MARKETING

You’ve set an evening aside to try out a new pasta recipe. You light a fire, pour yourself a glass of wine, and flick through the recipe to see which ingredients you’ll need. One by one you lay them out on the table and soon realize a few key ingredients are missing. You have everything you need to make a delicious pasta sauce, but no pasta.   ‍Photo by Klaus Nielsen from Pexels Will your meal be a success? Probably not. Similarly, to have an effective digital marketing campaign, you need a few essential ingredients which each bring something unique to the table. Semrush and Google Analytics are two powerful SEO tools in your recipe for a killer website. The question is less about which one is better and more about how they work together to form a complete digital marketing campaign. In this article, we will look at what each tool does and how they complement one another. To conclude, we’ll consider which product will best meet the needs of your business. What’s the Difference Between Semrush and Google Analytics? Below is a list of key features of SEMrush and Google Analytics. What is SEMrush? In a nutshell, SEMrush is a SaaS (software as a service) product that specializes in keyword research and competitor analysis. Included in the SEMrush toolkit are the following features: 1. Traffic Analytics Provides you with the traffic estimates of any website. Much like Google Analytics, it includes traffic sources, the average duration of a visit, unique page visits, bounce rate analysis, geolocation, and more. So how does SEMrush differ from Google Analytics? SEMrush allows you not only to analyze your website but your competitor’s websites as well. This competitive analysis shows you which of their strategies are working, as well as areas you can improve on. This information can then be used as a basis for your content marketing campaign and to optimize your website for SEO.   ‍Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexel 2. Organic Research Simply types in the Domain, subdomain, or URL of your competitor, and you’ll be provided with a list of their top organic keywords and their position in search results. With very little effort, you have a ready-to-go list of keywords that you can incorporate into your website’s content. Keywords that you know are competitive and rank well. 3. Keyword Overview The Keyword Overview feature allows you to analyze any keyword or phrase and determine search volume, ranking difficulty, keyword variations, SERP Analysis, and much more. This helps you easily decide which keywords to include in your content and ad campaigns. 4. Link Building Tool Backlinks help site crawlers discover your website and decide which position you’ll rank. SEMrush helps you to find sites that rank well for your chosen keywords, providing you with a list of prospects to reach out to for backlinks. It also allows you to check their domain authority and evaluate how backlinks obtained from them will affect your SEO. 5. Website SEO Audits The Website SEO audit is an impressive feature that helps you analyze how well your website is performing. The audit does over 140 checks to your site, including broken links, duplicate content, crawlability, loading speed, and successful HTTPS implementation. All essential components if you want to impress the Google bots and appear on first-page search results.   Photo by Lukas from Pexels What is Google Analytics? Google Analytics enables you to measure your website’s performance and provides essential information about who your visitors are. Let’s take a look at how GA can be used: 1. Audience Report Tells you the demographics of your visitors, including their average age, gender, and location. As well as what device they use to access your website, whether it be mobile or desktop. Knowing who your customers are will help you customize your campaign to suit their needs. 2. Acquisition Report Indicates the source of your traffic. The report tells you which percentage of visitors came from social media, organic search (typing a keyword or phrase into the search bar), direct search (typing the name of your website into the search bar), or other. When you know how users found your site, you’ll know how effective your marketing methods are. 3. Behavior Tells you how visitors move from one page to the next, the average session duration, which pages are most frequently visited, and bounce rates. (the bounce rate is the percentage of visitors who navigate away from your site after visiting only one page) For example, if a page has a high bounce rate, this is a signal that the content needs to be improved to meet the needs of those who land there. A great user experience is important as it can keep them moving from the Homepage to the check-out cart. 4. Conversions The percentage of visitors who take a certain action while on your site. These actions, or conversions, are entered in Google Analytics as goals that need to be tracked. Examples of conversions are the number of people who fill in a contact form, sign up for a newsletter, or click on a discount voucher. SEMrush vs Google Analytics: Plans and Pricing Comparison   ‍Photo by RODNAE Productions from Pexels ‍ SEMrush SEMrush is a SaaS product available either for free with limited features or on a monthly subscription: (March 2022) ‍ Google Analytics Semrush & Google Analytics – A Match Made in Heaven? These powerful tools, when used together, provide you with a complete digital marketing picture. Instead of stumbling around in the dark, they give you a clear plan of action. Even if you aren’t a professional marketer or have limited resources, they level the playing field and make it easy for anyone to have a fighting chance at the infamous first-page search results. SEMrush allows you to analyze your competitor’s websites so you can take away which strategies are working well for them and implement them in your campaign. It will help you see areas in

