Setting up Google Analytics and Tracking Your Site Performance

In Part 1 I talked all about using your website to streamline your processes and systems - like scheduling appointments or bookings, getting your menu and pricing online, adding an employment page and creating customized forms to collect the info you need from potential clients and customers. Today I want to share how your website can help you learn more about your audience and how you can get found more easily online. Lost already? Contact me for a free consultation or keep reading to learn more. (I promise I will make this as simple as possible!)

1. Set Up Google Analytics
If you've spent time creating a great website or hired someone to build it for you, it's important to see how it's working. With Google Analytics you can monitor traffic to your site and all of the specifics. For example, not only can you see how many people are visiting your site and which pages they're spending the most time on -- you can see what kind of device they're using, what demographics they fall into and what their behavior patterns are like (what they click on first, second, third etc). To get set up, click here and simply create your account. Follow all the steps, then, copy and paste the tracking code (gtag.js) into your site header. Once you republish your site, the tag will be active and Google Analytics will start collecting data from your website! If your website builder has a built-in "Google Analytics" tab or feature, it might only ask you for your tracking ID. That's the code that looks like this:  UA-76156059-1. After a few days, you'll start seeing data appear when you login to your Google Analytics account.

2. Set Up Google Webmaster Tools (Now Google Search Console)
The next step in getting found online is to essentially register your site with Google. You do this with Google Search Console. Search Console offers tools and reports that allow you to measure your site's Google search traffic and performance, fix issues, and help your site rise in search results. Simply follow the steps to verify your website and in a few days you'll have data to review. You'll need to add a small snippet of code to your site's header or verify with your domain provider. Make sure you have your domain login and password, and access to the back end of your website before you set up your Google analytics or search console accounts. If you don't have access to these things, ask your webmaster or designer if they can set your accounts up for you when they complete your website. (This is a service we offer each of our RKC clients.)

3. Track Your Performance
Once your accounts are set up, designate a time each week or month to sit down and track your progress. Not sure how to make sense of what you're seeing in Google Analytics? Checkout some online tutorials and make it a priority to learn the basics. The more you know about your website performance, the easier it will be to make improvements and adjustments. One of the most important indicators of your site's performance is the traffic flow pattern. You can use this feature to see what pages people are landing on and where they're going next. Are they leaving your site? Are they clicking onto another page within your site? If you want them to land on one page and then go to another, this is a great way to see if your call to actions are working.

Now that your accounts are set up and your website is working for YOU, it's time to sit back and let the data roll in. It can take 4-8 weeks for Google to recognize changes to your website and index new pages. Questions or ideas in the meantime? Contact us today for a website review. We'll chat about your site's positive features and what you can do to improve its performance.