analytics

BEGINNERS’ GUIDE TO USING
analytics
GOOGLE ANALYTICS
Tasty data about your website!
www.cabbagetree.co.nz

GOOGLE ANALYTICS OVERVIEW
UNDERSTANDING YOUR WEBSITE VISITORS’
BEHAVIOUR IS A KEY FACTOR IN ONLINE
SUCCESS. WHERE DID YOUR VISITORS COME
FROM? WHAT ARE THEY LOOKING AT ON
YOUR SITE? HOW LONG DID THEY STAY?
DID THEY MAKE A BOOKING?
Google Analytics can provide the answers, thus arming you with the ability to tailor your
website and marketing strategies to your audience, and exponentially increase your site
traffic and conversions.
To use Google Analytics effectively you need to have a solid understanding of the reports
and how that information can be used to your benefit.
This guide covers the basics of Google Analytics, outlining what each of the primary
reports mean, in order to get you started on the path to understanding and improving
your website traffic.
A BEGINNERS’ GUIDE TO USING GOOGLE ANALYTICS
Written and Published by Cabbage Tree Creative
October 2013
NEW ZEALAND: ISBN 978-0-473-19280-8
www.cabbagetree.co.nz
TRADEMARKS: Google, Google AdWords, Google Analytics , YouTube and Google+ are registered
trademarks of Google, Inc. Twitter is a registered trademark of Twitter, Inc. Facebook is a
registered trademark of Facebook, Inc. Flickr is a registered trademark of Yahoo, Inc. LinkedIn is a
registered trademark of LinkedIn Corporation. TripAdvisor is a registered trademark of TripAdvisor
LLC. Pinterest is a registered trademark of Pinterest, Inc.

INTRODUCTION
Google Analytics is an online tool that draws
traffic statistics from your website. You can log
in and view detailed statistical data for each page
of your website over your chosen time period.
You can see how many visitors you have had, which country they came from, how they found
your website, which pages of your site are the most and least popular, and many other useful
insights. This information can then be used to develop targeted marketing campaigns, or to
redesign your website in order to effectively drive users to your key pages.
GOOGLE ANALYTICS IS SECURE,
ACCURATE, RELIABLE AND
EASY-TO-USE, MAKING IT THE
LEADING ONLINE ANALYTICS TOOL
SET-UP AND ACCESS
If you are a Cabbage Tree Creative client,
we will set up your Google Analytics
account for you as part of your website
development or SEO campaign.
You will still be able to access and view
your site’s analytics, but we will also have
access to them so we can analyse your
statistics and provide you with relevant
assistance, suggestions and support.
ACCESSING YOUR
GOOGLE ANALYTICS
ACCOUNT
Once your account has been set up, we
will provide you with your login details.
To log in:
1. Visit www.google.com/analytics
and click Access Analytics
2. Enter your email and password
and click Sign in
3. Find and select the account you wish
to view by using the search function
under Account Home, or the drop
down menu at top left of the screen.
GOOGLE ANALYTICS | A beginners’ guide

NAVIGATING YOUR ANALYTICS ACCOUNT
Once logged in, you will be viewing your Account List.
You will notice there is a dropdown of your accounts and a ‘home’
icon in the banner across the top of your window:
THE TABS
TAB 1: HOME
Click the Home icon at any time
to return to your account
homepage. This is the page where
you can select your account from.
TAB 2: ACCOUNTS
The All Accounts button is a dropdown
list of all the accounts attached to your
current login. Most people only have one
website (one account) but you can have
up to 100 individual accounts, and even
more if you are added as an admin of
other user’s accounts.
GOOGLE ANALYTICS | A beginners’ guide

TAB 3: REPORTING TAB
The reports section is broken up into two
sections: My Stuff and Standard Reports.
Beneath each section is a number of items
and sub-items. Each item and sub-item is
outlined further in this document.
On most reports there are a number of
factors you can change:
A. THE DATE RANGE
To change the date range of your statistics,
click the date box (top right of your
dashboard) and select your start and end
dates from the calendar. Click Apply. To
compare two date ranges against one
another, choose your first date range
then tick the compare to box, and select
previous period or previous year. Select
your second date range and click Apply.
The graph will now show two lines - one for
your first date range and another for your
second. This is useful if comparing data
from a previous week, month or year.
B. OVERVIEW
Each line graph displays a default metric.
For example, the Audience Overview graph
shows Visits.
C: COMPARE METRICS
To compare two different metrics in the
same graph, click the Select a metric text
alongside the current metric at the top
right of the graph.
From the drop-down options, select the
second metric you’d like to view in your
graph. This data will then appear on your
graph in an alternate colour, letting you
compare the two metrics. To remove the
second metric from your graph, click the
small x alongside the text.
D: GRAPH BY
This function lets you choose how
the information in your graphs will be
displayed. For example, by hour, day, week
or month. Your choice in this area dictates
how dense the information will be in your
graph. For example, if you choose to graph
by day, you will be able to view the number
of visits per day for your chosen time
period. Graphing by month on the other
hand, will show the statistics for
each month with no daily or weekly
data included.
E: GRAPH MODE
You can change the mode of some graphs
from line chart to motion chart. If this
option is available you will see a button
with three dots at the top right of the
graph.
Note that the information shown in here
will take a few hours before it appears in
the other reporting sections.
GOOGLE ANALYTICS | A beginners’ guide