Don’t you love having options? To have the freedom to choose between a donut or apple for lunch, whether you’ll wear a blue or green shirt today or spend your weekend fishing or laying on a beach? ‍ Do we have the same freedom when it comes to web analytics software? Of course we do! ‍ Although when we talk about analytics, which is the first tool that comes to mind? No doubt, Google Analytics. Many businesses aren’t even aware of the host of alternatives available to them which may actually suit their business needs better. ‍ They simply learn to deal with the good, the bad and the ugly of this analytics tool. But have you ever wondered… ‍ Are there alternative analytics platforms out there worth considering? Why should I switch to a google analytics alternative? ‍ Yes! There are many substitutes out there that can rival the world’s favorite free web analytics platform. But why consider an alternative at all? ‍ Why consider an alternative to Google Analytics? ‍ Photo by Vanessa Garcia from Pexels‍ ‍ First and foremost, Google Analytics is not incredibly intuitive. Admittedly, there are many Youtube videos and Google tutorials to help you understand the platform, but most business owners are just too busy to sit for hours learning how to analyze traffic data. Let alone understand how to turn these reports into actionable insights that help you increase your revenue ‍ A second reason why many have recently moved away from Google Analytics is data protection laws. Users don’t want their data to be sold to the highest bidders. And some European countries are considering a ban on Google Analytics in their countries stating that Google Analytics does not sufficiently protect their citizen’s data. ‍ Pricing could also be a deciding factor. Once your business outgrows the free version, you will have to sign up for Google 360. This comes with a hefty price tag of $150,000 per year. That’s a sizable chunk of money to invest in a marketing campaign, and you’ll have to ensure the revenue you gain will be worth the money you invest. If that doesn’t convince you, here are more reasons to consider a google analytics alternative. Don’t be afraid of change! ‍Photo by Thirdman from Pexels ‍ An analytics tool is an essential part of any digital marketing campaign. It tells you who your customers are, how they engage with your site, the success of your ad campaigns and so much more. You must be able to comfortably navigate your analytics tool of choice and understand the reports it gives you. ‍ Although there will always be die-hard SEO specialists out there who swear by Google Analytics, you might be pleasantly surprised by what the competitors have to offer. ‍ Don’t stick with something just because it’s what everyone uses. If Google Analytics meets your needs, great. If it doesn’t, there are many analytics alternatives out there. ‍ How do I find the best alternative for my needs? ‍Photo by Startup Stock Photos from Pexels ‍ The Saas program you choose should be the one which suits your needs best. What works for a blogger, probably won’t work for a large enterprise. What works for an e-commerce site won’t necessarily be the best choice for a brick-and-mortar store. ‍ Here are a few helpful questions to ask before choosing the right Google Analytics alternative for you: ‍ How much am I willing to spend on a website analytics program? Which personal or business goals or metrics would I need to track? What website data would be most relevant to my business? Will the program I choose grow with my business and continue to meet its needs? How tech-savvy am I? Will I, or my staff, need additional training to use the program effectively? How much time and money am I willing to invest in training? Will I outsource the work to a digital marketing agency or SEO specialist? How important is data protection to my company? Do I need reports with only the most relevant information or will I need more advanced web analytics? ‍ Now that you have a clearer idea about what your personal needs are, here is a list of the five best Google Analytics alternatives. Look out for the highlights and key points for each one that can help you choose the best platform for your business. Abralytics ‍ Source: Abralytics‍ ‍ Abralytics has a user-friendly interface that swops complicated jargon-filled reports with ones that are easy to understand. They understand that we’re not all data analytics scientists or SEO specialists – go figure. ‍ It has been designed to integrate with other major platforms like Squarespace, Wix and Shopify to name just a few. If you need help, they’ll even set you up at no additional cost. Highlights Abralytics puts privacy first by replacing cookies with anonymous measurements. The platform is completely GDPR, CCPA and PECR compliant straight out of the box. Abralytics has also put data analysis on a diet. By using lightweight coding this web analytics tool keeps websites speedy and visitors engaged. ‍ ‍Photo by Yan Krukov from Pexels What to keep in mind ‍ Many analytics platforms will offer either a free version with limited features or a paid version with full features and a rather large price tag. The idea behind this is that smaller businesses either don’t need access to higher-end features or that larger companies can afford to fork out a hefty amount for their data reports. ‍ But Abralytics takes a slightly different approach. Regardless of the size of your business, you get unlimited access to all features for under $15/month. This means you pay the same amount, no matter how much traffic your site gets or how much your business grows. ‍ While you can try Abralytics for free for 30 days, there isn’t a free version available for continuous use. Privacy comes at a cost and by not selling your

Ecommerce businesses allow you to sell products online without paying for a brick-and-mortar building. ‍ No need to worry about who will open the shop each day. Instead, your biggest concern is whether your delivery company can keep up with all the online sales you’re generating. ‍ But having an online store isn’t all about sitting back and watching the cash roll in. ‍ There are a few key e-commerce metrics you want to keep a close eye on, whether you use Google Analytics or any other Web Analytics tool. What are KPIs? KPI stands for Key Performance Indicator. ‍ Simply put, your e-commerce KPIs are a collection of the most important metrics you track to help you grow and maintain your online store’s performance.  