.)

Goal Type: URL Destination

Goal URL:

/careers/thanks.html

Match Type: Exact Match

HEAD MATCH
Example: The URL for a completed goal has unique values at the end of the URL, as follows:
http://www.domain.com/careers.cgi?page=1&id=543202
http://www.domain.com/careers.cgi?page=1&id=781203
http://www.domain.com/careers.cgi?page=1&id=605561
Head Match matches the goal URL from the beginning of the string up to and including the last character you
specify. For this goal URL, you have unique values that are specific to each user, but you want to track the goal so
that all of these conversions are counted. You can leave out the unique values and specify.

Goal Type: URL Destination

Goal URL:

/careers.cgi?page=1

Match Type: Head Match

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REGULAR EXPRESSION MATCH

Example: The URL for a completed goal has unique values for each visitor in the middle of the URL, as follows:
http://www.domain.com/careers.cfm/sid/9/id/54320211/page2#mini
http://www.domain.com/careers.cfm/sid/10/id/781203/page2#mini
http://www.domain.com/careers.cfm/sid/3/id/6051/page2#mini
Since there are unique values in the middle of the URL, and page2#mini is necessary to define the goal, you cannot
use Head Match. You need to specify that those unique numbers can be anything, so you use a regular expression
to match this goal.

Goal Type: URL Destination

Goal URL:

http://www\.domain\.com/careers\.cfm/sid/.*/id/.*/page2#mini

Match Type: Regular Expression Match

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HOW TO SET UP A URL DESTINATION GOAL

1. Login to a profile with Administrative Access.

7. If the goal URL is http://www.yoursite.com/

To Login, go to www.google.com/analytics and

thankyou.html, enter /thankyou.html in the text

click Sign In.

box and select exact match from the dropdown.

2. Click the Admin button in the top right corner.

8.

conversion to this URL.

3. Under the Profiles section, click on the Goals tab.

4. Click + Goal under one of the goal sets. Note: Only 20
goals may be created for each profile (4 sets of 5 goals).
5. Enter a goal name and select the radio button
marked Active. (see figure 5.1)
6. For this example, we define a goal as a form
submission with an exact match URL.
The first step for the user is the page with the form.

Optional: Enter a goal value associated with a

9.

Optional: Set up a goal funnel. To do this, enter the

URL of the previous step leading to the goal URL.

In this example, the page with the form would be the
first step in the funnel. This is especially useful in
visualizing the checkout process from the shopping
cart all the way down to the confirmation page after
a purchase.
10. Click Save.

The second step/goal conversion takes place

once the user submits the form and is taken to
a Thank-you page. The Thank-you page is the
goal URL.

Figure 5.1

a beginners guide to google analytics | p32

a beginners guide to google analytics | p33

Section 6

automated reporting
& annotations
Create conversion goals to track actionable insights
that add increased value to your business.

Learn the difference between Exact Match,

Head Match, and Regular Expression Match URL

Destination Goals.

a beginners guide to google analytics | p34

Section 6

Automated Reporting & Annotations

Standard and custom reports can be sent automatically to a specific email address
even if that email address does not have user or admin access to the GA account.
These reports can be emailed on a one-time, daily, weekly, monthly or quarterly
basis and can be specified to send on any day of the week.
HOW TO IMPLEMENT AUTOMATED EMAIL REPORTING
1. Login to a Google Analytics profile. The user does
not need to have admin access.
2. Select the report you wish to send automatically
via email.

7. Next to Attachments, select the type of document

you wish to send.
Note: Reports can be sent as a .csv, .tsv, .tsv for

Excel, and as a .pdf.

3. Click Email on the gray ribbon towards the top.

4. A pop-up will be shown, asking for more information
(see figure 6.1).
5. Specify the email address that will be receiving
the report(s).

8. Next to Frequency, select the time interval in which

to send the report and specify the day of the week
you wish to send it.
9. You may also specify how long to leave the
automatic email active. Select the number
of months from the drop-down.

