Web Analytics Made Easy

WEB ANALYTICS MADE EASY

Presented by Michael Nedel freeword [at] comcast [dot] net

Set up your google analytics account in eight Steps:

Step one:
Go to http://www.google.com/analytics/
Click sign up now

Step two:
Verify your account

Step three:
After verifying your account you will be sent to a page that asks you to
“Sign up for google analytics” – Click that

Step four:
Enter your web address and create an account name for it.

Step Five:
Add your name, address, etc..

Step six:
Accept terms, click “Create New Account”

Step Seven: Copy and paste the given code segment into each page of your website that you wish to track. You will paste the code into the bottom of your content, immediately before the </body> tag of each page you are planning to track. If you use a common include or template, you can enter it there.

Step Eight:
Viola, your account is set up! Nice work!

1. Intro yourself and explain how you started to use Google Analytics and Why

2. Brief Discussion: What action do you want people to take when they come to your web site?
(Throw some of them up on the screen and have the folks explain). Do you want them to "Donate", "Join", "Send a Message", "Buy"....?

3. Pick an example website with analytics (your choice, we can also use one of the nonprofits who have set up analytics before hand).

4. Question: What do we know about the visitors to this site?
What sites they are linking from?
What key words they are using to find us?
Where do they live?
What browser are they using?
How long they spend on the site?
What do are they looking at
What action are they taking
Where/ when/ why are they leaving?

5. Discuss: What is the value of this information? What does it tell us? What do we do with it?

6. Goal Setting: Why it is valuable to put a frame of reference around the numbers and how you do that. Use examples from the folks present and/or from your own site.

7. Useful Resources: You may have favorite ones you want to share. If you also send to me in advance I can be sure to put it up on the wiki.

7. How to set up Google Analytics for those who have not yet done it. If a lot have not, I would put this up front. But if most of them have, I would put this at the end and let those people stay a little longer.