Q: How are they different from Metrics? While it’s true that all metrics in an analytics report are helpful to a certain degree, the reality is that not all metrics are VITAL to the success of your e-commerce store. ‍ For example, take the News Letter Opens Metric. ‍ Super helpful in determining if your email campaigns are getting better click-through rates on mobile devices as opposed to desktops and tablets. ‍ But does that metric doesn’t strike you as an e-commerce KPI that you just can’t do without? Identifying Key Metrics ‍ Before deciding which e-commerce metrics and KPIs are most relevant to you, you need to figure a few things out about yourself and your business. Set your objectives Here are a few questions to help you identify which metrics make the list of your most valuable key performance indicators. How far along in my sales journey am I? All e-commerce businesses are at different stages of development. And different metrics matter at various stages of the process. ‍ A brand new business would be more interested in New Customers than Customer Loyalty. You’ve just started, right? ‍ So in its beginning stages, it would make way more sense to track new website traffic than how many of them have been returning. That metric becomes more relevant later on in your journey. What would I like to achieve in the next business quarter? Your KPIs help you set goals for your business growth. They give you real-time feedback on what’s going on in your business that will help you make the needed adjustments immediately. ‍ Take this scenario, for example. ‍ Your analytics report shows excellent traffic flow. Visitors to your site seem to be landing on the right pages. But you just can’t seem to interest them in a new product you’re promoting. ‍ In response, you could change the layout of your landing page to draw attention to the specific product widget you want people to click on. ‍ By setting that widget click as a KPI you’re able to see your site’s immediate improvement. How many KPIs can I handle at this stage? There are over 100 metrics available in Google Analytics. That’s a lot going on. ‍ The sheer amount of data can overwhelm new and experienced users. So, be reasonable. ‍ Identify and track only as many metrics as you need. Prioritize In my earlier example, I spoke of how New Customers would be an essential e-commerce KPI for a start-up instead of Customer Loyalty. ‍ And there are various other examples that show that we need to prioritize the most important metrics and KPIs according to their relevancy. ‍ When you understand what you want to achieve with your e-commerce platform, you’ll be able to prioritize the KPIs to reflect those goals. Top 13 E-commerce Metrics to track There are a few metrics that are essential to not only growing but maintaining any eCommerce store. ‍ As a bonus, we’ve also included the formula used to calculate each metric. Average Profit Margin  This metric takes the number one spot on our list because how much profit you make on each item you sell will go a long way to determining the strength of your e-commerce business. ‍ It can also help you remain competitively priced in your niche. At times you might need to adjust your prices according to the going rate of products on the market. ‍ Your Analytics platform will display profit as a percentage taken over a set period. ‍ Conversion Rate CR A conversion rate refers to the percentage of users that have completed the desired action. Conversions could also include: Scroll activity on a site Viewing a product video Signing up for a newsletter Signing up for an account If you set a goal, such as adding a product to the checkout basket – or even better – a customer following through with a purchase, and that goal is met, then it counts as a conversion. ‍ Your conversion rate is a great way to measure the success of your customer engagement. ‍ If your website pages are engaging and well thought out, they should lead your customer all the way from the first landing page to purchasing a product. ‍ ‍ Average Order Value (AOV)  Your average order value is the average value of each e-commerce transaction in your online store. ‍ You need to know how much revenue each order brings you because it will help you formulate marketing and pricing strategies. ‍ For instance, let’s say that your total revenue for a month is $50,000. You had a total of 2000 purchases completed for the same month. ‍ This means that, on average, each customer spent $25 for the month. ‍ From this figure, you can determine whether the time and money spent acquiring each customer to your site are worth it and adjust your marketing campaign budget accordingly. ‍ In some cases, it’s also known as the Average Market Basket. ‍ ‍ Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) A customer lifetime value refers to the total worth that a specific customer brings to a business over a set period of time. ‍ This value begins when a customer makes

So you’ve finally nailed Universal Google Analytics and can impress friends and colleagues with fancy terms like hits, dimensions and conversion rates. And now you hear all this talk about Google Analytics 4. Maybe you’ve started to panic and envision hours searching unfamiliar terms again and reading countless how-to blogs. ‍ But just how different is GA4 from its predecessor? And what are the advantages of switching over? Could you stick your head in the virtual sand and just keep going with the version you know? Let’s dive in! ‍                                                                                                                                                                                   Photo by Ivan Samkov What is Google Analytics 4? Google Analytics 4 is the latest version of Google’s free analytics platform and they’ve announced that as of July 2023, GA4 is set to replace Universal Analytics (UA) entirely. ‍ According to Google, it’s the analytics tool for the future – It’s focused on privacy, has intelligent machine learning at its core and provides you with a clear overall view of your customers’ journey across all devices and platforms. ‍ In the words of Bob Dylan, “The times they are a-changin’” and with the increasing popularity of mobile apps, stricter data privacy laws and the shift to online shopping, it’s not hard to understand why an update was needed. Photo by Anna Tukhfatullina ‍ Russell Ketchum, Director of Product Management at Google Analytics put it this way: “Universal Analytics was built for a generation of online measurement that was anchored in the desktop web, independent sessions and more easily observable data from cookies. This measurement methodology is quickly becoming obsolete. Meanwhile, Google Analytics 4 operates across platforms, does not rely exclusively on cookies and uses an event-based data model to deliver user-centric measurement.” ‍ So now we know why the update was needed, let’s dive into some key differences. How does Google Analytics 4 differ from Universal GA? 1. Different data models Universal Analytics uses a session-based data model, while GA4 uses an event-based data model to record user interactions. ‍ Universal Analytics: A session is the period of time a user spends on your site. Any user interaction during that time is sent as “hits”  to Google for processing. Most Google Analytics data is sent in the form of pageview hits and event hits. ‍ In UA, you can tell Google to track additional activity by setting up what is called an event. Examples of an event would be form submissions, file downloads or videos played. ‍ Google Analytics 4: In Google Analytics 4 properties, every “hit” is now referred to as an event.  