Google Analytics for bloggers can be tricky to get started. This guide covers the basics of getting an account started, while also giving some pro tips for how you can use the information in Google Analytics for becoming a better blogger. If you have a blog and want to know more about Google Analytics, this is one of the best resources that you will have to get started. All information is up to date as of the September 2013 releases of Google Analytics.

1. Google Analytics 101: Tips for
Becoming a Better Blogger
By
Jeff
Sauer
–
@jeffaly/cs

2. Your Google Analytics Guide
Jeff
Sauer
Marke/ng
and
Travel
Blogger
Vice
President
Three
Deep
Marke/ng
St.
Paul,
MN,
USA
2
Interested
in
Google
Analy/cs
Training?
Learn
More:
bit.ly/request-­‐ga-­‐training

3. Jeff
Sauer
|
@jeffaly/cs
|
Google
Analy/cs
For
Bloggers
|
www.jeffaly/cs.com
About Jeff Sauer
• Vice
President
at
Three
Deep
Marke/ng
in
St.
Paul,
MN
• Google
Analy/cs
Cer/fied
Partner
since
2009
• Have
been
blogging
since
2000
• Named
2012
CIO
of
the
Year
by
the
Minneapolis/St.
Paul
Business
Journal
• Three
Deep
was
an
Inc.
5000
Fast
Growing
Company
Award
in
2010,
2011,
2012
&
2013
• Board
Member
for
MIMA
and
MnSearch

4. Jeff
Sauer
|
@jeffaly/cs
|
Google
Analy/cs
For
Bloggers
|
www.jeffaly/cs.com
My Two Blogs
h^p://www.jeffaly/cs.com
h^p://www.jeffse^er.com

5. Jeff
Sauer
|
@jeffaly/cs
|
Google
Analy/cs
For
Bloggers
|
www.jeffaly/cs.com
And Yes… I took that Cover Photo

6. Jeff
Sauer
|
@jeffaly/cs
|
Google
Analy/cs
For
Bloggers
|
www.jeffaly/cs.com
Let’s Talk about Google Analytics

7. Jeff
Sauer
|
@jeffaly/cs
|
Google
Analy/cs
For
Bloggers
|
www.jeffaly/cs.com
Google Analytics is Like Othello

8. Jeff
Sauer
|
@jeffaly/cs
|
Google
Analy/cs
For
Bloggers
|
www.jeffaly/cs.com
Google Analytics is Like Othello
A Second to Learn
Years to Master

9. Jeff
Sauer
|
@jeffaly/cs
|
Google
Analy/cs
For
Bloggers
|
www.jeffaly/cs.com
A Mile Wide and a Mile Deep
Download:
h8p://www.jeffaly<cs.com/google-­‐analy<cs-­‐guide/

10. Jeff
Sauer
|
@jeffaly/cs
|
Google
Analy/cs
For
Bloggers
|
www.jeffaly/cs.com
What You Will Experience Today

11. Jeff
Sauer
|
@jeffaly/cs
|
Google
Analy/cs
For
Bloggers
|
www.jeffaly/cs.com
Don’t Worry

12. Jeff
Sauer
|
@jeffaly/cs
|
Google
Analy/cs
For
Bloggers
|
www.jeffaly/cs.com
45 Minutes to Learn…
How
to
Create
a
Google
Analy/cs
Account
Ge_ng
Clean
Data
for
Your
Website
Ge_ng
Google
Analy/cs
Code
On
Your
Site
Se_ng
Goals
to
Measure
Website
Success

13. Jeff
Sauer
|
@jeffaly/cs
|
Google
Analy/cs
For
Bloggers
|
www.jeffaly/cs.com
45 Minutes to Learn…
Tracking
Social
Media
Ac/vity
on
Your
Site
Installing
Custom
Dashboards
for
Bloggers
Tracking
Search
Results
and
SEO
Efforts
Learning
What
Content
is
Performing
Best

14. CREATING A GOOGLE ANALYTICS
ACCOUNT

15. Jeff
Sauer
|
@jeffaly/cs
|
Google
Analy/cs
For
Bloggers
|
www.jeffaly/cs.com
Creating a Google Analytics Account
Sign
up
at
h8p://www.google.com/analy<cs

