Introduction to Analytics oatIntroduction to Analytics © 2017 Aptech Limited All righte reserved. No pait of this book may be reproduced or copied in any form or by any means ~ graphic, electronic or mechanical, including phatocopying, recording, taping, or storing in information revieval system or sent or transferred without the prior written permission of copyright owner Aptech Limited, All trademarks acknowledged. APTECH LIMITED Head Office: ‘Aptech House, 65, MDC, Marol, Andheri East), Mumbai - 400 098, india ‘www.aptech-worldwide.com E-mail: ov-support@onlinevarsity.com Edition 1 ~ 2017 Unleash your porential eared Unleash your porenta!Preface This book, Introduction to Analytics, describes the basic concepts involved in conducting Web analytics. ‘The knowledge and information in this book is the result of the concentrated eflort of the Design Team, which is continuously striving to bring to you the latest, the best and the most relevant subject matter in Information Technology. As apart of Aptech's quality drive, this team does intensive research and curriculum enrichment to keep it in line with industry tends and learner requirements. We will be glad to receive your suggestions. Please send us your feedback, addressed to the Design Centre at Aptech’s corporate office Design Team Onlinevarsity 5BLOGS WHERE THE EXPERTS SPEAK THE EXPERIENCETable of Contents ‘Session 01: Basics of Web Analytics Introduction to Web Analytics Web Analytics Tools Basic Terminolegy for Analytics ‘Summary Exercise ‘Session 02: Analytics Reports Audience Report ‘Acquisition Report Analyzing AdWords Campaigns ‘Search Console Summary ExerciseOniinevarsity).\!) | Iimit ©Session 1 Basics of Web Analytics Learning Outcomes In this session, you will learn to: > Identify toois for conducting Web analytics > Define basic terminology used in Web enalytics 1.1 Introduction to Web Analytics For anyone who has ever been responsible for the running of a Website, tis clear that high Website traffic is an important factor for the Website's success. Web traffic is defined as the number of visitors a ‘Website has and the number of pages on the Website they view. When a Website is popular, the number of visits to the Website is ikely to be high and this will concurrently mean that a large number of the ‘Website's pages are also viewed. This is a very simplistic view of Website success. What actions these isitors perform once they enter the Website, is a more accurate measure to check for the success of a Website. Do the visitors perform the actions that the site owner intended? Examples of desired actions include, clicking a link, purchasing a producl, registering for a service through the Website, or any number of other such actions. The nature and volume of such actions have a direct impact on the business of the ‘Website. Web analytics is the tool used to collate, study, measure, and inform users about the data collected by the Website on its visitors. Optimizing the Website based on the reports generated through analytics can help site owners to achieve their business goals. ‘Web analytics made a humble beginning back in 1993 when the company, WebTrends, used a simple logging system to track visits to a Website. Their system of logging was based on how many a time a ‘Web page was visited and a page visit was counted as valid only when a visitor interacted with all page elements. ‘Web analytics as a tool to understand Web trends has come a long way since those early days. Today, analytics tools can be used to measure and study a varied number of sophisticated metrics on page Visits, including: How long a visitor spends viewing each visited page. How many new and returning visitors each page gets. How many times each page is viewed. What country or geographical location a page's visitors are from. What browser is used for each page view. How many visitors the Website has had. How many clicks each page receives. ‘These measures help site owners to analyze the impact, reach, and efficiency of thelr Website. Version 1.0 @ Aptech Ld,1.2 Web Analytics Tools Performing Web analytics is not as complicated as it may sometimes sound. There are a variety of tools, available to easly track data for a chosen Website. Google Analytics Launched in 2005, Google Analytics is a feature-filed, free Web analytics tool, which makesit one of the most popular se-vices available to site owners and site managers today. The features offered by Google Analytics are powerful. It tracks data with a depth that is limited only by a site manager's imagination on how touse the reports generated by Google Analytics. Using the tool is as easy as entering the Google Analylics tracking code into the HTML file for a Website. Once this is done, any subsequent site visits are automatically tracked and all visitor data can then be Viewed from the Google Analytics dashboard. Details such as which pages are visited and clicked, the duration of each visit, and what actions visitors take on the site are all racked by Google Analytics One of the best features of the tool though, is called the Goal Funnel. fa Website offers products for purchase, the Goal Funnel feature allows a coriee of URLs to be tracked. Thie means that the URLs for each page that the visitor will need to click through to complete a purchase can be tracked. Such analysis, of these pages helps determine how many visitors go through with the purchase and also how many leave the Website midway through the process and at which stage. This data can be valuable to marketers and help to modify their strategy and Improve the purchasing process, thus, converting more interested parties into confirmed buyers. Itis also possible to track the keywords used to arrive at the tracked Website and leo what Websites they ate most often directed from. It helps site managers identify where their traffic is coming from since they can then improve traffic further by ensuring that the Website contentis Search Engine Optimized (SEO), thus impacting traffic even further. Additionally, users can set up tracking, custom alerts, and tailored reports for required metrics using Google Analytics. These actions can all be set up for specific Google Adwords campaigns that perform better than others to drive traffic to the Website. ‘Some other Web analytics tools thet are available in the market include, Adobe Digital Marketing Suite, IBM Digital Analytics (formerly IBM Coremetrics Web Analytics), Wob Tronds, Mint, and many moro. 1.2.1 Signing up for Google Analytics Accessing the Google Analytics tool is as simple as logging into a Google account. Any Gmail account that hes already been created or set up for accessing emails can also be used for accessing Google's Web analytics tool. However, in the event that a Googe account does not already exist, the sign up process is faily straightforward. 