Data extraction, currently, has become one of the main tasks of companies, since it allows them, through data extraction, to improve their strategies and KPI, according to the information they provide. One of the most used tools to carry out this type of actions is Google Analytics. In this post, we are going to talk about Google Analytics and the functioning of its main functions.

What is Google Analytics?

Google Analytics is a tool that allows us to track a website, blog and social networks, by extracting data , such as knowing the traffic of a web / blog, which posts are the most read, the number of sales, which users become customers, the most visited pages, from which device our traffic comes, etc.

In addition, it is a tool compatible with the rest of Google’s tools, therefore, you can combine Analytics with AdWords, Blogger or YouTube.

How to start with Google Analytics?

Let’s start with an evidence, but the first step we must do to use Google Analytics is to create an account and configure it for our website. Once this is done, we must configure and activate the Analytics account with the tracking ID that we have obtained, which we will have to insert into our website. After these steps, we can use this tool. This is the main page that we will see when creating a Google Analytics account. 

Metrics and key features to get the most out of Google Analytics

General or basic data to extract with Google Analytics

Familiarizing yourself and learning to use the scorecard is the key to obtaining the correct data.

Date range

Normally, when you want to measure the performance of a website, the analysis is always done by ranges or periods of certain dates . Therefore, before starting with the extraction of data, it is important that we define the dates, that is, from when to when we want to get the data, which can be the impact of our campaigns, the evolution of traffic, among others.

Comparison of dates

Within the tool that allows us to decide the range or period of time we want to analyze, we can also make comparisons of results with previous periods . In this way, we can compare the superimposed charts of different months or weeks.

Decide the time intervals

We can decide if the analyzes we want to be for days, weeks or months , a really useful function, especially to know if we have fulfilled the objectives that we had set, or if on the contrary, we need to improve.

Different types of graphics

When we take reports in Google Analytics, we can do it using different types of graphs , such as bars, geomapas … this function is really useful if we want to see for example the proportion instead of the total numbers .

Comparison of metrics

It is the accounting part of the values ​​offered by Google Analytics. Generally in the graphics only a single metric is represented, however, it gives us the option to face it with another and therefore, have two overlapping graphs. And, what’s the use of this? Well, it can help us see the relationship and correlation of some data with others.

We find primary and secondary dimensions

Each dimension allows us to assign one or more metrics. We can distinguish between main and secondary dimension . For example, if we want to measure the visits we receive on our website, we will only have to add the “city” dimension to focus our analysis geographically.

Number of visits

One of the main uses of Google Analytics is to see how many visits our website has received . Thanks to this data, we will be able to extract all the necessary information to get the most out of our strategy and obtain the expected objectives.

Within the visits, we can extract different types of data, unique visitors and page views .

The unique visitors refers to all users who visit our website for the first time, therefore, does not consider users who have agreed several times.

Regarding the page views , this data tells us the number of times a certain page has been opened. Therefore, this will be the data we need in case you want to measure the impressions that a certain ad or content has obtained.

Average pages per visit

It is the average number of pages on our website that users have browsed during each visit . These data will serve to give us the idea of ​​how appetizing our website is to navigate through it. As well as if our users are interested or not our content.

Time of permanence

The time of permanence is that which indicates the time a user has spent browsing a specific page , such as reading a post. The longer this time, the more interesting our content is. In case of having a relatively low residence time, it is that perhaps what we offer does not interest our users.

Bounce Rate

Unlike the time of permanence, the bounce rate indicates the proportion of visitors who have entered our website and have left it without having visited any additional page of our site . Thanks to this bounce rate we can determine the behavior of our audience, as well as their interests. However we must take into account that depending on the page of the site that the user is looking at, the percentage of bounce will vary, it will not be the same to be browsing the home as to be reading a blog post.

More specific information about our users

Learn how to segment your audience according to their geographical location, language, gender, etc. In this way, we can compare the results of the previous metrics for each case.

Frequent visitors

This metric informs us of the users that have entered our website more than once . It is clear that initially we will only have new users, but over time, we will have to increase this metric, in this way, it means that we have customers or users loyal to our services, products or content.

Geographical and language data

They allow us to segment our audience , thanks to these data, we can know what country the users are visiting us, as well as their age and gender. Thanks to these, we can know where to guide our content, the design of the pages, what is the best time to publish, what content may interest them most, among others.

