Google Analytics for Beginners
Introducing Google Analytics
1.1. Why digital analytics?
Purchase funnel
Acquisition: building awareness and acquiring user interest
Behavior: when users engage with your business
Conversion: when a user becomes a customer and transacts with your business
Measure different aspects of the funnel using digital analytics.
Track what online behavior led to purchases
o E.g., geographical sales data – in which areas (not) popular
o E.g., discover that users have issues with a particular step on the website
Use that data to make informed decisions how to reach new/existing customers
Lead generation: the initiation of consumer interest or enquiry into products or services of a
business. Leads can be created for purposes such as list building, e-newsletter list
acquisition or for sales leads. Ads but also organic.
Can gather data from
Websites
Mobile applications
Online point-of-sales systems
Video game consoles
Customer relationship management systems
Other internet-connected platforms
1.2. How Google Analytics works
Google Analytics Collects data and compiles it into useful reports
Steps
1. Create Google Analytics account
2. Add small piece of JavaScript tracking code to each page on your site
a. Behavioral information: anonymous information of how users interact with
that page
b. Browser information: language, device, operating system, traffic source (what
brought them there – e.g., ad), type of browser
, c. Session: period of time in which the actions are grouped - begins when user
navigates to the page, ends after 30 minutes of inactivity
3. Set up your configuration: Customise how your data is processed
a. Ex. 1: do not include internal company traffic
b. Ex. 2: Only include data from a particular region
c. Once your data has been processed and stored in the database, it cannot be
changed – don’t exclude any data you may want to analyse later in the
configuration
Locate analytics code: Admin > Tracking info > Tracking code
Place after opening <head> tag of your website
1.3. The Analytics account structure
Structure – can’t be changed later; align with business structure
Organization: All your analytics accounts can be grouped under one “Organization”
o Small corporations use only one account
Account: determines how data is collected from your websites & manages who can
access that data
o Separate accounts for distinct businesses/business units
Property: Each account can have multiple properties
o Can collect data independently of each other using unique tracking IDs that
appear in your code
o Multiple properties: e.g., website, mobile applications and other digital assets
that are associated with your business
o Or separate properties for different sales units, brands, geographical
locations
This allows you to view data for individual part of your business – BUT
won’t allow you to see data from separate properties in aggregate
View: Each property can have multiple views
o Filters to determine what data you want to incorporate in the reports for
each view
Introducing Google Analytics
1.1. Why digital analytics?
Purchase funnel
Acquisition: building awareness and acquiring user interest
Behavior: when users engage with your business
Conversion: when a user becomes a customer and transacts with your business
Measure different aspects of the funnel using digital analytics.
Track what online behavior led to purchases
o E.g., geographical sales data – in which areas (not) popular
o E.g., discover that users have issues with a particular step on the website
Use that data to make informed decisions how to reach new/existing customers
Lead generation: the initiation of consumer interest or enquiry into products or services of a
business. Leads can be created for purposes such as list building, e-newsletter list
acquisition or for sales leads. Ads but also organic.
Can gather data from
Websites
Mobile applications
Online point-of-sales systems
Video game consoles
Customer relationship management systems
Other internet-connected platforms
1.2. How Google Analytics works
Google Analytics Collects data and compiles it into useful reports
Steps
1. Create Google Analytics account
2. Add small piece of JavaScript tracking code to each page on your site
a. Behavioral information: anonymous information of how users interact with
that page
b. Browser information: language, device, operating system, traffic source (what
brought them there – e.g., ad), type of browser
, c. Session: period of time in which the actions are grouped - begins when user
navigates to the page, ends after 30 minutes of inactivity
3. Set up your configuration: Customise how your data is processed
a. Ex. 1: do not include internal company traffic
b. Ex. 2: Only include data from a particular region
c. Once your data has been processed and stored in the database, it cannot be
changed – don’t exclude any data you may want to analyse later in the
configuration
Locate analytics code: Admin > Tracking info > Tracking code
Place after opening <head> tag of your website
1.3. The Analytics account structure
Structure – can’t be changed later; align with business structure
Organization: All your analytics accounts can be grouped under one “Organization”
o Small corporations use only one account
Account: determines how data is collected from your websites & manages who can
access that data
o Separate accounts for distinct businesses/business units
Property: Each account can have multiple properties
o Can collect data independently of each other using unique tracking IDs that
appear in your code
o Multiple properties: e.g., website, mobile applications and other digital assets
that are associated with your business
o Or separate properties for different sales units, brands, geographical
locations
This allows you to view data for individual part of your business – BUT
won’t allow you to see data from separate properties in aggregate
View: Each property can have multiple views
o Filters to determine what data you want to incorporate in the reports for
each view