1. Access hittps://analytics google.com/ on a Web browser to display the Analytics Sign in page and click More options. Refer to Figure 1.1 Version 1.0 @ Aptech Ld,Google Sign in oconlnue to Google Anais Forget email? ee ctns Figure 1.1: Google Analytics Sign in Page 2. Then click Greate account. Refer to Figure 1.2. Google Sign in etyour device? Figure 1.2: Creating a New Google Analytics Account 3. This willopen the Create your Google Account page as shown in Figure 1.3. Enter all details in the form as speciied ‘© The Name text boxes shoulé contain the users first and last name. ‘* The Your email address text box should contain any email address owned by the user. A verification link will be sent by Google to this email address. Clicking the link wil activate the associated Google Analytics account. ‘© Create a password and Confirm your password text boxes should contain a chosen Version 1.0 @ Aptech Ld,password for the analytics account. ‘© Specify the date of birth in the Birthday fields Provide @ mobile number in the Mobile phone text box. '* Select the country of residence from the Location drop-down list. Gmmeerere .3: Create your Google Account Page 4. Clicking the Next step button will display Google's Privacy and Terms agreement as shown in Figure 1.4. Its advisable to read the terms and then scroll to the bottom of the text to click the | AGREE button Privacy and Terms Why we process it | Datawe process when you use Google i Combining data A@ure 1.4: Google's Privacy and Terms Agreement Version 1.0 @ Aptech Ld,5. Cck the verflction ink sent {othe ema adgess specie during registration and then access the Anayies so agin 6. Incase 2 Google account ateady existed, logging into te account on the Google Aalycs page wil dispay he ln up page as shown in Figure 15. Ths page aso gives an overview of he steps to gt stared wi Google Anaytes: + Signup to Googe analytes {Add a unigue racing code tthe West so that visitor data canbe tracked View visor repors to lean more about he audence Ck tne Sign up bution to stat using Google Analytics immedi Accounts or @ ‘tt analysing your sts in stops Oameircsine nines Osean Oran nneyer nee sg sn has ; ath sane S =o Figure 1.5: Google Analytics Sign Up Page 7. On signing up for Google Analytics, the New Account page is displayed 1.2.2 Adding Website and App Properties Its clear that Google Analytics does very well helping to track visitor data for Websites. What is also interesting is that it also helps to track conversion rates and a host of other details for mobile applications (Apps). Conversion rates refer to how many people view an App and then purchase something on the App. This is a really valuable feature for App developers since, i helps them to plan out future Apps, test which mobile platforms are more popular for their audience, and more such details. This date essentially helps to improve the chances of current and future releases of Apps by that developer being more widely well received. ‘Website or App set up thet ie used for tracking within the Geagle Analytics accountis an asset. Each of these properties is tracked separately but users can view data for all using a single dashboard/location. ‘The New Account page in Google Analytics displays options to add a Website or Mobile App property for tracking and analysis. This is shown in Figure 1.6. ‘Add a Website property to a Google Analytics account for tracking as follows: 4. After logging in to the account, click Admin from the left panel. 2. On the Website tab: '* Specify aname for the account that is being tracked. Every account can have multiple properties 20 it is a good idea to plan out the structure in which the tracking should be cartied out for all desired properties - both Websites and Apps. '* Specify the name of the Wetsite to be tracked in the Website Name text box and the provide the URL for the Wetsite in the Website URL text box. '* Select the industry relevant to the tracked Website. Selecting an industry helps Google Analytics to build better reports that are customized for the chosen industry. Version 1.0 @ Aptech Ld,'* Select a time zone to determine when the reports are generated or leave it on the default setting, '* The data sharing settings section has a number of options that if checked, share parts of, your collated data with Google to help them to improve the service over time, perform critical systems operations, and receive recommendations. It is advisable to leave these checked as is. ah Aecnunts Figure 1.6: New Account Page for Adding a Website Property Version 1.0 @ Aptech Ld,3. To view the JavaScript withthe unique tracking code for the new property, click the Get Tracking 1D button |. This displays the Terms of Service page as displayed in Figure 1.7. Read through the text and then click the 1 Accept button. ‘Geog Aes Teneo Srvc Agent Gocgetnien Google Analytics Terms of Service Tin ae i ar ot east a a Spcener ts Youes te ‘encores ohne We snes Yovasoowtibo hs rena Figure 1.7: Google Analytics Terms of Service Agreement ‘Add a mobile App property to a Google Analytics account for tracking as follows: 1. After logging in to the account, click Admin from the left panel. 2. Onthe Mobile App tab, as shown in Figure 1.8: '* Specify aname for the account that is being tracked. '* Specify aname for the App that willbe tracked. If more than one App are to be tracked within the same account, i is best to use a descriptive name that includes the App's version number. This helps maintain all App properties in an organized manner. '* Select a relevant industry category. Select a time zone to determine when the reports are generated or leave it on the default setting. The Data Sharing Settings section has a numberof options that i checked, share pets of your collated data with Google to help them to improve the service over time, perform critical systems operations, and receive recommendations. It is advisable to leave these checked as is. Version 1.0 @ Aptech Ld,a eui@ Figure 1.8: New Account Page for Adding a Mobile App Property 3. To view the JavaScript with the unique tracking code for the new property, click the Get Tracking ID button. 