6. Add a Subject line.

10. Add a description and click Send.

Figure 6.1

a beginners guide to google analytics | p35

Annotations
Annotations allow any user with access to a Google Analytics profile to leave shared or private notes on the main
over-time graph. Annotations should be used to explain various changes in traffic due to servers going down for an
extended period of time, the launch of new PPC display ads, an infographic or a press release. They should be used
to document when goals were set up or when filters were applied to a profile. This information can help describe the
changes in site traffic. Annotations should also be used to note the dates for important milestones on your site such
as updates or changes to the site architecture, technical issues, new initiatives by the marketing department, social
engagement activities and new partnerships. Make sure to make the annotations public so that the information is
shared to all users associated with the account.

HOW TO CREATE AN ANNOTATION

1. Login to a Google Analytics profile. The user does
not need to have admin access.
2. Select a Standard Report that has an Overview
timeline chart (see figure 6.2).
3. Just below the dates of the graph, there is a
small triangle indicating a hidden dropdown.
4. Click on the triangle dropdown.
5. On the right hand side of the dropdown, click

6. Select the date in which you wish to annotate and

enter a description about the event that occurred.
7. Click the Shared radio button if you wish all users
with access to see the note, or click the Private
radio button to keep the annotation hidden to only
your login.
8. Click Save Note: You can view other annotations by
clicking on the tiny word bubble icon on the bottom
of the Overview timeline chart.

+ Create new annotation.

Figure 6.2

a beginners guide to google analytics | p36

a beginners guide to google analytics | p37

Section 7

e-Commerce
Tracking Basics

a beginners guide to google analytics | p38

Section 7

e-commerce tracking basics

Transaction data is a vital piece of information for all eCommerce website
owners when it comes to analyzing online performance. It is helpful for executives
and marketers to see which keyword categories are driving revenue and what
percentage are converting. Making use of the eCommerce functionality in Google
Analytics makes it easier to analyze online marketing efforts.

When eCommerce tracking is set up, it allows for an in-depth analysis of most of the key eCommerce metrics
such as revenue generation on a product level, individual product performance, conversion rates, average order
values and more. Analyzing these metrics provides information that can drive decisions, which could later result in
significant performance gains. Access to this information also makes understanding customer behavior and product
interaction much easier. It allows site owners to identify key areas for improvement.
Note: If a site uses a subdomain during the shopping cart transaction process, the Google Analytics profile needs

to have tracking enabled for the subdomain. Otherwise, the eCommerce data will not be accurate. Check to be sure
that tracking is enabled for subdomains by selecting the Admin button and then clicking on the Tracking Code tab.
Select One domain with multiple subdomains to answer the first question, and then add the tracking code to all
associated subdomains.

a beginners guide to google analytics | p39

HOW TO ENABLE ECOMMERCE TRACKING FOR YOUR REPORTS

1. Click on Admin in the upper-right corner.
2. Under the Profiles tab, select Profile Settings.
3. Next to E-Commerce tracking, select Yes, an
E-Commerce Site from the dropdown.

4. Click Apply. eCommerce tracking is now enabled,

but there are still a few steps that are custom for
implementation with the ga.js eCommerce methods.
When implementing eCommerce tracking, please
follow guidelines and processes found at
https://developers.google.com/analytics/
devguides/collection/gajs/gaTrackingEcommerce

After eCommerce tracking has been enabled for the websites profile, you will need to ensure that your shopping
carts receipt page sends the eCommerce tracking data to Google Analytics. This requires adding customized
tracking code to your shopping cart pages. This can be done in a variety of ways, such as a server-side include, a
module that comes with your content system, or it can be hand-coded into your HTML code.