Dispositives

With this section, we can know from which device users access our website ; tablet, mobile, computer … in this way, we can adapt our web design to ensure usability of navigation, therefore, that is a responsive web .

Paths by which users access the web

One of the most important data that we should know how to find is if we have managed to attract visitors to our website or not. How? Next we explain it.

Channels

When we talk about channels we refer to the sources of traffic through which our website is receiving visits . To be able to see these channels, we must go to the side menu ” acquisition ” and mark the tab ” channels “, here, we can extract the report that will give us this information. The channels through which we can receive visits are the following:

• Organic search : Visits that access our website through search engines.
• Direct traffic : Users who find us entering the URL of our website in the browser.
• Social : Traffic received through social networks.
• Referred traffic : Visits that we are receiving thanks to means that are linking our content.

Keywords or keywords

It refers to the words entered in the search engines through which our visitors have accessed the web . We found two types of keywords, payment and organic. It must be taken into account, that the payment will be visible when we have linked our account with Google Adwords.

Search engine optimization

To activate this section, we must link Google Analytics with Google Webmaster Tools. This data is what gives us the information of the results of Google for all searches in which we left . In addition, it tells us the impressions of our pages, the number of clicks received, our average positioning and the CTR.

Behavior of the users

Thanks to the behavior section, we can know how a user behaves in our website and with our contents, in order to find out, what their interests are and analyze results.

Percentage of abandonment or departures

This gives us the data of our website from a specific page . How does it differ with the bounce rate? Well, in this case, users have interacted with the page, while browsing more than one page.

Destination pages

It is about the pages through which our visitors come to our website. Therefore, it is the page that has managed to attract a reader and discover our site. Thanks to this data, we will be able to know which are the most attractive contents for users in social networks and search engines.

Time of the visit

It is the average time that users stay on a website . It is advisable to make a comparison with different content and see which has had more interaction or more time to visit, in this way, we will know what really attracts them, and where we will have to focus our strategies.

Average frequency of visits

How many times does a user enter the same website , how often does he or she do so? There will be two of the metrics that will give us this information.

Site speed

The loading time of our page is very valuable, since if our website is slow or it takes a long time to load the contents, the user will get tired of waiting and will leave our website without having made any kind of interaction.

Events

We understand as events for example, calls to action located at some point of our website , the reproduction of a video , the completion of a form , or the activation of a banner , among others. Thanks to Analytics, we can know how many users have clicked and have been interested in this event.

Conversion of visits

What visits actually become customers? In this section, we can know.

goals

Analytics offers us a huge amount of data, so, in order to get the most out of them, we recommend establishing specific objectives, that is, what data we are most interested in obtaining. We find four types of objectives: destination , duration , pages per visit or events . In addition, if we want to register an objective, we will only have to go to the administrator tab in the visit column and click on ” create new objective “.

Goal attainment

These data offer us the number of occasions in which we have achieved an objective . Therefore, it is about the visits that have generated some conversion. Having many visits sometimes does not help if these users do not become customers.

Value of conversions

In case our website is an online store, we can obtain the data of how much we are billing for each of the objectives achieved .

Multi-channel funnels or funnels

Thanks to this information, we can obtain the necessary information about which channels have contributed to generate our conversions , as well as the routes that our visitors have followed within the web since their access.

Personalization in Google Analytics

This tool offers us the opportunity to customize our own reports and dashboards , in this way, we can share certain variables.

Customizing reports

One of the options that Google’s web analytics tool gives us is the possibility of creating our own personalized reports , including only the metrics and dimensions that interest us the most.

Filters

This tool also allows us to establish filters with which to concretize much more the views that the reports offer us.

Advanced segments

Segment allows us to generate very precise information directly oriented to our objectives , since it allows us to analyze specific data, and this will make it easier for us to obtain certain behaviors and trends.

Dashboards

One of the most interesting Google Analytics customization options is to create reports or own views .

Share and export reports

All data can be exported easily in Excel and PDF.

Invitation to the account

Analytics gives us the option of giving access to our account to third parties, so that we can share information with different departments of the company or advertisers on our page.

Schedule reports by email

Also, we can share our reports by email from the tool itself, in a timely manner or programming them as often as we want.

Export information

Google Analytics allows us to export any report in PDF or Excel . In this way, we can always have the results we want and be able to make a comparison and a table of objectives, to have an evolution report.

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