4. This displays the Terms of Service page. Read through the text and then click the | Accept button 1. Google Analytics refers to all Websites and Web Apps set up for tracking a. Webassets b. Web goods c. Web properties d. Web resources 1.2.3 Adding Tracking Codes into Websites ‘A.unique JavaScript tracking code is generated for each property added to the account for tracking. Once this code is added to all the HTML pages on the specified Website, it will start sencing visitor data to Google Analytics. Agreeing to the Google Analytics terms of service displays the property settings with the tracking info for the newly added property. Scroll down on this page to view the JavaScript containing the tracking ID as displayed in Figure 1.9. Version 1.0 @ Aptech Ld,Ah Awd ste Data ~ a inact Tae 99508271 ena te . 2 ” S ° pam cone eres: Figure 1.9: JavaScript with Tracking 1D To start tracking data from a Website, simply copy this code into the HTML pages for the Website immediately before the end of the tag. Its important to remember to paste the code on every page in the Website/Appiother property that is to be tracked. This will ensure that tracking begins as soon as the page loads. If the Website uses template files, the code should be placed in the component that generetes the HTML before the tag. For Websites that is built using PHP: 4. Copy the JavaSctipt code and paste it into a new text or notepad file. 2. Save the file with any name and use a PHP extension: googleanalyticstracking. php. 3. Include the following line of code on each PHP template page at the beginning of the tag: Note here that some third-party Website builders, like Wordpress, have automated plugins for entering the Google Analytics tracking code. The tracking code can be viewed al any time by accessing the Admin page from the loft panel and then accessing the property settings for the desired property. To check ifthe tracking code has been set up correctly on the Website, go back to the Google Analytics page and view the Real Time report for that property as follows: 4: (On the ef ponol ata he RealerInetoan (Eh, 2. Click Overview from the displayed menu. Real time reports, as displayed in Figure 1.10, show all current visitor activity, such as the number of Visitors viewing the site currently. Version 1.0 @ Aptech Ld,Ah nv wer site ona ~ Swern oreiier ce et” Right now rs mn Ss ae {he Rete: Top acne ae evssnmen 1 + aia ep Seca Tete Tope: {ep Kerworde __ om Figure 1.10: Real Time Report 1. Real time reports show all current visitor activity as they occur. a. Tue b. False Version 1.0 @ Aptech Ld,Each time users view a Website, the Web server sends a small piece of data to their Web browser while they browse that Website. The cookie file is usually a text file that acts like a small log and is saved on the users’ computer. The cookie file generally contains a unique ID that the visited Website assigns to the user. In some cases, the cookie file may contain other information, such as the expiration date, a domain name, and friendly name for the cookie. Analytics references this cookie file to record sessions and page view. There are essentially two types of cookie files that may be set by the analytics server when users view a Website. Transient cookies: This is a temporary cookie file that helps the server to identify a user's session length and session activity (clicking links). The cookie is set when the user first views @ Website and ceases to exist once the browser is closed or the user moves away from the Website. Persistent cookies: This is a more long-term cookie, which is set the first time a user visits a Website and might generally have a fixed expiry date (could be 18 months long). The log maintained within the cookie helps to identify the user as a unique user or a returning visitor. Note that deleting these cookies from a user's computer will record that user as a new visitor to an already visited Website. 1.2.4 Adding Tracking Codes for Mobile Apps dust ike Website visitor data is tracked within Google Analytics, Mabile App data is alsa collated and can be analyzed with an equal level of deta. Easy-to-use Software Development Kits (SDK) and reports can be accessed from within the Analytics account to track detailed data, including the number of App users and their characteristics, quantify in-app revenues, identify navigation paths taken by App users to arrive al the selected App property, and a plethora of olher measures for deeper analysts Version 1.0 @ Aptech Ld,Set up an SDK for a mobile App by first installing the latest Firebase SDK in Google Analytics as follows: 4. Access the Admin page from the left panel 2. Inthe PROPERTY column, select the Create new property option from the drop-down menu, This can be shown in Figure 1.11 at e t| Cloudi@ Technologies aos Figure 1.11: Creating a New Property Ce ee a Le MAKE Le JOB READY Version 1.0 @ Aptech Ld,4. Select the Mobile App tab and then click the Go to Firebase bution, as displayed in Figure 1.12. en All Web ste oata~ Cioud18 Technologies Figure 1.12: New Property Page Ifa Firebase account does not already exist, open firebase.google.com in the browser, as displayed in Figure 1.13 and then click the GET STARTED button. Firebase helps you build better mobile apps and grow your business. Figure 1.13: Firebase Account Version 1.0 @ Aptech Ld,5. Click the Add project button, as displayed in Figure 1.14, to specify details of the App. Welcome to Firebase Y ° a8 e eo itcce tone et Figure 1.14: Creating a Firebase Account Onlinevarsity GROUPS COLLABORATIVE LEARNING I2aR0HRAa Version 1.0 @ Aptech Ld,6. Specify the required particulars in the Project name and Country/region fields. Then click the CREATE PROJECT bution. The form for creating a project is shown in Figure 1.15, Create a project x Project name SBasket Country/region @ us bd sy defaut your Anatyt ennance otter Fire Google products. You can contol how yours settings at anytime, Lea more By proceeding and clicking the bution below, you Fiebase services in your app and agree to th Figure 1.15: Creating a Firebase Project 7. Select the platform for which the App has been built by clicking the relevant icons for iOS, Android, or Web App. The options are displayed in Figure 1.16. Welcome to Firebase! Get started here Aaa Fixes to Aaa rirtase to Ada Finbace Your iOS ap your Andi app yur web app Figure 1.16: Icons for iOS, Android, and Web App Version 1.0 @ Aptech Ld,8. Specify the package name and App nickname and then click the REGISTER APP button. The form for adding Firebase to an Andreid App ie displayed in Figure 1.17. Figure 1.17: Register App 9. Next, download the code and upload it to the location as described in the displayed image, as seen in Figure 1.18. Click the CONTINUE button. rt Figuro 1.18: Download Contig Filo Version 1.0 @ Aptech Ld,10. Follow the instructions displayed on the next screen to add code for the Firebase SDK to the App, ‘as shown in Figure 1.19 and then click the FINISH button CS See {crsce les nave changes ait) Syesnow Figure 1.19: Adding Firebase SDK 11. The Overview screen, as shown in Figure 1.20, will be displayed. Select the relevant App to see its detailed performance reports. 