a beginners guide to google analytics | p40

a beginners guide to google analytics | p41

Section 8

Newer Features

a beginners guide to google analytics | p42

Section 8

newer features
Multi-Channel Funnels
The Multi-Channel Funnels feature was introduced in August 2011, and it provides
retroactive user interaction data starting from January 2011. This tool shows how
users interact with a website before making a conversion. It allows webmasters to
see exactly which marketing channels had an impact on the user and which ones
led them to convert on the site.
By default, Google attributes conversions to the most recent referring campaign (last-touch attribution), but you may
want to look at all of the different marketing channels that were used to visit your site before a conversion took place.
At a glance, it is easy to be overwhelmed by the data provided, and in some cases, (not provided), but there are a
few different ways to compare marketing channels that can impact actual business decisions.
For example, there are many reasons that marketers should use this feature for attribution modeling:

To Justify Digital Marketing Budgets

To Optimize Digital Budget Allocation

To Calculate More Accurate CPA (cost-per-acquisition) Figures

To Plan Campaigns Accordingly

To Optimize Affiliate Payments

a beginners guide to google analytics | p43

In order to solve these problems, different models should be considered and tested to see if they align with your
marketing strategies and goals. Below is a list of different models and how each one attributes a conversion.

First Touch Attribution:

100% of the conversion value is attributed to the first referring

marketing channel.

Last Touch Attribution:

100% of the conversion value is attributed to the last referring

marketing channel.

Equal credit is given to each interaction on the path to a conversion and

Linear Model:

attributes it to each marketing channel.

Time-Decay Model:

Assigns the most credit to the last interactions.

Assigns a greater weight to the first and last interactions and

Position-based Model:

is adjusted based on the remaining positions in between.

By comparing these different models, you can gain insight into which models are most relevant to your needs and
goals in order to measure the value of your campaign. For more information on selecting the right attribution model
for your business, visit http://www.slingshotseo.com/resources/e-books/valuing-digital-marketing-channels-withattribution-models/ and take our Campaign Model Assessment.
Note: Goals will need to be set up in order to have conversion data in the Multi-Channel Funnels Report.

There are nine default segments provided by Google, but it is also useful to create user-defined conversion
segments to examine specific user behavior.

a beginners guide to google analytics | p44

Below are a few multi-channel attribution segments that can help determine which marketing channel is the
most effective.
1. First-touch, Organic, Non-branded Terms

Purpose: This segment includes only conversions where the first interaction was an organic, non-branded
keyword. It is a true measure of the impact of organic search as the start of the conversion process.

Conversion Segments may not be shared across accounts yet, so below is a screenshot of how the segment
should be set up.

2. Any Interaction, Organic, Branded Terms

Purpose: This segment helps you identify how far along the conversion funnel branded terms are being used.

1.

2.

a beginners guide to google analytics | p45

3. Any Interaction, Social Media

Purpose: What is the value of a Twitter follower or a Facebook fan? This segment can get you closer to the answer
to this question by looking at the percentage of interactions from social media that influence conversions.

3.

Search Engine Optimization

Linking Webmaster Tools To Analytics
This reporting feature requires Webmaster Tools to be linked to Google Analytics. This can be done by logging into
the Webmaster Tools home page, clicking Manage site next to the site you want, and then by clicking Google
Analytics property. Select the web property you want to associate with the site, and click Save.
This feature shows how well your site is performing in search engine results pages, and provides you with the
number of impressions and clicks your site received, the average position of your site for various keywords and
the click-through-rate (CTR).
It also provides this information for comparing different countries that are searching for your site and compares the
performance of different landing pages.

a beginners guide to google analytics | p46

Visitor Flow / Goal Flow

Visitor Flow allows you to see where users are

coming into your site and how they are navigating
through to different pages. By hovering over
each of the pages, you can see the percentage of
users that went through to another page and the
percentage that dropped off.
This can be especially useful when trying to
quantify the value of a lost visitor. It can help
determine which of your pages are the most
influential in getting a user to convert on your site.

