Posts Tagged ‘Google Analytics’

• Unique Visitors vs. New Visitors in Google Analytics – What’s the Difference?

  Date: 2010.02.22 | Category: Google Analytics Definitions | Response: 11

  Quite simply, what is the difference between Unique and New Visitors in Google Analytics? I trawled the Web for ages to find a good example of how to explain this. Ultimately, I decided it was best explained as a flowchart.

  A visitor is defined as Unique upon their very, very first entry to the site.
  A NEW visitor is a visit that is new in the selected time scan, say 1 – 31 March 2009 – if a user is re-entering the site for a second or nth time during the timespan, then they are recorded as a returning visitor.
  Hopefully, you will find this flowchart a succinct explanantion.

  

  Flowchart for Unique vs. New Visitors - Google Analytics

• Google Analytics Link Tagging Toolkit for SEO

  Date: 2010.02.13 | Category: General Web Analytics, Google Analytics, Google Analytics Tools | Response: 17

  

  Image via CrunchBase

  The two main url builder tools that I am aware of are:

  1. Google Analytics URL Builder

  2. Justin Cutroni Link Tagging Tool

  What’s great about these Google Analytics tools is that they are simple, yet effective.  They make life a lot EASIER!

  I was asked if I would take a look at a new tool called Google Analytics Campaign URL Builder which again is perfect in its simplicity. Like the original URL builder, you can tag your URLs as standard.  However, you can also;

  1. Decide if you want to add utm_nooverride=1 to the as part of your tracking.

  2. Decide if you want to use ? or # in your URLs.

  Conveniently, then you can shorten your URL or if you want to 301 the page, it will provide the code you need to stick in your .htaccess file.

  I have also come across a tool that goes one step further and is a hybrid of the three afore-mentioned tools as it also offers the ability to export and edit in excel.  Well done Av Eivind Savio for your Google Analytics Link Builder.

  

  

  

• How to Find Out The Real Referring URL – Google Analytics

  Date: 2010.02.08 | Category: Google Analytics, Google Analytics Hacks | Response: 11

  There is nothing more frustrating than trying to work out which page of a site is the one  actually referring to yours.  Google Analytics tells us the name of the domain, but not the exact referring URL.  There is a filter that can be used to give you what you need.

  Field A -> Extract A – Referral  (.*)

  Field B -> Extract B – (Leave Blank)

  Output To -> Constructor – User Defined $A1

  See image to help.

  To view, go to visitor reports and select ‘user-defined’

  

• Google Analytics Training Cheat Sheet

  Date: 2010.01.19 | Category: General Web Analytics, Google Analytics, Google Analytics Hacks | Response: 0

  Here is a fabulous Google Analytics Cheat Sheet created by Ian Lurie of Conversation Marketing as a response to this post at SEOMoz.
  

  Google Analytics Cheat Sheet

  Apart from the fact that it is full of great hints, tips and pointers it also links to one of my very own hacks that can originally be found here and which I will host on this blog as soon as I can find a moment!!
  Thanks Ian!!

• Google Analytics Notations (or Notes as you may prefer)

  Date: 2010.01.15 | Category: Google Analytics | Response: 3

  Google Analytics have publicly announced ‘Google Analytics Notations’. Quite simply, this is the ability to add notes to graphs within your Google Analytics Interface and it is simple genius.
  I have struggled for soooo long to try and get GA users (clients and administrators) to keep a record of changes so that any unusual behaviours can be cross-referenced for an explanation and managing this task is not easy and has not always been successful.

  Now, Google Analytics have kindly, with a click of a button, given us the facility to add it straight into the system which is saving so much time and confusion and here is the button….

  

  which opens up into this…

  

  Really easy, huh?

  You can * them for easy finding, share them or keep them privately all to yourself – it’s up to you.