In UA, you would have to use Google Tag Manager to create events such as scrolling, clicks and downloads. But GA4 automatically records these events without additional setup. ‍ ‍Photo by Mikael Blomkvist: ‍ There are 4 categories of events in Google Analytics 4: ‍ Automatically collected events –  Default events that do not need to be added or modified but are automatically tracked by Google. Examples of these include when a video is played to the end, the first time a visitor scrolls to the bottom of the page or when an in-app purchase is completed. ‍ See Google’s support site for a full list of automatically collected events. ‍ Enhanced measurement events – Google provides a list of additional events which can also be selected for tracking. These events can easily be added without using Google Tag Manager or changing the website code. ‍ Enhanced measurement events can be accessed by clicking on Admin at the bottom left-hand corner of the screen, selecting Data streams, choosing a property from the list and toggling the tab to on. ‍ Recommended events – These events are recommended by Google based on the industry you work in and require custom changes using Google Tag Manager. There is a list of recommended events for all business types, for e-commerce stores and games. ‍ Click here for a full list of recommended events. ‍ Custom event – Existing events can be customized to suit your individual needs using Google Tag Manager. These events can be given unique names as long as you follow Google’s naming guidelines. ‍ 2. Intelligent Machine learning ‍Photo by Alex Knight Unlike Universal Analytics, GA4 has introduced a new feature called Predictive Audience and Predictive Metrics. ‍ When a user’s data is not available, the Predictive Audience feature fills in the gaps so you still have a clear overall picture of who your online customers are and how they engage with your site or app. ‍ Predictive metrics are divided into 3 categories. ‍ Purchase Probability: How likely a user who was active in the last 28 days will perform a specific conversion event within the next 7 days. ‍ Churn Probability: How likely a user who was active on your app or site within the last 7 days will not return within the next 7 days. ‍ Predicted Revenue: Predicted revenue from all purchase conversions within the next 28 days from a user who was active in the last 28 days. ‍ ‍Photo by Ivan Samkov: At this point, you’re probably scratching your head and are confused about what to do with all this extra info. Let me give you an example. ‍ If you have a blog and have just written what you believe to be the best article the world will ever see, if the percentage of visitors who are not likely to return to your site in the next 7 days

Video is fast-progressing as one of the most versatile and potent marketing tools out there. ‍ Did you know that video constitutes a whopping 82% of all internet traffic? In fact, YouTube experiences a footfall of roughly 1.7 billion unique users every month! ‍ People don’t simply watch videos—they also actively search for them. ‍ 88% of internet users say they would like brands to publish more video content in 2022. ‍ Given the popularity and lasting influence of video, companies are clamoring to create video content to educate audiences, increase engagement, and boost ROI. ‍ Nearly 86% of businesses have already embraced video in their online marketing strategy. An impressive 94% or marketers believe that video has helped their business boost user understanding of their services or products. ‍ But how do you determine what kind of videos you should put out? How do you reel in massive crowds and boost your revenue with video? ‍ If you work with video or are planning to create video content, you’ve probably asked yourself this question. ‍ How do you determine if a video content strategy is helping you reach business goals? ‍ The answer is simple: by tracking video insights. ‍ For every goal you set, there needs to be a related metric that will help you ensure if your content strategy is hitting the mark or not. ‍ This is arguably the most crucial aspect of the entire video process. ‍ In this article, we’ll find out why video engagement metrics matter and how you can leverage them to skyrocket business revenue. Using Video to Foolproof Brand Experience While videos are rather complex to produce and smoothly integrate with a user interface, they help capture your target audience better and faster as compared to other types of content. ‍ From bolstering the efficacy of information exchange to constructively pitching ideas and products, video content plays an indispensable role in achieving business goals and objectives. ‍ Let’s quickly look at how videos boost UX experience: ‍ Information Exchange The primary reason why video content is regarded as a game-changing aspect of the user interface is because of how clearly and efficiently it facilitates the flow of information. ‍ A compelling 30-seconds video is capable of communicating more knowledge than a large paragraph of text coupled with images and mockups. ‍ As it happens, text-based content struggles to create an impact as potent as video content. As per a Neilson research, your audience reads only about 20% of an web page containing an average of 593 words. ‍ Training guides, tutorials, and explainers when repurposed in a video format have the power to make your audience stop and reflect. It catches their audience’s eye in the first few seconds—ensuring they stick around until the end. ‍ A web page with a video playing in the background does not just enhance visual appeal but also sets the tone for your website. It captures the audience’s attention and establishes an emotional connection with them—thereby helping you avoid bounce rates. ‍ Presenting and pitching Ideas Possibly the greatest advantage video content offers businesses is that they can demonstrate their products and services in a way that invites engagement and conversions. Site visitors needn’t scroll or connect images with pieces of text to understand your vision. Videos successfully communicate your ideas and vision to your audience—and