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06.08.09 How To Add Google Analytics To Your Website  By Dave TaylorI keep hearing from you and others that I really need to be tracking how people use my Web site and that I should be collecting "aggregate traffic statistics" and such. I've heard that Google Analytics is good - and the price, free, is great - but I'm not really clear how to use it and add it to my site. Can you please step me through the process, Dave? Thanks! Dave's Answer: You have received good advice! Regardless of the level of complexity of your Web site, whether it's a huge blog with thousands of articles - as mine is - or a five page brochureware billboard for your service business, it's critically important and darn useful to be able to know how many people are visiting your site, from where, how, and what they do once they're on the site. As a simple example, let's say that you offer three different services through your company and you have three pages on your little Web site that highlights those, one per page. Which gets more traffic? What can you conclude about the appeal of your business based on that? Which of those converts into the potential customer picking up the phone and calling you or clicking on "contact us" and emailing in a query? Without feedback you're in the dark. With feedback you can continually refine your pages and your business both, growing smart and effective. Google Analytics is a bit tricky to set up too, so I'm not surprised you've a bit of trepidation about doing so. It involves copying and pasting some pretty complicated code. The good news, though, is that you don't need to understand the HTML and JavaScript you cut and paste, you just need to not mess it up! Start by going to Google Analytics and either signing up for a new account or signing in to your Google account. The button you seek is this:
 Once you've signed up you'll see an overview page which won't be very exciting since you don't have any collected data as of yet. On the right you'll see this, however: 
Click on the "+ Add new profile" link and you'll be able to specify the URL of your site: Continue reading this article. About the Author: Dave Taylor has been involved with the Internet since 1980 and is internationally known as an expert on both business and technology issues. Holder of an MSEd and MBA, author of twenty books and founder of four startups, he also runs a strategic marketing company and consults with firms seeking the best approach to working with weblogs and social networks. Dave is an award-winning speaker and frequent guest on radio and podcast programs. AskDaveTaylor.com http://www.intuitive.com/blog/ |
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