How does Google Analytics work?

This article, designed for novice bloggers and webmasters, tells how to independently promote the site. We will describe how Google analytics works, what are the features and how to work with this tool.

Among Internet marketers, it is widely believed that the optimization of a commercial site is budgeted no less than a promotion. Why? This is due to the fact that making the work with the site easier for users, thereby we increase the likelihood of returning them to the site. Thus, the resource acquires a friendly user who will subscribe to the blog, participate in the discussions of your forum, enjoy or make repeated purchases and recommend to others. As a result, the cost of promotion is reduced.

How to understand what is interesting to users, what do they pay attention to and how to track the number of visitors on your site? In this assistant for you will be Google Analytics. In November 2012, it was possible to view the number of visits in real time. For example, you put a link to a section or article on the site in a social network. You open the Google Analytics report and view where your visitors come from and what they are doing at the moment.

In addition, there is a data visualization service, the ability to view reports on mobile platforms and much more, which facilitates the work.

In other words, Google Analytics is a free service for analysis of conversion, site performance and visitor statistics.

To bind this tool, you will need to install an asynchronous code. Together with it the site receives a unique identification number. The instruction, which tells how the Google Analytics is installed, describes in detail all the nuances of the types of sites that will help to properly configure the tool specifically for their needs. Install the code on all pages of the site will not be difficult. Often site designers (ADS, sites for LJ, WordPress) have a one-time interface for setting the code. In other words, you enter the code once, and then it is automatically added to other pages. Including the new ones.

The next important and necessary step is to set up goals. This, we can say, litmus paper for traffic sources. It is necessary to determine which actions on the site are important. For example, selling a product, watching a video, downloading a program, visiting a page, etc.

When working with an analyst's resource, Google will help to answer the following questions:

• What is the number of visitors to the site?
• Where does the transition come from?
• What kind of behavior are we expecting from site visitors?
• What really happens on the site?

The structure of the analytics consists of five sections: the audience, the sources of traffic, advertising, content and conversions. Particular attention should be paid to the following reports:

• Quantitative metrics (Unique Visitors, Total Page Views, Visits, Sources, Top entry / exit pages, Search Engine Optimization) ;
• Behavioral metrics (Bounce Rate, Time on Page, Time on Site, New vs Returning).

Based on the data displayed, you can adjust content, optimize site elements and promote it, etc.