4 i a) * ce 6 , ll 8 Figure 1.20: Adding Firebase to the App Version 1.0 @ Aptech Ld,1.3 Basic Terminology for Analytics Once the required Website or Web App has been set up for tracking within Google Analytics, al that is needed is a litle time to wait for trafic to head towards the tracked Website or App. Google Analytics wil automatically sart generating reports that he'p study all visiting Web traffic. However, before looking at the powerful roporting features offered by Google Analytics, itis important to be familiar with geome baie terminology related to Analytics. To understand the basic terminology, itis good to look at one of the basic reports generated within Google Analytics: The Audience Overview, as displayed in Figure 1.21. This can be accessed from the left panel under Audience, 1m us? 2570 209 ‘ Soe lao lea Figure 1.21: Audience Overview Report ‘The line graph in this view displays the hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly visitor data. There are a variely of. useful metrics and data available just below the line graph. Each of these metrics provides specific bits of information. It is useful to understand what these views show and how they can be useful Sessions: This indicates the total number of sessions for a specific time period: hours, days, weeks, or months. Google considers a 30 minute long visitas a single session. This implies that any action taken by a visitor on a tracked Website including browsing pages, downleading information, and/or purchasing any deliverables, within that 30-minute time frame, counts as a single session. Since, sessions automatically timeout after 30 minutes, any passive users who have moved away from the Website without closing the window will not be counted beyond the first 30 minutes. For all users who return to the Website after the 30 minutes have elapsed, their visit is recorded as a new session. Users: This indicates the total number of users who visited the page during a specific time period. Google determines the origin of each visitor to a Web page or Website using a unique identifier, using their browser cookies. The Users count considers all users who have completed at least one session during the specified time period. The same user may complete multiple sessions on the Website. Pageviews: This count indicates the total number of times the Website's pages were viewed. This count also includes any repeated views of the same page. This means that ia visitor reloads any page, it gets tracked as two views. Version 1.0 @ Aptech Ld,Pages / Session: Pages per session displays the average number of pages viewed during a single session. A higher number here indicates that the Website is able to engage the vistors better. ‘Avg. Session Duration: The average session duration indicates the average lengih of each session. This is calculated as total lenath of all sessions (in seconds) during a specified time period divided by the number of sessions for the same time period, For instance, i the total length of all sessions in a month is 25000 seconds, and the total number of sessions in that month is 25, then the average session duration is 1000 seconds or approximately 16 minutes. Bounce Rate: This value signifies the percentage of users who left the Website afler viewing only a single page. This is calculated by considering the percentage of al visits where only a single page was Viewed and no other actions were recorded by the Analytics server. A single page session is considered to have zero second session duration. This is because the Analytics server did not receive any other action indicators after the page was first loaded so it has no way of knowing when the visitor moved away from the page. % of New Sessions: All new visitors to the Website are counted within this metric. It measures the percentage of sessions triggered by first-time visitors to the Website. This metric is useful to analyze if the ‘Website is expanding its audience base over time. For instance, if a Website has 80% first-time visitor sessions and only 20% returning visitor sessions, it could indicale that the Website attracts a lot of firs!- time visitors but is not able to recall old visitors who have previously visited the Website. ‘The pie chart to the right side of the metrics displays a comparison between first-time visitors and returning visitors to the Website. Onlinevars ity TECHNO-WISE ‘THE TECHNOLOGIES OF TOMORROW Version 1.0 @ Aptech Ld,1.4 Summary In this session, Basics of Web Analytics, you leamed that: > Web analytics is the tool used to collate, study, measure, and inform users about the data collected by the Website on its visitors. > Web analytics is helpful in analyzing and then optimizing the performance of a Website. > Accessing the Google Analytics tools as simple as logging into 2 Google account. > Google Analytics helps track conversion rates and a host of other details for both Websites and mobile Apps. > Each Webste and App thats setup for racing win the Google Analyis account i referred to as a property. > Each trecked property uses a unique JavaScriot tracking ID to record all data. > Analytics tracks key metrics and analyzes visitor activity and traffic flow to generate highly useful metrics. > Each metric displayed in the overview reports within Analytics provides specific bits of information which help to make quick analysis of a Website's reach and performance. Onlinevarsity ys TIPS & TRICKS | ON YOUR FINGERTIPS Version 1.0 @ Aptech Ld,1 1.5 Exercise Which one of the following is true about Analytics’ tracking for Web Apps? ‘a. Analytics only calculates the number of App users and the measures in-app revenues b. Google only tracks data for Android Apps c. Analytics needs the Firebase SDK to track Web Apps d. Analytics displays the tracking data directly within the App ‘The Pageviews metrics counts all page loads as a single view. a. True b. False Analytics considers the default length of one session to be 30 minutes long, a. True b. False ‘A.user viewing the home page of a Website clicks a link to another page on the Website within 5 minutes of starting the session. The user then closes the window within the next 10 minutes. Which one of the following options correctly describes the way Analytics wil record this session? ‘a. The session is shotter than 30 minutes. It will not be recorded b. Analytics records two sessions since two pages were viewed c. The session will be recorded as a single session Which one of the following statements is true? ‘a. To start tracking data from a Website, copy the JavaScript code into the Website's home page b. Analytics data can be accessed only for past viewing history. c. Google does not make a differentiation between new visitors and those who have visited the Website previously. 