even create lasting impressions—by stimulating the human senses. ‍ According to Hubspot, embedding videos on your landing page can boost conversions by 80%! Another study by Precision Marketing Group demonstrates that videos in emails increase click-through rate by 200 to 300%! ‍ If you are looking to promote your products or services and encourage quality click-throughs, it’s only fitting that you leverage video content for maximum benefits. ‍ Storytelling Medium Video content presents before you the unique opportunity to connect with your site visitors by telling them a compelling, relatable story. It is one of the more effective ways of sparking emotion and making a brand align with human experience. ‍ Stories help gain better clarity of things; they take viewers through the 3 basic phases of a buyer’s journey —from identifying pain points, resolving to eliminate them, and eventually finding a solution. ‍ Did you know 95% of site visitors are more likely to pay attention to a CTA in a video as opposed to the 10% in a text format? ‍ The human connection in videos also instills trust among customers, which helps build credibility around your brand. A survey conducted by WYZOWL showed that 79% of buyers are compelled to purchase a product after watching a video. 3 Reasons to track video engagement metrics With videos helping you effectively communicate your message to your audience, build trust, and rank better in search results, it is imperative for brands to optimize their video content for maximum results. ‍ This is possible with tracking engagement metrics to measure the overall success of your videos. Here are 3 reasons why video engagement metrics are worth paying attention to: ‍ Understanding target audience and subscriber base The foremost reason for tracking engagement metrics is to gain a better understanding of your customer base. ‍ With insight into your customers’ browsing habits, you can optimize your video content to deliver top-notch user experience. ‍ For instance, tracking your watch time is highly advantageous. You can determine at which point in the video your audience tends to bounce off, how long they stay engaged with your video, and what the optimum duration of your video should be. ‍ This way, you can include your brand message and CTA appropriately in your video to ensure maximum ROI. ‍ Another metric—called max concurrent users—shows you when your target audience tends be most active. This allows you to time your content publishing to grab maximum eyeballs. ‍ Gaining advantage over competitors Video provides much-needed competitive edge to companies to thrive in a high-stakes market and take their business to the next level. ‍ By

Do you want to increase conversions and ROI? Understanding user behavior and analyzing site traffic via Google Analytics will help! ‍ The catch is, you have to understand and be familiarized with certain terms before you can make use of the data and drive real change in your business. One of those is “Active Users.” Not all GA users fully understand this core metric. ‍ That’s why we’ll focus on it today and find out how to apply it in order to optimize your site.  So, What Are Active Users in Google Analytics?       The term “Active Users” can be a little misleading. Some people think it’s the same thing as a real-time user – someone who is on your site at this moment. ‍ But actually, your active users are different from your real-time users. Active users are those who have engaged in your website over a certain time period. Google Analytics looks at active users in terms of one day, seven days, 14 days, or 30 days. ‍ So, depending on your campaign needs, you can set the time period as daily (default setting), weekly, biweekly, or monthly to use the Active Users report. The default setting simply measures how many users are active on your site every day. ‍ Through the Active Users report, you will see the number of users who visited your site at least once in the last 1, 7, 14, or 28 days in a selected time period. This same report gives you a clear idea of the retention rate of your site, especially if you compare active user counts over time. Definition of a “User” In broad terms, “Users” mean the total number of new as well as returning visitors that get to your website. The numbers in the report are related to the timeframe you specify in Google Analytics. How to Access the Active Users Report To access the Active Users report, simply click on the “Audience” menu in your Google Analytics reporting view. How to Read the Active Users Report In the Active Users report, you’ll see the “Active Users” metric. Basically, there are four different types of Active Users: 1. 1 Day Active Users (Daily Active Users) These are unique users who visited your site at least once on the last day for a selected period of time. 2. 7-Day Active Users (Weekly Active Users) These are unique users who visited your site at least once in the last 7 days for a selected period of time. 3. 14-Day Active Users; and These are unique users who visited your site at least once in the last 14 days for a selected period of time. 4.  28-Day or 30-Day Active Users (Monthly Active Users) These are unique users who visited your site at least once in the last 28 or 30 days for a selected period of time. ‍ Note: 7-day active users may also include 1-day active users. In the same way, 28-day active users may also include 14-day active users.  ‍ Google breaks your website’s active users into four different time frames so it’ll be easier for you to see the number of users visiting your site in a certain period or date range. How to Use the Google Analytics Active Users Report The Google Analytics Active Users report is useful in understanding or analyzing how often users are coming back to your website. The report will also be beneficial in measuring the success of your promotional campaign while it’s still running.  ‍ For instance, you have just started running a promotion a few weeks ago. You hope for new traffic and hope to retain them. This Google Analytics Active Users report will be a great place to get a quick look at how successful your campaign has been. ‍ Hover over the chart and see the different metrics. You’ll also find their ratios to make comparisons. These ratios include: ‍ Daily active users / monthly active users Daily active users / monthly active users Weekly active users / monthly active users ‍ Looking at the active user count data by cohort could also provide you insight on certain points in a client or customer’s life cycle where they stop being active. That way, you can create intentions to retain those uses. ‍ [Recommended Article For You: Google Analytics – Paid vs Free] When to Use Active User Report and When to Use Real-Time Reports Didn’t we say earlier that the “Active Users” metric can be a bit misleading? To remove the confusion, we suggest you use real-time reports if you want to know the number of users that are currently on your site or if you want to validate your tracking. ‍ For instance, you have implemented a tracking event on your site and wanted to check if it is working well. In that case, navigate the Events section and check the real-time reports. ‍ On the other hand, use the Active User report, if you have just recently launched a campaign and wanted to understand its performance. ‍ Pro-Tip: use advanced segments along with Google Analytics Active Users report to see the effect of the active users on the data you are collecting on Google’s web analytics service. Using both would enable you to answer questions, such as are engaged users more active compared to the non-engaged ones? or are users from paid traffic less active than users from email traffic? How Are Google Analytics Users Tracked?     Once you install Google Analytics on your site, it tracks users automatically. The data about each user is stored in your browser as a cookie. That cookie includes the client ID and this is how the platform recognizes your visitors. ‍ If you want to find the unique client ID for a website, simply go to the developer tools > Application> Cookies> and click your domain. Find _ga in the list of your cookies and there you’ll see the Client ID after the second

Aah, yes – the mysterious “Other” found under Google Analytics Traffic Channels. ‍ It has left many analytics newbies scratching their heads in confusion. ‍ Should you ignore it? ‍ Is there any way to see what “other” includes?  ‍ Is there a way to solve the “other” dilemma? ‍ Grab a cup of coffee and let the Abralytics team provide you with all the answers. ‍ ‍ Let’s begin by explaining what the various traffic channels are. What is a Traffic Channel in Google Analytics? A traffic channel or source tells you how a visitor landed on your website. Pretty simple, right? ‍ Why does this matter? ‍ Because knowing where your visitors came from can help you channel your money and efforts in the right place. ‍ For example, if the Acquisition report shows that most users came from Direct Search, you know your offline advertising campaigns are a tremendous success. But, you may need to allocate additional resources to Search Engine Optimization (SEO), so more customers can see you in search. ‍ Acquisition → Overview Page → Top Channels ‍ In the Acquisition Overview report, you’ll find a pie chart and table showing your Traffic Channels. ‍ These can include ‍ Direct: ‍ Direct traffic means the user has typed your URL directly into their browser. It also includes people who have clicked a link to your site on a pdf, Whatsapp message, Facebook Messenger or email. ‍ Paid Search ‍ Traffic that comes from any paid ad that appears in search results. ‍ Display ‍ Traffic that lands on your site after clicking an ad you placed on another website. For example, a banner ad on a blog. ‍ Affiliates ‍ Traffic as a result of affiliate marketing. Your product or service appears on another website with a link to your site. This is done in exchange for a small commission on every item bought. ‍ Organic Search ‍ Visitors who found your site after typing a word or phrase into a search bar. Your page appeared in search results as a relevant match, and the user clicked through to your site. ‍ Source: Pexels ‍ ‍ Social ‍ Users who click through to your site from a social network page or app. This could include LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or Pinterest, among others. ‍ Referral ‍ Referral traffic comes from backlinks –  when a user lands on your site by clicking a link on another website. ‍ Email ‍ Visitors who land on your site as a result of your email marketing campaigns. ‍ Other ‍ Last but not least, “other” makes a sneaky appearance. So let’s dive in. What is “Other” in Google Analytics? A source is categorized as “other” if Google doesn’t recognize it as belonging to a specific channel. ‍ The source doesn’t play by the (predefined) rules and GA can’t say how these users came to your site. ‍ This can happen when a UTM tag has been placed in an URL incorrectly. ‍ Let’s see how this happens: Incorrect UTM tags ‍ A UTM tag can be created using a UTM Tag Builder. It is a small string of text placed at the end of a URL to help you see exactly which pieces of content are performing well and driving the most traffic to your site. ‍ So while an analytics tool can tell you where your web traffic comes from, a UTM tag tells you which specific posts, pages or ads they clicked on. ‍ So without one, you’ll be able to see that 1000 visitors came from a Social Channel, but you won’t know from which Social Channel. ‍ But when a UTM tag is created incorrectly, it could cause GA to categorize it incorrectly. Instead of ending up under Social, it could be categorized as Other. Here are some common errors when creating UTM tags that are easy to fix: ‍ Mixing lowercase and uppercase letters. Channel definitions are case-sensitive. Inconsistent tagging. For example, using the term “paid” on one tag, but “ad” on another Campaign names that are too long Spelling mistakes Not using Source/Medium consistently Using UTMs for internal links Can you just ignore it? ‍Source: Pexels ‍ You probably shouldn’t. If you chose to ignore the “other” sources, you could miss out on valuable pieces of data. ‍ And like when building a jigsaw puzzle, the larger the number of missing pieces, the less clear the picture becomes. In the same way, the more traffic bucketed under “Other”, the less accurate your data collection is. ‍ If you have a personal site or small business, you may get away with just checking what’s under “Other” on a regular basis. ‍ But the bigger your website is, you’ll want to find a way to sort the problem out. Is there any way to see what “other” includes? Absolutely – Just follow the steps outlined below: ‍ Step 1: Sign into your Google Analytics account ‍ Step 2: Open your Google Analytics Dashboard → ‍ Acquisition → All Traffic → Channels→ Default Channel Grouping column ‍ Step 3: Click on “Other” ‍ ‍Source: Getelevar ‍ Step 4: Change your Secondary Dimension to Medium (Acquisition – Source/medium) ‍ Source: Getelevar‍ ‍ And now you can see where the “Other” traffic originated from. Is there a way to solve the “other” dilemma for good? Yes, depending on your skill level, you could either: ‍ Move them to an existing Google Analytics channel Create a new custom channel grouping ‍ Move them to an existing Google Analytics channel Let’s use #8 on the image above as an example. Follow steps 1- 4 above. Step 5: Identify which channel group each row could belong to. Social Instagram should go under the Social Traffic Channel Step 6: Click on Admin → Channel Settings → Channel Grouping → Default channel grouping settings Step 7: Open the desired channel, which is Social in our example Step 8: Select “Medium” from the

