Are you curious what pages on your website visitors are clicking on, how long they stay on your website and how they got to your website? With Google Analytics and Google Webmaster Tools you can see this information and much more and most of these tools Google has created are free to use.
How To Use Google Analytics and Webmaster Tools
If you have a Google account, then you have access to a free tool known as Google analytics. The basic tool is free to use and it can provide valuable information about your current SEO and marketing campaign. Google Analytics can tell you how many unique users visited a specific page of your website and, if you link it with your Google Webmaster Tools account, you can know what keywords brought them to your website.
How To Create Reporting Views on Google Analytics
One of the first things you’ll want to do after you’ve set up your Google Analytics account is to create reporting views. These are filters that will allow you to perform multiple actions in Google Analytics like:
- Count traffic or “hits” for specific parts of your site or certain pages (without counting internal views)
- Set up restrictions so only certain people can view your analytics results
- Organize your information and statistics in order of preference
- Place information and statistics into manageable groups
How To View Where Your Website Visitors are Located
Many social media sites, including Facebook will ask you to target your advertising to certain groups. If your company isn’t local, knowing where to target your ads can be difficult. Google Analytics can help with this by showing you where most of your visitors are located in and beyond the United States.
To find this information in Google Analytics:
- Click “Audience” on the left side bar so the section expands
- Then click “Geo”
- Select “Location” underneath that
On the right side of the screen a map will appear showing the countries where your websites visitors are located. You can then click the countries individually to expand the map further and see more details about the states and cities where your website visitors are located.
Why Link to AdWords
If you’re utilizing Google AdWords, you’ll be happy to know that you can connect your AdWords and Analytics accounts. When the two accounts are linked together, you can view even more useful information.
- Ad performance data
- Bounce rates
- Remarketing options offered by Google
Why Link to Google Webmaster Tools
Have you ever wondered what people search for once they’re on your site? Google’s Webmaster Tools can help! Google Webmaster tools is a free feature that allows you to know what is happening within your website.
Google Webmaster Tools can show you what your visitor’s type into Google to end up on your website. After you create your account you need to link it to your Google Analytics for the best results.
With both tools linked to each other you will have an idea of why people come to your site, what they expect to find, and how well you’re delivering on both counts.
How To View Your Website Clicks and Click Through
Just as you can view what people search for on your site, you can also see which exact links people click on. This is great for troubleshooting because it can help you to make important decisions about what’s working on your website and what’s not.
To learn about “clicks”:
- On the left side bar within Google Analytics click on “Behavior”
- Click on the “In-Page Analytics”
- The page will split with your website being displayed in the lower portion
This feature in Google Analytics will show your site’s click analysis by displaying percentages next to links users have clicked on your website.
Some Google Analytics features do have to be set up by you, the user, but you can learn more about that from Google itself. Once you’ve got the basics down, you’re ready to use this tool to further your business and its online marketing. Using these Google tools is just part of a successful digital marketing strategy. Keep going and read my low tech guide to SEO for the technically challenged.
If you’re already using Google Analytics, we’d love to hear how its helped you, or if you have questions about getting started, join in the conversation below!