16. Jeff
Sauer
|
@jeffaly/cs
|
Google
Analy/cs
For
Bloggers
|
www.jeffaly/cs.com
Get the Code For Your Site

17. Jeff
Sauer
|
@jeffaly/cs
|
Google
Analy/cs
For
Bloggers
|
www.jeffaly/cs.com
Getting the Right Code
Choose
Web
Site

18. Jeff
Sauer
|
@jeffaly/cs
|
Google
Analy/cs
For
Bloggers
|
www.jeffaly/cs.com
Universal Analytics
Choose
Universal
Analy/cs
for
New
Websites

19. Jeff
Sauer
|
@jeffaly/cs
|
Google
Analy/cs
For
Bloggers
|
www.jeffaly/cs.com
Classic Analytics
Choose
Classic
Analy/cs
for
Exis/ng
Websites

20. Jeff
Sauer
|
@jeffaly/cs
|
Google
Analy/cs
For
Bloggers
|
www.jeffaly/cs.com
Choose Data Sharing Settings

21. Jeff
Sauer
|
@jeffaly/cs
|
Google
Analy/cs
For
Bloggers
|
www.jeffaly/cs.com
Recommended Settings
Recommended

22. Jeff
Sauer
|
@jeffaly/cs
|
Google
Analy/cs
For
Bloggers
|
www.jeffaly/cs.com
Optional Setting for Benchmarking
Recommended
Benchmark
Other
Blogs

23. Jeff
Sauer
|
@jeffaly/cs
|
Google
Analy/cs
For
Bloggers
|
www.jeffaly/cs.com
Get the Code
Copy
This
Sec/on
and
Paste
into
a
TXT
File

24. PLACING GOOGLE ANALYTICS ON
YOUR SITE

25. Jeff
Sauer
|
@jeffaly/cs
|
Google
Analy/cs
For
Bloggers
|
www.jeffaly/cs.com
Several Methods for Adding GA
You
Can
Put
the
Code
In
Your
Template
WordPress
Blogs
can
use
Yoast
GA
plugin
Add
Google
Analy/cs
in
Your
Theme
Se_ngs

26. Jeff
Sauer
|
@jeffaly/cs
|
Google
Analy/cs
For
Bloggers
|
www.jeffaly/cs.com
Add Code to Your Template File
Add
to
Header.php
File

27. Jeff
Sauer
|
@jeffaly/cs
|
Google
Analy/cs
For
Bloggers
|
www.jeffaly/cs.com
Configuring GA in Your Theme
Configure
in
Theme
Se_ngs

28. Jeff
Sauer
|
@jeffaly/cs
|
Google
Analy/cs
For
Bloggers
|
www.jeffaly/cs.com
Using a Plugin for WordPress
Yoast
WordPress
Plugin
for
GA
Download:
h8p://yoast.com/wordpress/google-­‐analy<cs/

29. Jeff
Sauer
|
@jeffaly/cs
|
Google
Analy/cs
For
Bloggers
|
www.jeffaly/cs.com
Jeffalytics Recommendation
Don’t
Be
a
Hero,
Use
a
Plugin!

30. GETTING CLEAN DATA ON YOUR
WEBSITE

31. Jeff
Sauer
|
@jeffaly/cs
|
Google
Analy/cs
For
Bloggers
|
www.jeffaly/cs.com
Don’t be Fooled By Your Traffic
Your
Actual
Traffic
How
You
Think
About
Your
Traffic

32. Jeff
Sauer
|
@jeffaly/cs
|
Google
Analy/cs
For
Bloggers
|
www.jeffaly/cs.com
Stop Tracking Yourself

33. Jeff
Sauer
|
@jeffaly/cs
|
Google
Analy/cs
For
Bloggers
|
www.jeffaly/cs.com
Discover Your IP
Go
To
h8p://www.wha<smyip.com
to
learn
Your
IP
Address