A Dimension in Google Analytics is an attribute or description of data. ‍ Every report in google analytics is made up of Metrics and Dimensions. The dimensions of a report give you different attributes of the data you’ve collected. ‍ For example, a dimension could be the City from which a set of metrics is taken in a report, like Istanbul, New York, or Paris. ‍ A Dimension is different from a metric in that it doesn’t have any numerical value. It simply describes the data set, organizing numerical data into categories. ‍ Studying the dimensions in your reports will help you better understand critical factors like where your website visitors are from, the language they speak, and the platforms or gadgets they use to navigate your website. Primary Dimensions When viewing only one of the default dimensions in Google Analytics, it is considered viewing a primary dimension. ‍ Google Analytics Demo‍ ‍ In the example above, the primary dimension is the country from which a user started a session. ‍ Although this data is valuable, it doesn’t tell you how the users found the website, or how long they viewed individual pages. But by layering different dimensions, you will get a more comprehensive picture. ‍ Examples of default Google Analytics Dimensions include Gender, Age, City, Source / Medium, Keyword, Browser, Device Category, and Operating System. Secondary Dimensions A secondary dimension gives you a more in-depth understanding of the primary dimension. ‍ In the example used above, the primary dimension showed you where your audience originates from. ‍ Google Analytics Demo‍ ‍ The secondary dimension highlighted above tells you what the most popular landing page is (the page on which traffic enters your site). In this example, it is the homepage. How to Create and View Secondary Dimensions As secondary dimensions are already pre-defined by Google, you simply have to add them to your custom report to benefit from the metrics that go along with them. Step 1 In your Google Analytics report, you can view various dimensions on the left-hand drop-down bar. ‍ In our example below the primary dimension is set to Language as part of the GEO funnel. ‍ With this dimension, you’ll be able to see what language users prefer to view content in, as part of our Audience Overview Report. This is because Google Analytics records the Langauge settings in your users’ browser settings. ‍Google Analytics Demo ‍ The dimensions in the example are the languages spoken by your audience: US English, British English, and Chinese. ‍ The Metrics are grouped on the right under Users, New Users and Sessions Tabs. Note that metrics have a numerical value added to them. Step 2 Once you’ve chosen the Primary dimension, you’ll be able to view possible secondary dimensions by selecting one from the drop-down list. ‍ Predefined dimension funnels in Google Analytics include Acquisition, Advertising, Behaviour, and Users. ‍ In the example shown we’ll use the Age dimension which is selected under the Users funnel ‍ ‍‍Google Analytics Demo Now we’ll be able to view the age bracket of our users in the different language groups. ‍ ‍Google Analytics Demo ‍ With a side-by-side view of two different dimensions, we get a better understanding of our audience. ‍ But what if I need a secondary dimension, not available in standard Google Analytics reports? ‍ That’s where Custom dimensions come in. How to create and view Custom Dimensions Custom dimensions, much like default dimensions, help you to layer information in a more in-depth way. ‍ These custom reports go a long way in helping you understand your users better as you’re able to hone in on niche-specific data. ‍ But there’s a catch to creating custom dimensions. The device category has to be enabled or alternatively, contain at least one app reporting view. ‍ Custom dimensions also require additional setup in your Google Analytics Account and tracking code. You’ll only be able to view these dimensions after completing the setup process of both these steps. How to create a  Custom Dimension: ‍ Step 1 – Sign in to Google Analytics. ‍ Step 2 – Click Admin, and navigate to the property to which you want to add custom dimensions. ‍ Step 3 – In the Property column, click Custom Definitions > Custom Dimensions. ‍ Step 4 – Click New Custom Dimension. ‍ Step 5 – Add a Name. This can be any string, but use something unique so it’s not confused with any other dimension or metric in your reports. ‍ Step 6 – Select the Scope. Choose to track at the Hit, Session, User, or Product level. ‍ Step 7 – Check the Active box to start collecting data and see the dimension in your reports right away. To create the dimension but have it remain inactive, uncheck the box. ‍ Step 8 – Click Create. How to View Custom Dimensions in Google Analytics ‍ Step 1 After signing in to your Google Analytics account, you’ll be able to view different dimensions on the left-hand drop-down menu. ‍ Let’s use the same example with the primary dimension set to Language as part of the GEO funnel. Step 2 Rather than select one of the predefined dimensions, scroll down to Custom Dimensions. The dimensions that you’ve set up in the 8-step process to create custom dimensions will appear here. ‍ In the example, we chose the Sales region as the Custom Dimension. ‍ ‍Google Analytics Demo Now you’ll be able to view this custom dimension (in blue) alongside one of the standard dimensions (in red) that you already have selected, as depicted below. ‍ Google Analytics Demo‍ ‍ This custom dimension helps you understand in which sales region a particular product is most popular. What is the difference between Dimensions and metrics? In all Google Analytics Reports, Metrics are quantitative measurements and Dimensions are the labels used to describe them. ‍ ‍Google Analytics Demo To put it simply, Metrics are always expressed by numbers (number values,

