Performance Marketing with Google Analytics: Strategies and Techniques for Maximizing Online ROI Book

Introduction

Why You Should Read This Book

What's in This Book

How to Use This Book

Part I: Competing for Customers on the Web 1

Chapter 1: Swimming in the Digital Sea 3

Understanding the Impact of Data Democracy 3

Recognizing Customer Empowerment and Why It Matters 5

Reality 1: Users lead, businesses follow 6

Reality 2: The almighty algorithm decides 6

Reality 3 : No product is safe from comparison shopping 7

Reality 4: Web surfers listen to one another first and marketers second 8

Reality 5: Online competitors spring up at a moment's notice 8

Building an Online Strategy Based on Evidence instead of Hype 9

Seven Basic Principles of Effective Online Marketing 10

Principle 1: Be real about putting customers first 11

Principle 2: Know your desired outcomes 11

Principle 3: Keep it simple 12

Principle 4: Embrace change 12

Principle 5: Great data as a strategic asset 13

Principle 6: Use the right tool for the right job 14

Principle 7: Expect and accept accountability 14

Chapter 2: Data-Driven Marketing Basics 17

Making Online Marketing Measurable and Goal-Driven 17

Your Web presence as a living, breathing system 18

Planning your online strategy by channel 19

Marketing for conversions 21

Tools for Understanding Visitors and Performance 24

Understanding the "what" with Google Analytics 25

Understanding the "why" with voice-of-the-customer research 28

Seeing the big picture with competitive and market analysis 31

Tying it all together 33

Chapter 3: Putting Google Analytics to Work in Your Organization 35

Leading the Charge for Analytics 35

Assembling a Google Analytics Dream Team 38

Four essential skill sets for a successful team 39

Tips for building your team 41

GETUP and Go: Defining Your Measurement Strategy 42

25 tips for putting data to work 44

Seeing GETUP in action 48

Overcoming common obstacles 55

Part II: Google Analytics Essentials 59

Chapter 4: Understanding How Google Analytics Works 61

How Data Is Collected 61

The Reliability of Tracking Visitors with Cookies 65

How Data Is Processed 67

Accounts and Profiles: Data Organization 69

Generating Reports 72

Chapter 5: Installing and Administering Google Analytics 75

Planning an Implementation 75

Gathering business requirements 76

Gathering technical requirements 77

Creating a Google Analytics Account 78

Adding the Tracking Code 81

Configuration Steps 82

Basic configuration steps 83

Advanced configuration steps 111

Maintaining Your Implementations 129

Changes to GATC 129

Changes to Configuration Settings 129

Incorrect campaign tracking 130

Chapter 6: Basic Analysis Features and Concepts 135

Nine Tips for Becoming an All-Star Analyst 135

Navigating the Google Analytics Interface 137

Accessing your reports 137

Using the header to navigate between accounts and profiles 138

Exploring basic Dashboard features 139

Working with the Google Analytics Standard Reports 143

Understanding terminology and definitions 143

Exploring the Google Analytics standard reports 144

Working with data tables 144

Exporting and e-mailing reports 154

Chapter 7: Advanced Analysis Concepts and Features 159

Using Segmentation to Find Meaning in Your Data 159

Understanding dimensions and segmentation: Thinking in 2D versus 3D 160

Dimensions available in Google Analytics 162

Applying basic segmentation techniques for standard reports 163

Creating your own dimensions using custom variables 165

Analyzing Data with Advanced Segments 173

Using Advanced Segments to answer business questions 175

Understanding how Advanced Segments work 175

Using Advanced Segments 177

Managing and sharing Advanced Segments 178

Bringing Together Key Metrics and Dimensions with Custom Reports 180

Example uses for custom reports 181

Visualizing Data Across Multiple Dimensions with Motion Charts 184

Understanding the key features of motion charts 185

Other resources for motion charts 186

Grouping and Analyzing Data with Pivot Tables 186

Measuring Spikes and Trends with Intelligence Reports and Custom Alerts 187

How Intelligence reports work 188

Part III: Controlling Costs and Planning Profits 195

Chapter 8: Maximizing Web Site Performance 197

Understanding Core Optimization Concepts 197

Getting into the optimization mindset 198

Key optimization tools and methods 199

Evaluating Web Site Performance 201

Analyzing goal performance in Google Analytics 201

Key goal performance measures 202

Understanding your conversion funnel 207

Understanding visitor intent 210

Identifying basic usability problems 216

Examining your value proposition 219

Optimizing through Continuous Improvement 223

Zeroing in on high-impact pages and elements 223

10 tips for continuous improvement 224

Chapter 9: Search Engine Marketing (SEM) 227

Search Engine Marketing Basics 227

Strengths and weaknesses of SEM as a marketing channel 229

Major SEM platforms and tools 231

Planning for Success with SEM 231

Conducting keyword research 231

Structuring campaigns for success 234

Preparing to Measure SEM with Google Analytics 236

Understanding the role of Google Analytics 236

Setting up tracking for AdWords 237

Setting up tracking for other SEM providers 239

Configuring settings in Google Analytics 241

Quick checklist for SEM tracking setup 241

Analyzing and Optimizing SEM Campaigns 242

Understanding key dimensions and metrics in the context of SEM analysis 242

Differentiating sponsored (SEM) from nonsponsored (organic) search traffic 243

Standing in the intersection of interest and intent: Principles for SEM analysis 247