34. Jeff
Sauer
|
@jeffaly/cs
|
Google
Analy/cs
For
Bloggers
|
www.jeffaly/cs.com
Filter Your IP in Google Analytics

35. Jeff
Sauer
|
@jeffaly/cs
|
Google
Analy/cs
For
Bloggers
|
www.jeffaly/cs.com
Create a New Filter

36. Jeff
Sauer
|
@jeffaly/cs
|
Google
Analy/cs
For
Bloggers
|
www.jeffaly/cs.com
Enter Your IP Address

37. Jeff
Sauer
|
@jeffaly/cs
|
Google
Analy/cs
For
Bloggers
|
www.jeffaly/cs.com
Or… Use a Plugin

38. SETTING GOALS FOR YOUR
WEBSITE

39. Jeff
Sauer
|
@jeffaly/cs
|
Google
Analy/cs
For
Bloggers
|
www.jeffaly/cs.com
Set Strategic Goals
Macro
Goals
(Affiliate
Clicks,
AdSense,
Sales)
Macro
Goals
=
Top
Line
Revenue
Micro
Goals
(Downloads,
Time
on
Site,
Video
Views,
etc.)
Micro
Goals
=
Engaged
Visitors
Configure
your
goals
in
Google
Analy/cs
se_ngs
You
can
set
up
to
20
goals!

40. Jeff
Sauer
|
@jeffaly/cs
|
Google
Analy/cs
For
Bloggers
|
www.jeffaly/cs.com
Goals in Google Analytics

41. Jeff
Sauer
|
@jeffaly/cs
|
Google
Analy/cs
For
Bloggers
|
www.jeffaly/cs.com
Choose How to Track Goal

42. Jeff
Sauer
|
@jeffaly/cs
|
Google
Analy/cs
For
Bloggers
|
www.jeffaly/cs.com
Enter Goal Details

43. Jeff
Sauer
|
@jeffaly/cs
|
Google
Analy/cs
For
Bloggers
|
www.jeffaly/cs.com
Caution with Goals
Assigning
a
Goal
Value
to
Revenue
Related
Goals
is
Highly
Recommended
Mul/ple
Goals
May
Create
Unrealis/c
Revenue
$
in
Reports

44. ANALYZE CONTENT
PERFORMANCE

45. Jeff
Sauer
|
@jeffaly/cs
|
Google
Analy/cs
For
Bloggers
|
www.jeffaly/cs.com
What Content is Performing Best?

46. Jeff
Sauer
|
@jeffaly/cs
|
Google
Analy/cs
For
Bloggers
|
www.jeffaly/cs.com
Average Time on Page
Average
Time
on
Page
Indicates
How
Long
Visitors
are
Engaging
with
Content
Generally,
more
/me
is
be^er

47. Jeff
Sauer
|
@jeffaly/cs
|
Google
Analy/cs
For
Bloggers
|
www.jeffaly/cs.com
Average Time on Page
Bounce
Rate
Shows
the
Percentage
of
Visitors
That
Leave
Your
Site
Having
Only
Viewed
This
One
Page
Lower
is
be^er
(but
can
be
misleading)

48. Jeff
Sauer
|
@jeffaly/cs
|
Google
Analy/cs
For
Bloggers
|
www.jeffaly/cs.com
Average Time on Page
Page
Value
Indicates
the
Rela/ve
Value
This
Page
Contributed
to
Your
Goals
Goals
Must
be
Configured
to
Work

49. TRACKING SEO RESULTS IN
GOOGLE ANALYTICS

50. Jeff
Sauer
|
@jeffaly/cs
|
Google
Analy/cs
For
Bloggers
|
www.jeffaly/cs.com
Organic Search Report

51. Jeff
Sauer
|
@jeffaly/cs
|
Google
Analy/cs
For
Bloggers
|
www.jeffaly/cs.com
Organic Search Report
WTF?
88%
of
My
Search
Keywords
Are
Invisible

52. Jeff
Sauer
|
@jeffaly/cs
|
Google
Analy/cs
For
Bloggers
|
www.jeffaly/cs.com
Not Provided is a Real Nuisance
Learn
about
Not
Provided
Here:
h8p://www.notprovidedcount.com/

53. Jeff
Sauer
|
@jeffaly/cs
|
Google
Analy/cs
For
Bloggers
|
www.jeffaly/cs.com
Google Webmaster Tools
Fortunately,
Google
Webmaster
Tools
Gives
You
Some
Data
Back

54. Jeff
Sauer
|
@jeffaly/cs
|
Google
Analy/cs
For
Bloggers
|
www.jeffaly/cs.com
Google Webmaster Tools Reports

55. Jeff
Sauer
|
@jeffaly/cs
|
Google
Analy/cs
For
Bloggers
|
www.jeffaly/cs.com
Google Webmaster Tools Reports
Beau<ful
(and
Increasingly
More
Accurate)
Search
Data!

