Reading through Tips to Better GOOGLE ANALYTICS with Bryan Eisenberg with WebsiteMagazine.com in the November 2009 printed issue.

He brings up some very good points and I want to summarize my findings for you…

• If Google Analytics does not bring in the complete analytic solution for you check out HitBox or Omniture
• Google Analytics lack one thing – HUMAN SUPPORT
• THE BASICS: For Google Analytics to work you must add a code (tag) to any page you need to track [to learn more about Google Analytics – Bryan’s suggests http://www.google.com/support/conversionuniversity
  • Once you complete the basics you can use several other tools that will test to ensure proper set up –
    • Sitescan by EpikOne – check for proper installation with a FREE scan http://www.sitescanga.com HERE ARE MY RESULTS for http://StaciJansma.com
    • Firebug is FREE, open-source Firefox plug-in with features that help with tagging http://getfirebug.com
    • Looking for an option that will crawl all pages of your website without limitation – PAID option of W.A.S.P. http://webanalyticssolutionprofiler.com
  • Setting up Goals of how you use what Google Analytics can report to you
  • Track goals for your customers
  • Tracking of conversion rates
  • Bryan suggest ZenCartOptimization.com blog – there is a series titled Google Analytics Demystified – Part 5 deals with goals and he highly recommends reading it. (ZenCartOptimization.com provides helpful information – check this out if you wish http://www.zencartoptimization.com/category/website-analytics)
• Tracking
  • Log in to see your Analytics and on the home page – bottom right is a link called Filter Manager
  • This is where you can focus on your internal traffic and exclude internal traffic as well as traffic from any other domain
  • Here you can choose to exclude your competitor’s domains, especially since these are usually your competitor’s checking up on your improvements and new developments on your site
  • If you have a membership site you should filter your member’s out as well
  • Once you filter out the “unqualified visitors” as Bryan calls them, this will help you to get a handle on exactly how well you are converting your QUALIFIED visitors
  • Another important Google Analytics feature is — the analysis of visitors by defined segments
  • You may run into a similar experience that Bryan did with a client that he was helping… he realized that the client received lots of traffic from a recent partnership but only saw a small increase in sales
  • Bryan helped the client helping them build a specific landing page for this partner traffic and focused on increasing that segment’s conversion rate — after providing content on that page specific to the partner traffic SALES INCREASED!
  • Google Adwords can also work with Google Analytics – visit http://www.google.comsupport/conversionuniversity to learn more!
• And ACTION!
  • If you see the same boring results month after month, report after report – CHANGE something on your website. Bryan suggests that if you don’t walk away with something to-do, change, make better than you are likely missing valuable opportunities
• Get Started NOW! Tips and Action Steps from Bryan
  
  • Start your action list – look at your top entry and exit pages and OPTIMIZE those with a 40 percent plus exit rate
  • Look at your top referring keywords and optimize landing pages — again we are looking at those with a 40 percent plus exit rate
  • Look at your goal conversion funnels and start optimizing the step that has the highest exit/drop rate from one step to the next
  • Review your website for yourself and think why someone may read this page for 5 minutes but the next page look at it and leave within seconds…
  • Bryan mentions to Never Forget… when runing reports and starting at averages in Google Analytics or any other analytics program – those clicks are REAL people making DECISIONS

To read more from Bryan, visit his blog at http://GrokDotCom.com/GoogleAnalytics