Installing Google Analytics in 3 Easy Steps

Web Analytics tools such as Web Trends and Core Metrics have been around for some time. Smaller companies and individual site owners were excused for not making use of these tools, given the lack of a necessary budget. However, ever since Google purchased Urchin’s tool, and repackaged and rebranded it as a free tool known as Google Analytics, site users have had no excuse to not make use of Web Analytics. Not only is Google Analytics free, but installing Analytics can take as little as 5 minutes, and it can be done in 3 easy steps.

Installing Google Analytics is quick and easy. Simply create a Google account if you don’t already have one, then visit the Google Analytics website and sign up using your Google account. Follow the simple sign up process and copy paste the code to your website.

Here are the steps for installing Google Analytics, explained more in depth.

1. Create a Google account if you don’t already have one.

If you have a Gmail or some other account with a Google service, then you technically already have a Google account. You can skip to step 2. If you don’t, you’ll have to create a Google account (which is quick and easy, just Google “create Google account”). If you have a Google AdWords account and you want to use the same login for Analytics, simply login to your AdWords account and click the Analytics tab at the very top.

2. Visit the Google Analytics website, click the Sign Up Now button, and follow the easy sign up process

The Sign Up involves 4 simple steps. The first 3 steps involve simply filling out your website and contact information, and signing a user agreement. The last step involves adding the Google Analytics tracking code to your website.

3. Copy paste the code you are given, just above the closing body tag.

The tracking code is how Google Analytics tracks user behavior on your site. This is why it’s important to have the code on every page (just before the closing body tag). Ideally you’ll have a template or a master page where you can add the code in one spot. If your pages are completely independent of one another, you’ll need to make sure you add the code to every page.

You’ll be given the option of using either New Tracking Code or the Legacy Tracking Code. Many of Google Analytic’s new features will only be supported with the New Tracking Code so there is little or no reason to use the Legacy Tracking Code at this point.

Once you’ve pasted Analytics tracking code to your website, upload the changes, and click “Check Status” in the Analytics Settings window. Google will verify that the Analytics tracking code is running on the website you entered. Once Google has verified that the code is running, expect to see Google Analytics metrics within hours.

Chris Casarez works in the field of internet marketing and is the owner of SEOracle.com, a website with SEO tutorials for small online business owners and website designers. SEOracle.com also has tutorials on using and Installing Google Analytics.

How Does Google Analytics works

Analytic is a webmaster tool which helps you understand how many visitors have visited your website. It is a great tool for online marketers as it helps us understand where our traffic is coming and its fluctuations.It gives a clear summary on the ratio of changes that occurs. At first you go to Analytic main page and sign up . On signing up you will be able to add your website to analytic.Once the website is added you need to at first verify your website . Now, There are Two ways of verifying your website. They can be verified by :-

• Adding HTML
• Adding Meta tag
  

Adding HTML :

• If you want to verify your website by adding an HTML then just download the file given to you and store it on the desktop of your computer.
• At first login to your website or Mysql through your favorite FTP client.
  Once the web-browser/remote browser opens open the local browser where you had earlier saved the HTML file.
• On locating the file in the local browser just copy it in the root folder of your website.
  
• Go back to Google analytic and simply click the verify button and your website is verified.
  

Adding META TAG :

• If you want to verify your website by adding a META TAG then it is even easier. If you have absolutely no knowledge and are a complete newbie then this is for you.
  
• Copy you entire Index file and paste it on a new notepad as Backup
  
• Copy META TAG
  
• Open the index.php file and scroll down for the first and paste the Meta tag just below it.
  
• After adding save the file.
  
• Go back to analytic and verify site.
  

Now when you have verified your website you start receiving important data giving you the knowledge about traffic to your website. With analytic you can also set your goals by optimizing your content on your website. As for example if there is a particular article that you have with which you want to attract readers.you can actually know how many hits your article receives on a given day. Just by following the simple methods and the huge network and support that Google boasts off. It becomes relevantly easy for a newbie to make the most with webmaster tools.Especially Google Analytic .

Abhijit – http://we-key.com

The Power of Google Analytics

If you don’t already know about Google Analytics you and your company are missing out on a great resource and a vast amount of business potential. Google analytics give you more information and guidance on the performance of your web site than just about any other tool available today!

Since I began using the Google Analytics program my eyes have been opened to all sorts of information that I previously took for granted. Many of the site statistics packages that I had used in the past offered a lot of valuable tools and information and gave me great insight into which of my pages were being hit, how many times, and other typical bits of data. The Google program takes these principles and accelerates them beyond anything that I’ve seen to date!

Google’s analytics tell me all kinds of things down to what screen resolution my customers have on their computers, what color space they’re using all the way to what ISP they’re using and beyond. They have graphs, pie charts, and lists all built around your site and how its performing. The best part is you can juxtapose almost any of the graphical data with any other set of graphical data that is provided. You can see, for example, how many hits you’ve received in the last week, compared to how many of those hits were new visitors!

But it goes a lot further than that! The Google analytics program also shows you an impressive interactive world map that shows you which countries, states, and cities have been view your site, when, and how they got there. The program also includes search engine statistics; what keywords are being typed in to search engines to get to your site. It tells you which pages are getting hit the most, how they’re searching for it, and what their internet connection speed is! The Google Analytics program is absolutely phenomenal!

Since I’ve run my sites through Google Analytics, I’ve been able to see what my customers have been searching for, and if I don’t have it, I now have the edge to go get it! I run a video and music production company, and one of our product lines is a long list of sound effects. The Google program has, upon several occasions, turned me on to products (sound fx) that my customers were looking for that I never would have thought about recording. And most of the time I can have those sounds recorded and uploaded in just a few hours. The Analytics update daily, so its like getting custom requests from customers each day!

Another fascinating thing that I’ve seen on here in relation to traffic is its ability to show you how people are getting to your site. The reason this is helpful is that it shows me what percentage of my customers are reaching me from search engines, which search engines, what percentage of customers are reaching me through referrals, what or where they were referred from, and lastly, what percentage of my customers were direct traffic and what they were typing in to become direct traffic. The information that I’m getting from the referral data is showing me which of my marketing campaigns are working and which ones aren’t doing so hot. This daily influx of information allows me to make quick, easy changes to my marketing strategies and track how they’re doing on an almost daily basis!

When used in conjunction with Google’s other tools, Google AdWords, Google AdSense, Google Base, and Google Business Solutions among others, Google Analytics is a powerful and infinitely useful resource for any smart business owner. If you aren’t using this tool you’re behind the times and behind your competitors! Google Analytics has more power in its little pinky than just about anything else you’ll find on the web. And the best part is… It’s Free!

Adam Benson is the CEO and head engineer of Sleep Deprived Productions. SDP specializes in Video and Audio Effects and Post-Production. To learn more check them out at http://www.sleepdeprivedproductions.com