4. Analytics helps to tack conversion rates for both Websites and mobile Apps Version 1.0 @ Aptech Ld,Answers to Exercise Analytics needs the Firebase SDK to track Web Apps False True The session will be recorded as a single session Analytics helps to track conversion rates for both Webskes and mobile Apps peeps Answers to Quick Test Quick Test 1.1 1. Web properties Quick Test 1.2 1. True Version 1.0 @ Aptech Ld,Session 2 Analytics Reports Learning Outcomes In this session, you will learn to: > Detail the different aspects of Audience reports > Describe the benefit of using Acquisition reports > Examine the performance of AdWords campaigns > Examine the performance of Web properties through organic search This session introduces the various reports and views that help to follow the growth and spread of a Web propery tracked by Google Analytics. The session will describe the focus areas for each report and how they can be used to derive meaningful inferences about a Web property's performance. 2.1 Audience Report ‘The wide variety of reports offered by Google Analytics makes il easy to study and analyze all the data collected on the Web traffic for a Website or App. Details such as the age and gender of visitors, their ‘geography and language, how often they visit, the type of device most used for viewing the pages, and the browser and operating systems they use, can all be recorded and viewed in several different reports to gaina better understanding of the audience visiting the Website. For instance, knowing that the highest audience demographic for a Website is males in the 20-25 age group can prompt Web property owners to Incorporate more content that migh! appeal to this category or change their content strategy ‘o widen the audience demographic further. ‘The Audience Overview report can be accessed from the left panel under the Audience option, as displayed in Figure 2.1 Figure 2.1: Audience Overview Version 1.0 @ Aptech Ld,2.1.1 Overview of Audience Report Figure 2.2 displays the top half of the Audience Overview report page, where itis possible to specify the date range for which the racked data is displayed in the report. Simply select a relevant date range to show the data collected during that time period. ‘Audience overview May 1,2017-May 31, 2017 (omens) Figure 2.2: Date Range Selector ‘The Date Range drop-down allows the selection of a specific date range or choose from the options for today, yesterday, previous week, previous month, last 7 days, or last 30 days. Choosing the Custom option, displays the calendar where a specific time period can be selected by specifying the start and end dates for the required date range. Alternatively, click the name of the month in the displayed calendar to select the entire month as the applicable date range. Selecting the Compare to checkbox allows a deeper look into the performance of a Website when compared to a similar period in the past or present. For inetance, managers of recently launched ‘Websites might want to track the week-on-week trend comparisons to see how performance might be affected with each new feature thats built into their Websites. Itis important tonote here thatthe displayed data will nt reflect the change in the date range unless the Apply button is clicked. Figure 2.3 displays the top half of the Audience Overview report. This par of the report includes the line graph, duration selector, and a quick glance at some basic metrics. The line graph plots a graph to show the trend in the data points collated over time. This time period can be modified using the duration selector, which makes a quick change in the view for the repart by displaying data in hours, days, weeks, or months. The ability to change the view quickly can be very handy while viewing large data sets. Simply move the mouse over any dala point in the graph to view its details. /ed in the line graph, the view changes automatically In case a single day's dat to show the hourly data. Version 1.0 @ Aptech Ld,‘The metrics below the line graph give a quick aggregation of various factors derived from the Website hits, These Figures help users to get a quick understanding of Website performance trends at a single glance. Table 1.1 describes various metrics displayed below the line graph. Metric Description ‘Sessions Total number of sessions for a given date range. Users “Total number of users who viewed the site during the given date range. Pageviews Total number of tmes the pages were viewed, including repeat vews during the given date range. Pages per session | Average number of pages viewed per session, including repeated views. ‘Ag. session] Average lengih ofeach session calculated as. Total length o all sessions duration (imsecends) curing the given tm period dvced by the numberof Sessions forthe same time period. Bounce rae Percenlage of users who ll the Wabale ater viewing only a angle page fora gan dale rang Parcantofnaw ——] Percentage of sessions Wggered By WratUme Vos Tete Wabale Tora sessions given date range Table 1.1: Quick Aggregation Metrics > 1 ho omnis — | tno IS aoe 09:01:16 69.71% 3 «< [sz87% Figure 2.3: Overview Version 1.0 @ Aptech Ld,Figure 2.4 displays the lower half of the Audience Overview report, which gives a snapshot of the ‘demographics, system specification, and mobile data recorded for those who viewed the Website. Users, ‘can click through each of the various views under these categories to view a quick summary for each ‘view including top languages, countries, cities, browsers, operating systems, services providers, and screen resolutions for Website visitors. Figure 2.4: Audience Overview Report Dla aL ata So) — a Pi = = z a BE a a a 4 Ee a 1 a = Onlinevarsity Version 1.0 @ Aptech Ld,Itis also possible to view the full reports for each of these data points by selecting the appropriate report name from the left panel, as shown in Figure 2.5. AUDIENCE Overview Active Users Lifetime Value 8” Cohort Analysis 9% User Explorer » Demographics > Imerests > Geo > Behavior » Technology > Mobile > Custom > Benchmarking Users Flow vom Figure 2.5: Audience Report Options Version 1.0 @ Aptech Ld,2.1.2 Demographics Selecting the AUDIENCE - Demographics view on the left panel wil display various options within ‘demographic data. Click the Overview option to display the Demographics: Overview report. ‘The default data displayed here shows the session daia recorded for the selected date(s). In Figure 2.6, for instance, the number of Sessions grouped by audience age groups