Google Analytics is a free web analytics tool from Google. It allows you to access important KPIs and website statistics. Furthermore, Google Analytics can be used to track marketing campaigns and conduct A/B tests. Google Analytics is the world's most widely used web analytics tool and is complex but incredibly interesting.
To use Google Analytics, you need a Google account. After registering with Google Analytics and accepting the terms of service, you receive a tracking code that you must insert into the section of each page to track usage data. Some content management systems (CMS) or e-commerce platforms simplify the integration of the Google Analytics code through plugins, where only the ID is required. However, sometimes not all functions are equally available in the CMS dashboard, while they are available in Google Analytics itself.
The most important component in tactical marketing is the reporting and dashboard function. This allows you to create your own customized dashboards or integrate existing ones. The internet offers several collections of such dashboards. Important KPIs and comparisons can thus be monitored very efficiently and easily, and conclusions can be drawn. The alert function, in turn, allows you to send email notifications in the event of significant improvements or declines. All reports can be sent manually or automatically, and exported as PDF, Excel, or CSV files.
Google Analytics is a tool for building knowledge.
The Google Analytics interface consists of five main functions, which are further divided into sub-areas. The following order reflects the corresponding navigation sequence:
- Real-time: If you want to know live who is visiting your website, this is the place for you. The most active page, all visitor numbers, or the visitor flow during a campaign can be viewed and tested here in real time.
- Visitors / Target group: Here you will find all data about the website visitors: origin, demographic characteristics, devices and operating systems used, languages, etc. Furthermore, the user flow shows which users take which steps on which pages and how often these pages are visited.
- Acquisition: The most important key figures by channel: direct visitors, organic search and paid search, as well as referrals and sources (campaigns, mailings, etc.) can be broken down here and provided with several dimensions (including revenue if e-commerce tracking is activated).
- Cost analysis / AdWords: It is also important to link the AdWords account here to gain insight into the efficiency of your own campaigns.
- Search engine optimization: here, the Webmasters Tool can provide further important information: target pages and search queries (keywords) can be extracted and incorporated into SEO management.
- Behavior: This section focuses on the content: You can see the best and most popular pages, where users leave the site, what they search for, which terms they use, etc. Furthermore, in-page analysis provides insights into how users interact with the website. For example, we learn which links potential customers click on and which they don't. Based on this information, the website layout can be optimized, the user experience improved, and the number of conversions increased.
- Conversions: everything related to e-commerce. Here you define goals, see how your target URLs perform, and view funnel visualizations showing the steps taken (provided you have defined goals and steps). Furthermore, the e-commerce section provides a quick overview of the value of your online business. Structure and analyze your data using e-commerce reports and discover the interrelationships between your marketing campaigns, user interactions, and transactions. At a glance, you can identify your top-selling products.
- Important: E-commerce tracking uses a code snippet that you integrate into your website or app to collect transaction data such as product sales, purchase amounts, and billing locations. This data will then also be available in your Google Analytics account.
