
What Is Google Analytics?
Google Analytics is a free web analytics service by Google. This service allows website owners to compile and track data like page views, bounce rate, session duration and where the traffic comes from. The data you compile can help you in many different ways as they provide valuable insight into your users experience on your site. In part 1 of this 3-part blog series, we’ll explore what Google Analytics is, what data you can compile and what it means, and how to use it.
Did you know? Roughly 28 million websites use Google Analytics!
What Data Can I Compile And What Does It Mean?
There’s many kinds of data you can compile in Google Analytics, like page views, session duration, bounce rate, etc. You can also take a look at where the traffic comes from and the user journey throughout your site. Different metrics mean different things, for example:
- Page views
- This metric showcases how many times a page has been visited. If this metric is high, it may mean you have a high click-through rate (CTR) if it was found via search.
- Session duration
- Session duration represents how long a user has spent on your website. Multiple visits count as multiple sessions, each with differing durations. If a user clicks onto another page after the page they landed on/first visited, it’s the same session. It only counts as a separate session once they leave your site entirely and visit again at a later point.
- Bounce rate
- This metric illustrates how many pages a user visited on your website before leaving. For example, a 100% bounce rate just means they were only on 1 page their entire session, but if the bounce rate is 50%, that means they visited 2 pages before leaving your site.
- Click-through rate (CTR)
- CTR shows how many people have clicked through to a page or to your website compared to how many people have seen your website in results pages.
- Unique users
- Unique users showcases how many users have visited your website. However, if the same user visits twice, it’s still 1 unique visit because it only counts for the first visit.
How To Use Google Analytics
Google Analytics can be very daunting when you first use it, but thankfully there are many courses, guides and videos to help you. However, to generally use Google Analytics, it’s important that you:
- Create an account
- Set goals that you can measure, track and that align with your overall business goals
- Conduct data analysis to gain important insights and understand user behaviour and how that reflects on your website
- Optimise your website based on these insights and your understanding of user behaviour
- Continue monitoring what effect your changes have
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, Google Analytics serves as a powerful tool for businesses and website owners to measure, analyse, and optimise their online presence. By implementing the tracking code and utilising the diverse range of features and reports offered by Google Analytics, users can gain valuable insights into user behavior, traffic sources, and website performance. These insights enable informed decision-making, allowing businesses to enhance user experiences, optimise marketing strategies, and achieve their goals. With ongoing monitoring and customisation options, Google Analytics empowers users to continuously improve their online presence, stay ahead of the competition, and make data-driven decisions for long-term success.
Join us for Part 2: Advantages of GA4 Over UA next week!