“Google Analytics is a digital analytics solution that collects data about your digital presence. How does it do this? Well at a high level you need to add the small snippet of code that contains your Unique ID pertaining to your specific GA property (UA-XXXXXX-X) on all your pages. This code collects information and sends it to the Analytics servers by attaching parameters to a single-pixel GIF image request.” –Kaitlin Ziessler

Google Analytics is a vital piece to understanding the data that represents your digital presence. If you are a beginner or interested in a refresher course on Google Analytics, I have a solid resource for you. In “Google Analytics Resource Guide of Epic Proportions” , author Kaitlin Ziessler of BuiltVisible.com presents a thorough but approachable guide. The guide is long but chock full of very useful information.

Learning Google Analytics

The following is the outline of subject matter covered in Ms. Ziessler’s work:

Types of Google Analytics Tracking

• Mobile App vs Desktop Tracking
• Universal, Asynchronous & Traditional
• Universal vs Asynchronous
• Code Placement
• Cookie Changes

Basic Setup

• Account Structure
• Standard Reports

What Are We Tracking?

• Dimensions vs Metrics
• Sessions
• Avg Session Duration
• Events vs Pages
• Exit Rate vs Bounce Rate & Example

Improving Google Analytics

• Event Tracking Structure
• Goals & Goal Values
• Goal Abandonment Rate
• Custom Campaign Tagging
• Default Channel Groupings
• Content Groupings

Frequent Issues with Google Analytics

• Missing Tracking Code
• Duplicate Reporting
• Mixing dc.js & ga.js
• Incorrect Search & Replace Filters
• Understanding the Direct Attribution

Help Yourself

• Missing Tracking Code
• Duplicate Reporting
• Mixing dc.js & ga.js
• Incorrect Search & Replace Filters
• Understanding the Direct Attribution

Conclusion

There is a lot to absorb but it will be worth the effort. If you are grappling with understand where your traffic is originating, how it impacts your website statistics, and how to lead visitors to the land of conversion then this guide is for you.