56. Jeff
Sauer
|
@jeffaly/cs
|
Google
Analy/cs
For
Bloggers
|
www.jeffaly/cs.com
Setting Up Google Webmaster Tools
Set
Up
Webmaster
Tools
Data
Sharing

57. Jeff
Sauer
|
@jeffaly/cs
|
Google
Analy/cs
For
Bloggers
|
www.jeffaly/cs.com
Edit Webmaster Tools Settings

58. Jeff
Sauer
|
@jeffaly/cs
|
Google
Analy/cs
For
Bloggers
|
www.jeffaly/cs.com
Select Webmaster Tools Property
Select
Your
Site
Save
Progress

59. TRACK SOCIAL MEDIA ACTIVITY
ON YOUR SITE

60. Jeff
Sauer
|
@jeffaly/cs
|
Google
Analy/cs
For
Bloggers
|
www.jeffaly/cs.com
Social Media is All Around Us
Traffic
is
Driven
to
Our
Sites
Via
Social
Media
Google
Harvests
Ac/vity
from
Social
Data
Hub
Visitors
Interact
With
Social
Sharing
Bu^ons

61. Jeff
Sauer
|
@jeffaly/cs
|
Google
Analy/cs
For
Bloggers
|
www.jeffaly/cs.com
Measure Value of Social Traffic

62. Jeff
Sauer
|
@jeffaly/cs
|
Google
Analy/cs
For
Bloggers
|
www.jeffaly/cs.com
Track Interaction With Social Buttons
Select
Plugins
Under
Social
Then
Select
Social
Source
and
Ac/on

63. Jeff
Sauer
|
@jeffaly/cs
|
Google
Analy/cs
For
Bloggers
|
www.jeffaly/cs.com
Information from Data Hub Partners
Gain
Access
to
a
Wealth
of
Informa/on
from
Several
Social
Networks

64. CUSTOM DASHBOARDS FOR
BLOGGERS

65. Jeff
Sauer
|
@jeffaly/cs
|
Google
Analy/cs
For
Bloggers
|
www.jeffaly/cs.com
Dashboards Pull it All Together
Great
Dashboard
for
Bloggers:
h8p://www.portent.com/blog/analy<cs/the-­‐blogger-­‐dashboard-­‐google-­‐analy<cs-­‐for-­‐writers.htm

66. Jeff
Sauer
|
@jeffaly/cs
|
Google
Analy/cs
For
Bloggers
|
www.jeffaly/cs.com
Do It Yourself Dashboards
Select
New
Dashboard

67. Jeff
Sauer
|
@jeffaly/cs
|
Google
Analy/cs
For
Bloggers
|
www.jeffaly/cs.com
Do It Yourself Dashboards
Blank
or
Pre-­‐Made
Op/ons

68. Jeff
Sauer
|
@jeffaly/cs
|
Google
Analy/cs
For
Bloggers
|
www.jeffaly/cs.com
Do It Yourself Dashboards
View
Your
Dashboard

69. Jeff
Sauer
|
@jeffaly/cs
|
Google
Analy/cs
For
Bloggers
|
www.jeffaly/cs.com
Even Better: Trust the Experts
Google
Analy<cs
Solu<ons
Gallery:
h8ps://www.google.com/analy<cs/gallery/

70. Thank You!
Jeff
Sauer
Marke/ng
and
Travel
Blogger
Vice
President
Three
Deep
Marke/ng
St.
Paul,
MN,
USA
70
Interested
in
Google
Analy/cs
Training?
Learn
More:
bit.ly/request-­‐ga-­‐training