and genderis displayed. The Key Metric drop-down list enables users to change the metric for display. Itis possible to filter on the basis of number of Sessions, % New Sessions, Avg. Session Duration, Bounce Rate, or Pages per Session, Demographics: overview May 1,2017-May 31, 2017 ~ eyes: Secon = Figure 2.6: Demographics: Overview Report Click the AUDIENCE - Demographics - Age option on the left panel to dsplay the Demographics: Age report, where the metrics are broken down in detail by age group. Figure 2.7 displays an example where the age data, which is below the line graph, has been further fitered on a secondary dimension to show the source from where the visitors were sentto this Website. Note that data is not recorded for ages below 18. Version 1.0 @ Aptech Ld,2.1.3 Behavior Deeg: Age ny. 207-M 2.207 Our Bam Mame 2890 G90%% 27 cOMM 1 _—s1Ie900 Figure 2.7: Age Demographics Similarly, click the AUDIENCE - Demographics - Gender option on the left panel to display the Demographics: Gender report, where the metrics are displayed in detail by each gender. Selecting the AUDIENCE - Behavior view on the left panel will display the various options in this view. Click the New vs Returning option to display the report, as displayed in Figure 2.8, to see how well a Website has been performing on converting new visitors into returning visitors. This comparison can be analyzed over a longer period of time to see whether audience loyalty is shifting. tis a good idea to take ino account a Website's intent or goals and any marketing activties when counting new and retuming visitors since this data can also help understand the commercial impact of these visitors. For instance, i 35% of rotuming visitors account for 45% of the trancections, it would bo considered an enccuraging trend. Version 1.0 @ Aptech Ld,New vs Returning May 1.2017 -May 31, 2017 Lemme cus asibe © ore | ovten forte Ei rte 00:01:16 3 _$3,488.0 a we wat rp arses woes ayeniascy) ruven | zen) cour suuncoy | sanenanin 112 eave GH re) 00k sm) SAT) PH) aI @ Hany) 9080-9 « m4 Figure 2.8: New vs Returning Visitor Data 1. Which one of the following statements is true about demographics data collected through Google Analytics? ‘@. Audience reports can be viewed only for the current month b. The gender of the audience viewing a Wetsite is confidential information ¢. The current month’s session data can be compared to that of the previous month d._ The individual data points on a line graph can be viewed in a tabular format Version 1.0 @ Aptech Ld,2.1.4 Technology Selecting the AUDIENCE - Technology or the AUDIENCE - Mobile view on the left panel will display detailed data on the technological information of those viewing the Website, as displayed in Figure 2.9, Knowing what type of browser, operating system, or mobile device audience choose for viewing a ‘Website, helps while planning future versions of a site. For instance, a high bounce rate from specific browsers or mobile device types could indicate a problem in viewing the site in those modes. It can also be beneficial to know how viewers migrate over different devices over a period of time. Browser &. 0S May 1,2017-May 31, 2017 = pe ae (Bip) ws sn | (i) ‘cma drain = |S Tyme tk = [ @ soeces [EB @]F fii eee eet reer la | eee eer 5375 97.98% 4799 o.0116 D2 se Tow) MR BC NR A HoeHI® Fs HassOn Da wee a | co amyl ais] ab toma | 200 Figure 2.9: Browser and Operating System Report Version 1.0 @ Aptech Ld,View the Overview report under the AUDIENCE - Mobile option on the left panel to see details of ‘Website trafic from tablets, desktops, and smartphones as displayed in Figure 2.10. A Website that is fully functional on every browser, operating system, and device should be the aim for every Website but Using these reports can help to know how to prioritize development. rte sven Sunn mice ¥ sactpe | baw © @ tense [O[E 3 [Hi 5275 97.98% 4729 69.71% 208 000136 3 2 dents Taree | sey [seni euley am oaks oso) ato 15 tee We ous) ae coon 708 enstse 9 008 9 < zz Figure 2.10: Mobile Overview Report 2.1.5 Interests Selecting the AUDIENCE - Interests - Overview view on the lett panel will display the Interests: Overview report, as displayed in Figure 2.11. This report categorizes data into affinity, in-market and other categories. ‘Audience interest categories can be a huge help in determining current and potential growth markets for a ‘Web property. These interest groupe are referred to as Affinity Catagories in the Google Analytics reports. The interest groups marked as In-Market, are those who have been researching products similar to those offered by the Website in question. This audience is considered to be actively considering purchase of similar products. Therefore, monitoxing their activity is important since, they are more likely to be successful conversions for the tracked Website, Version 1.0 @ Aptech Ld,May 1,2017- May 31, 2017 ‘alu + Addo eyebic aa = 1 mse se, em sero so Ee mtn ‘So ee a ce Le epztetinsmctcaiiine Som ross : see Dave RN —_eetonTestraparaton Teg o_o 27% Torts secrmedster aauty Maan 2 alias = = = coe SS a te som am th tm c= = eaieanrreenre wom Mibeeerieceenaee Figure 2.11: Interests Overview Report 2.1.6 Geo Selecting the AUDIENCE - Geo - Language or AUDIENCE - Geo - Location views from the left panel will display the geographic data collected on the tracked Web property's visitors, as displayed in Figure 2.12. Knowing what location and languages people are viewing a Website in can be uselul for many reasons. Consider a scenario where a Webstte has been optimized for viewing in English and French. If the tracked data displays that a substantial number of views are coming from Germany or from German speaking population, it could indicate value in developing strategies that cirectly target that market more. Thus, these reports provide the opportunity to take advantage of a natural interest in the offerings of the tracked Website Version 1.0 @ Aptech Ld,@) wee (ELO[E = [A 5375 4729 69.71% 00:01:16 $3,435.00 4.8 Usteoxnatry 160 com) 68618 TD oem) TER BE —GOOEET Ooms) comes er yas) Ma et oan) eats za ancass 0 wan) $000 6 uneearabemrae we pss) story 42 com) eszms ans oncom a wen se00 Figure 2.12: Audience Geographic Location Report 2.2 Acquisition Report Acquisitions are defined es the path viewers take to find a Website. In other words, how a Website acquires its viewers. Each hit a Website receives is traced back to its origin by anaiytics data to see where viewers first clicked a link that brought them to the Webste. The source for the Website's users Could be through search engines, social networks, or Website referrals. This data may seem like very basic information but itis one of the most interesting pieces of analytics data, which identifies exactly how a Website's audience locates the Website. This information, in turn, is a powerful means to focus marketing efforts to get larger conversion rates. Conversion rates here refer to any favorable action taken by viewers, such as buying an ebook or other product, subscribing to a newsletter, or referring the Website to others. These are the actions that eventually turn into revenues for the Website. Thus, this data can inform Website managers about which online marketing techniques: bring more eyeballs to their Website. Version 1.0 @ Aptech Ld,Google Analytics tracks this by logging basic information about each viewer who visits a tracked Website. This data comprises various aspecis about where the user came from, including the traffic medium, source, and specific marketing campaigns that worked. 