a beginners guide to google analytics | p47

Goal flow presents the same diagram with the intent of showing how users converted on your site in one of the
conversion goals you have set up already. It shows which websites referred the user to your site and how many
completed the first and second steps of your goal funnel.
In the example below, our conversion goal was how many users downloaded our old Google Analytics Guide after
coming to our GA Guide landing page. We can see the number of users who dropped off and those who downloaded
the guide. It is a useful feature to see if you are converting as many visitors as you would like, and illustrates the
importance of conversion rate optimization (CRO).

a beginners guide to google analytics | p48

speed light
Located under Content, this tool is available within Analytics after
linking Webmaster Tools to your account.
It shows you how well particular pages are performing on your site by
comparing page load times, pageviews, bounce rates, and exit percent.

Content Experiments
One of the newest features to explore in Google Analytics is the
experiments section, located under Content.

a beginners guide to google analytics | p49

HOW TO SET UP A CONTENT EXPERIMENT

1. Enter the URL for the page you want to improve.
Click Start Experimenting.
2. Next, choose which variation page you would like to
compare against. You may enter multiple variation
pages, but they each must have a separate URL.
3. Name each variation and click Next Step.
4. Set the experiment options for the page by selecting
a pre-defined Conversion Goal or creating a new Goal.
This will be the Experiments objective metric.
5. You may choose to include only a certain
percentage of users in the experiment. Google
advises, If you want quicker results, you might want

experiment. However, if your experiment is drastic

and risky, you might want to include only a small
proportion of your sites visitors.
6. Select the desired percentage, add notes, and click
Next Step.
7. This last step informs you that a small amount of
experiment code must be added to the page. You
can either implement the code yourself, or send
instructions to your webmaster.
8. After you have updated your pages with the
experiment code, click Next to validate the code,
review your configuration, and run the experiment.

to include a higher proportion of your visitors in the

Running experiments like this can help determine what layout and design is best for converting visitors on your site.
It gives you visitor data so you no longer have to guess which page would perform better.

a beginners guide to google analytics | p50

Section 9

additional resources
Google offers many resources ranging from the basics to advanced technical
knowledge and troubleshooting. There are many additional features offered by
Google Analytics that were not mentioned in this guide. Even those with a strong
command for analytics will quickly find that there is always more to learn. Here
are a few helpful resources provided by Google and the SEO community for
Google Analytics:
Googles Getting Started Guide
This getting started guide is the perfect place to learn about the benefits of analytics, signing up, installing the
tracking code, additional resources for newcomers, intermediate users and advanced users.
http://support.google.com/analytics/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=1008015&topic=1726909&ctx=topic

Google Analytics Blog

Stay on top of all major changes to Google Analytics by frequently visiting this official GA blog.
http://analytics.blogspot.com/

Google Analytics IQ Lessons

Deepen your understanding of Google Analytics by taking these free lessons. The lessons cover many topics,
including cookies, eCommerce tracking, Regex, AdWords integration, interpreting reports, and more in-depth
analysis. Slingshot SEO strongly encourages watching these videos and taking the GAIQ test to become a more
knowledgeable user. http://www.google.com/intl/en/analytics/iq.html?

Google Analytics IQ Test

Become Google Analytics certified by taking this exam, which covers the topics taught in the GAIQ Lessons.
http://google.starttest.com/

Occams Razor by Avinash Kaushik

Avinash is a digital marketing evangelist for Google and a web analytics guru. His blog includes one-of-a-kind
insights that help users get the most out of Google Analyitcs. http://www.kaushik.net/avinash/

SEOmoz Blog
The SEOmoz community frequently includes clever Google Analytics tips and tricks that are worth checking out.
http://www.seomoz.org/blog

how to pass the google iq test

Read our guide to the Google IQ test that includes 10 practice problems to help you prepare for the Google Analytics
Individual Qualification (IQ) Test. http://www.slingshotseo.com/resources/guides/gaiq-test-practice-problems/

a beginners guide to google analytics | p51

Connect with us!

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v.2, August 2012