AdWords-specific report analysis 252

Tracking the "actual" search query for a purchased keyword 255

Chapter 10: Measuring and Optimizing Display Advertising 257

Display and Rich Media Advertising Basics 258

Major display and rich media advertising formats 258

Pre-click metrics for evaluating display and rich media advertising performance 259

Pitfalls of measuring display and rich media 260

Understanding Display Ad Tracking with Google Analytics 260

Avoiding the death of your data 261

Using the right dimensions for display ad tracking 261

Setting Up Your Ads for Tracking 262

Planning your naming conventions 262

Creating and managing campaign tracking tags 264

Integrating tracking tags into ads 264

Validating that ad tracking is working properly 266

Tracking Flash ads 266

Measuring display and rich media campaign history 267

Analyzing Display Ad Performance 267

Assessing display ad performance at a high level 267

Comparing display ads to other mediums 268

Analyzing campaign outcomes 268

Using Advanced Segments to analyze display ads 273

Using custom reports with display ads 273

Troubleshooting Common Display Ad Tracking Problems 274

What happens when ads aren't tagged 274

Tracking Engagement at PBSkids.org 274

Identifying problems at the ad-server level 275

Avoiding common, costly mistakes 276

Part IV: Growing Organic Search and Conversions 279

Chapter 11: Search Engine Optimization (seo) and Google Analytics 281

Knowing Truth from Fiction with SEO 281

How search engines work 282

An arms race with robots, spiders, and spam 283

Driving true success with SEO 284

Understanding the Case for Web Analytics and SEO 286

Dispelling the fallacy of "top ranking" 286

Defining your SEO measurement framework 288

Measuring Effectiveness of SEO Efforts with Google Analytics 294

Trends matter more than metrics 294

Traffic metrics that matter 297

Keyword measurements that matter 300

Measuring SEO against goals 306

Measuring ecommerce value 310

Advanced SEO Analysis Techniques 311

Understanding landing pages using Advanced Segments 311

Creating custom reports for SEO reporting 313

Validating That Your SEO Metrics Are Accurate 314

How Google Analytics tracks organic search traffic 314

Analytics in Action: Fixing Issues and Finding Opportunities in Search with Catalogs.com 316

Checking host names 316

Chapter 12: Social Media Marketing 319

Social Media Defined 319

Social Media Marketing Basics 320

Measuring Social Media Activities and Campaigns 323

Putting together a keyword list 323

Finding relevant conversations online 323

Quantifying "buzz" with keyword trends 324

Understanding content and sentiment 325

Analyzing Site Traffic from Social Media 326

Business value measures 331

Measuring Social Media Tools on Your Site 332

Tracking comments 332

Tracking subscriptions 335

Tracking content-sharing tools 337

Tracking Social Media at Lollapalooza.com 340

Chpater 13: Measuring E-mail Marketing 343

E-mail: What's It Good For? 343

Defining E-mail Measurement 344

Pre-click data 344

Post-click data 345

Continuously improving your e-mail campaigns 347

Tracking E-mail with Google Analytics 347

Data and Analysis 350

Using Segmentation and Testing to Improve an E-mail Newsletter Program 354

Part V: Extending Google Analytics 359

Chapter 14: Tracking Offline Marketing 361

Tracking tv and Radio 361

Tracking ads without an online component 362

Tracking ads with an online component 365

Tracking Print Ads 368

Tracking Direct Mail 370

Analytics in Action: Breezes.com 370

Chapter 15: Using the Data Export API, Community Additions, and Other Tools 375

Hello Data! Understanding and Using the Google Analytics Data Export API 376

Learning the Data Export API 376

Where to start building useful applications 377

Recommendations and other considerations for working with the API 377

Technical .and Diagnostic Tools 378

Browser-based troubleshooting and diagnostic tools 378

Web-based technical and diagnostic services 381

Reporting Tools and Analysis Tools 383

Tools for integrating data into Excel 383

Other analysis tools 384

Other Tools and Hacks 385

Part VI: Appendixes 389

Appendix A: Other Resources 391

Blogs 391

Books 393

Appendix B: Glossary 397

Common Google Analytics Terms 397

Common Marketing Terms 402

Google Analytics Dimension Definitions 404

Visitor Dimensions 404

Campaign dimensions 406

Content dimensions 406

Ecommerce dimensions 406

Internal search dimensions 407

Navigation dimensions 407

Event dimensions 407

Custom variable dimensions 407

Google Analytics Metric Definitions 408

Visitor metrics 408

Campaign metrics 408

Content metrics 409

Ecommerce metrics 409

Internal search metrics 409

Goal metrics 410

Events metrics 412

utm.gif request parameters 412

Additional Glossary Resources 412

Index 415

Google Analytics Individual Qualification Test Coupon 429