2.2.1 Acquisition Overview Selecting the ACQUISITION - Overview option from the left panel displays the Acquisition Overview report, as displayed in Figure 2.13. This reprt can help compare the performance of different channels and identify the source that brings in the bes! traffic and conversions. This can help make better decisions about where to focus marketing efforts. Google Analytics uses the term Channels to indicate broad categories thet classify how the eudience locates a Website. Therefore, all visitors who came from Facebeok, Twitter, Google+ or any other social media sites, willbe logged under the Social Channel. Thus, providing an aggregated look at how Viewers arrived on the si. May 1, 2017 -May 31, 2017 “pisucoe OOS etn aun | Seemann = Aloe + Addsegnent Top channas sessions omens fre * oo sion peawstion Behawoe Comers <5 ON wate aK te 3 tana —« ee “nl a TT Figure 2.13: Acquisition Overview Report Version 1.0 @ Aptech Ld,To view more granular level of detailing on how visitors arrive, Google Analytics classifies each Channel category further into the following mediums: Organic - All traffic that arrives on a Website through an organic search that did net involve clicking any paid ads. Examples include Google search results, Yahoo search results, Bing search results, and so on. CPC - All traffic that arrives on a Website through a peid search campaign lke the ones created through Google Adwords text ads, and so on. Referral - All traffic that arrives on a Website by clicking a link on another non-search related Website, An example could be someone arriving on a Website by clicking a link to it from another person’s blog page. Email - All traffic that arrives on a Website by clicking a link in an email marketing campaign. Direct/ None - All raffic that arrives on a Website by typing the Website URL directly in the Web browser. This data can then be looked at deeper by considering each individual Website (called the Source) for each identified medium. For instance, the organic medium may have 75% source as google and the remaining 25% split between Yahoo and other search engines. 2.2.2 All Traffic - Channels ‘The ACQUISITION - All Traffic - Channels report displays Website traffic categorized by each Channel: Organic Search, Social, Direct, Referral, Others, and so on. This report can be seen in Figure 2.14. This report displays the top channels directing vistors to a Website as well as the corresponding acquisition (sessions, % of sessions, new users), behavor (bounce rate, pages per session, avg. session duration), and conversions data for each Channel. ‘The source and medium, when used in conjunction, give a deeper understanding of what sort of route has worked best in the past to direct visitors to a Website. To identity effective traffic sources, study the source/medium combinations that brought the maximum views to the Website. However, this data alone may not be the best factor for the best traffic. Useful traffic is counted as those users who engage with the Website ‘or perform a conversion action. The bounce rate is a good indicator of audience ‘engagement and can be a good way to determine if the performance of a particular medium and source were effective or not. Version 1.0 @ Aptech Ld,Channels May 1, 2017- May 31, 2017 = const nal gen tetutantone Semin ‘risugon steno u0teemioe Lanse Geeeasia tame ov mame fa weet mon | ( Toman sezeh fom oui) ARS SoM aH) TOGER ae aONTS gam pansy Ca et fate) 26268 7a cose am wert eam Ca pete Pe oon am tps at Figuro 2.14: Channols Report 2.2.3 All Traffic — Source Selecting the ACQUISITION - All Traffic - Source/Medium report displays more information about the medium, as displayed in Figure 2.15. For instance, if the medium is recorded as ‘referral’ then the source shows the URL of the Website from where the user wes brought to the tracked Website. Alternatively, i the medium is recorded as ‘organic. the source shows the search engine - Google, Bing, and so on - Used fo find the Website link in the search results. Version 1.0 @ Aptech Ld,S i arate lay 32097 ay 3,207 > oa wm ——— wee ee Eee ET oon eas ie pris] ai ace man | mine 3 Figure 2.15: All Traffic - Source/Medium Report el aCoew4 1. Acquisitions are defined a. The actions taken by users on a Website to purchase offered products b. The path viewers take to find a Website . Only those users who arrive at a Website by typing the Websiie URL directly 2.3 Analyzing AdWords Campaigns Google AdWords is an advertising system devised by Google to enable businesses to place text ads at the top of Google's organic search results when a relevant keyword is searched. The Ads that get chosen to be placed on the top of the search results are determined by Google's algorithm that gives a ranking to all ads in a certein category. AdWords offers a powerful and increasingly popular method to advertise not just businesses, but also ‘Web properties. An AdWords account can be linked with a Google Analytics account to study just how effective the AdWords campaigns ere in bringing more visitors to the Wetsile and in encouraging Version 1.0 @ Aptech Ld,2.3.1 Campaigns Selecting the ACQUISITION - AdWords - Campaigns view displays the report that shows the performance of any campaigns in linked AdWords accounts. Ths is shown in Figure 2.16. ‘The report data can be modified to show individual performance metrics for desktops, mobiles, and tablets, The most important data information required for every AdWords campaign is to track its Cost- Per-Click (CPC). ‘The AdWords Campaign report displays this data under the line graph. User can see how many clicks each campaign received as well as the total amount paid for the clicks. CPC shows the average cost for each cick. This report also displays user engagement for each campaign and how much value each conversion brought to the business from each campaign. Figure 2.16: AdWords - Campaigns Report 2.3.2 Keywords Selecting the ACQUISITION - AdWords - Keywords report helps to understand how well the keywords in each campaign perform. For example, if a keyword seems to generate a lot of traffic for the Website but the site stil sees a high bounce rate, it might indicate a lack of relevance between the keyword and the content on the landing page of the Website. Another example where this report could be useful is in situation where a keyword brings high traffic but has low number of impressions or the ad does not get displayed very often, it might be a good idea to increase the bid for that keyword so that the ad is shown more often and thus can reach more people. 