Google analytics data ninja training
May 14, 2010 6:13 AM Subscribe
How can I become a Google analytics data ninja?
I've gotten a couple of books promising great things you can do with analytics but been disappointed with the results. The books seem to assume that if the author tells you all the cool info/insights you can derive from analytics that this is sufficient to be able to use it effectively.
I'm stuck in the interface thinking 'how do I do this?', 'how do I segment', 'how do I track traffic to one page or from one online event.' I need to move my company into an online focus and using analytics effectively to connect marketing to conversions is key. I'm not a data geek. I need some training tools that will move me from relative newbie to having a decent tracking system for our web site. I've looked at Google's Conversion University tools and found them not quite what I need.
I've gotten a couple of books promising great things you can do with analytics but been disappointed with the results. The books seem to assume that if the author tells you all the cool info/insights you can derive from analytics that this is sufficient to be able to use it effectively.
I'm stuck in the interface thinking 'how do I do this?', 'how do I segment', 'how do I track traffic to one page or from one online event.' I need to move my company into an online focus and using analytics effectively to connect marketing to conversions is key. I'm not a data geek. I need some training tools that will move me from relative newbie to having a decent tracking system for our web site. I've looked at Google's Conversion University tools and found them not quite what I need.
Response by poster: I got his second book. If the first one is like the first, then that's exactly what I'm talking about in my post. Great info, kind of useless to me without some walk-through type do-this, click here, this is how this works kind of training.
Just because people are brilliant doesn't mean they are great teachers. I thought his second book was terrific if you're already a data ninja, not so much so if you need to become one.
posted by diode at 11:53 AM on May 14, 2010
Just because people are brilliant doesn't mean they are great teachers. I thought his second book was terrific if you're already a data ninja, not so much so if you need to become one.
posted by diode at 11:53 AM on May 14, 2010
I am not a Google analytics expert but I'll mention some options and throw out some questions. I'm guessing you've done a basic tutorial search online which would throw up stuff like this and this. Regardless, it is unrealistic to expect that you will go from being a lay person to a data ninja with the help of a couple of books and information available online for free. At least not without a whole lot of time and patience to try and test and measure, and tweak your strategies accordingly.
Also, Google analytics can help you track things and figure out how your strategies are working (so you can refine them) but it won't help you come up with the strategies themselves. Internet marketing is a whole bunch of things from search engine optimization to social media marketing to copywriting - are you covering those bases? Do you have any budget for this? You could hire a professional marketer or SEO/SMM freelancer off of a site like Elance , or become a premier/pro member on a web site like seomoz.org or seobook.com (there's lots others but I don't remember them offhand, and be wary of top search results because the best and sometimes the only thing online marketers are good at doing is marketing themselves) - I know for a fact that those two take direct questions from pro (and sometimes free) members and help you figure things out.
The cheaper you want to do this, the more time it will take. At the same time, spending more money won't necessarily get you results, because at the very least you'll have to research and figure out how and where to best spend your budget. I don't mean to discourage you; most people who become successful online do it by figuring things out for themselves, but it takes a fair amount of time and you have to be wary of everything you're being 'sold'.
But if you don't know much about marketing, start there. If you do, you can go straight to internet marketing resources - learn about 1) internet marketing strategies, 2) SEO and 3) SMM. Those are the very basic (and also broad) things, and will help you market your services/product online. Keep using your data to judge how things are working - what's bringing in more traffic, what's converting best etc. That's really all it's good for.
If you provide more info on where exactly you are in your learning process re: all these things, I could recommend a few more books / look up some more reliable sites.
posted by mondaygreens at 11:55 AM on May 14, 2010
Also, Google analytics can help you track things and figure out how your strategies are working (so you can refine them) but it won't help you come up with the strategies themselves. Internet marketing is a whole bunch of things from search engine optimization to social media marketing to copywriting - are you covering those bases? Do you have any budget for this? You could hire a professional marketer or SEO/SMM freelancer off of a site like Elance , or become a premier/pro member on a web site like seomoz.org or seobook.com (there's lots others but I don't remember them offhand, and be wary of top search results because the best and sometimes the only thing online marketers are good at doing is marketing themselves) - I know for a fact that those two take direct questions from pro (and sometimes free) members and help you figure things out.
The cheaper you want to do this, the more time it will take. At the same time, spending more money won't necessarily get you results, because at the very least you'll have to research and figure out how and where to best spend your budget. I don't mean to discourage you; most people who become successful online do it by figuring things out for themselves, but it takes a fair amount of time and you have to be wary of everything you're being 'sold'.
But if you don't know much about marketing, start there. If you do, you can go straight to internet marketing resources - learn about 1) internet marketing strategies, 2) SEO and 3) SMM. Those are the very basic (and also broad) things, and will help you market your services/product online. Keep using your data to judge how things are working - what's bringing in more traffic, what's converting best etc. That's really all it's good for.
If you provide more info on where exactly you are in your learning process re: all these things, I could recommend a few more books / look up some more reliable sites.
posted by mondaygreens at 11:55 AM on May 14, 2010
PS: You won't find do-this, click-this type resources on internet marketing. Or rather, you will with a little search, but they will not be any good. There is no one-size fits all approach to it; plus all internet marketers hold on to their trade secrets for dear life / money.
posted by mondaygreens at 11:59 AM on May 14, 2010
posted by mondaygreens at 11:59 AM on May 14, 2010
Response by poster: Okay, thanks for the input. I have a good working knowledge of Internet marketing. I'm not looking for that in this query. I'm strictly looking for training that will help me set up a basic set of analytics reports that will assist me in understanding the traffic to a web site. I can do a lot of basic stuff already. What I need is insights and some deeper training in the interface. The books I've read seem to assume the average user already has this training. A walk-through. If you want to to get this cool report which analyzes this aspect of your traffic, click here and segment there.
posted by diode at 9:22 AM on May 15, 2010
posted by diode at 9:22 AM on May 15, 2010
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posted by word_virus at 9:47 AM on May 14, 2010 [1 favorite]