2.3.3 Bid adjustments Bid adustments are an AdWords feature used to automatically adjust keyword bids based on a user's, device, location, or time of day. Forinstance, if a restaurant wanted to advertise a 3-day long food festival as a special lunch menu, they might add a bid adjustment to increase ad visibility on mobile de within a couple of miles from the restaurant curing the lunch hours. Version 1.0 @ Aptech Ld,Selecting the ACQUISITION - AdWords - Bid Adjustments report displays the performance of such bid adjustments made to existing campaigns Itis possible to check campaign performance by device, location, time of day, and remarketing list bid adjustments. Itis clear that AdWords can become a truly powerful marketing tool when used in conjunction with Google Analytics to help to improve the return on investment, 2.4 Search Console While the AdWords data tracks the performance of specific paid ads that bring visitors to a Website, Google Analytics also tracks the organic search results that bring visitors to a Website with a similar level of detail. Its possible to see what search terms were looked up and how many times a Website URL was displayed (called impressions) in the organic search results. These reports can help to maximize the potential of a Web property without the need to spend money on paid ads. 2.4.1 Search Console - Landing Pages Selecting the ACQUISITION - Search Console - Landing Pages report lists the links to all the pages in the Website thal show up in search results, es shown in Figure 2.17. The performance of each Web page can then be gauged by looking at its metrics on impressions, CTR, bounce rate, average session duration, transactions, and so on. High impressions but low engagement might be an indicator to update content to make it more relevant to the keywords searched for by users or to improve the Website layout to make it more user-friendly. pee osm tiga 4970 992% 68 g917 7oI 207 2 16 : Search Console - Landing Pages Report Version 1.0 @ Aptech Ld,2.4.2 Search Console- Queries Selecting the ACQUISITION - Search Console - Queries report lists the Google search keywords thet ‘generated results with the tracked Website's pages in them. This list can be shown in Figure 2.18. Studying the relationship between the search terms and the relevance of the content on the Website's pages can help io optimize Website content. The number of impressions that each page receives and the average position of impressions helps to understand how well the search engine associates the Website content to the search terms. Furthermore, the number of clicks and the click-through rate helps to understand how well users identify with the content displayed on the Wetsite's pages. See Moy 1, 2017 Moy 31.2017 . i Sah Te 00 ny Lansing Poe. pe aa Gea] scene Bm me 3 «pene vom wae un a Figure 2.18: Search Console - Queries Report Version 1.0 @ Aptech Ld,2.5 Summary In this session, Analytics Reports, you learned that: Different types of reports can be Viewed for any Web property that is tracked using Google Analytics. Users can define a specific date range to study the data through the various Analytics reports. A quick glance at the Audience Overview report for tracked data can be useful to analyze quick aggregetion metrics, such as number of page views, number of sessions, bounce rate, and so on. ‘The overview report also displays an overview of audience demographics, behavior, and technology details. Acquisitons are defined as the path viewers take to find a Website. Google's Acquisition reports collect data for the source of a Website's audience to analyze whether they arrive through search engines, social networks, or Website referrals. Google Analytics uses the term Channels to indicate broad categories that classify how the audience locates a Website, Google Analytics classifies each Channel category further into the following mediums: organic, pe, referral, email, and direct. Tracking Google AdWords campaigns using a Google Analytics account provides a powerful tool to study the effectiveness of the campaigns. Web property's performance in Google's organic search feature can be analyzed using various Analytics reports. Version 1.0 @ Aptech Ld,2.6 Exercise 1. The Audience reports for measuring the average session duration is the only metric for which a comparison can be made across date ranges. a. True b. False 2. Which one of the following statements is true about the Session-related metrics? ‘a. Line graphs are only visible for specific session-related metrics b. When the date range is selected as current week, the view automatically changes to show dally data c. No data Is recorded for ages below 18 years old 3. Which ane of the following meirics shows the number af usars who left the Website immediately after Visiting a single page? a. Avg. session duration b. Bounce rate c. Pageviews d. Users 4. Which one of the following Channels in the Acquisition Overview report counts the users who arrived ata Website by clicking a link on Instagram? a. Direct b. Referral . Organic Search d. Social 5. Which one of the following statements is true about analyzing AdWords campaign performance using Google Analytics? a. Data views in reports can be modified to show performance for mobile devices separately b. The total amount paid for each click generated by every campaign is tracked within the ‘AdWords data, not Google Analytics c. Ahigh performing keyword in an ad campaign indicates that the Website content is, perfect Version 1.0 @ Aptech Ld,Answers to Exercise False 2. When the date range is selected as current week, the viaw automatically changes to show daily data Bounce rate Social Data views in reports can be modified to show performance for mobile devices separately sae Answers to Quick Test Quick Test 2.1 1. The current month's session data can be compared to that of the previous month Quick Test 22 1. The path viewers take to find a Website Version 1.0 @ Aptech Ld,