Google Analytics is a free tool used by businesses to provide insight into who visits their site and what they do there. While a Google Analytics account provides amazingly rich data, you may not always know how to turn the data into actionable steps. This is a real shame, as the insights it provides could mean the difference between an okay site or ad campaign, and an outstanding one that keeps visitors returning for more (or even better, one that results in hard-earned sales). So, this article will answer a few important questions: What is a metric in Google Analytics?  What are some of the most important metrics that I can track? How do these metrics help me with my site performance? ‍ Photo by Karolina Grabowska from Pexels ‍ What is Metrics in Google Analytics?  Every report in Google Analytics is made up of both Metrics and Dimensions.  Metrics are quantitative measurements. Anything that can be measured with a number is a metric in a Google Analytics report. For example, the number of visitors, the average time spent on the site, or the number of pages they visited. Dimensions, on the other hand, organize all these numerical data into categories. An example of this would be the browser, location, or language of traffic to your site. Dimensions are always expressed in non-numerical terms. Primary dimensions are default dimensions automatically added by Google Analytics. You can also add a secondary dimension to narrow your results into smaller categories. How Many Metrics Should I Track? According to supermetrics.com, there are about 500 metrics and dimensions that can be tracked on Google Analytics. But wait, no need to panic! The good news is that not every metric needs to be used to have a successful digital marketing campaign. Each business is different and the metrics you choose to track should be customized to suit your needs. For this reason, we will look at only the Top 10 Metrics we believe every small to medium size business should track. But first, let’s briefly discuss the 4 main categories or reports provided by Google Analytics. Photo by Lukas from Pexels ‍ The 4 Main Categories of Google Analytics Metrics Audience – These user metrics help you understand who your audience is. Acquisition – This is the kind of metric that will help you understand how someone got to your site. Behavior – This metric allows you to determine what users do on your site. Conversions – These metrics track your goals. How many users clicked on that link, signed up for the newsletter, or viewed the discounted deal at the end of the page. Top 10 Google Analytics Metrics for SEO & Ad Campaigns Here are the 10 most relevant Google Analytics metrics that you should be tracking, which category they belong to, and a definition or suggestions on how to analyze them. 1. Number of Users (Audience) Overview: Dashboard → Audience → Overview Definition: This metric tracks how many people visited your website over a specific date range. Why Is This Metric Important? It helps you gauge how successful your marketing efforts are at attracting new and returning visitors. Depending on the type of site you have, repeat visitors are very important. On a blog site, for example, returning visitors show that people find your content engaging and want to read more. How Do I Improve This Metric? Advertise using paid methods, like Google or Facebook Ads Post content on Social media sites like Facebook or Linkedin Encourage first-time visitors to sign up for a newsletter. A monthly newsletter is a subtle reminder that you exist and encourages visitors to return. 2. Demographics  (Audience) Overview: Dashboard → Audience → Overview Definition: This metric tells you more about your visitors by age and gender. Why Is This Metric Important? Knowing your audience helps you to direct your marketing efforts to the right platforms where they spend most of their on-screen time. How Do I Improve This Metric? If most users are over 50, consider using larger text and making your website easier to navigate If most users are in their early 20s, you may choose to use platforms like Instagram or TikTok for paid advertising 3. Average Session Duration (Audience) Overview Dashboard → Audience → Overview In-depth Analysis: Dashboard → Audience → Behavior → Engagement Definition: This metric tracks the average time a user spends on a website in any single session. The period begins when the user enters the website to either the point they leave or after 30 minutes of inactivity. ‍ Note though that page time is only included if the user moves on to another page on the same website. So a user may spend 10 minutes on the first page, but if they don’t move to another page, the session time = 0.00 (these are considered as bounced sessions). In the same way, the time spent on the last page they visit is also omitted. ‍ There are ways around this, but If nothing else, listen to the experts who say a good average session duration should be between 2-3 minutes.  Why Is This Metric Important? If the average session duration is low, this is an indication that either visitors are not finding what they are looking for, your site provides a bad user experience, or lacks engaging content. How Do I Improve This Metric? Add videos to your website pages to keep users there for longer Provide links to other pages of your site Using images to break up huge chunks of text will make the article easier to read 4. Average Pages per Session (Audience) Overview: Dashboard → Audience → Overview In-depth Analysis: Dashboard → Audience → Behavior → Session Quality ‍ Definition: This refers to the average number of individual pages viewed in a single session. This metric is calculated by dividing the number of page views by the total number of sessions. Why Is This Metric Important? If visitors view several pages per session,

What Referral Traffic Is In Google Analytics Have you ever felt lost in the labyrinth of Google Analytics, especially when trying to pinpoint exactly where your traffic is coming from? Navigating the maze of menus and options can feel like searching for a needle in a haystack, leaving you frustrated and unsure if you’re making the most of your traffic data. According to Google, Referral traffic is identified as visitors that arrive at your site from direct links on other websites rather than directly or through searches. Referral traffic is crucial yet often misunderstood. Many marketers share this common predicament, struggling to translate referral traffic into actionable insights. That’s where Abralytics can come in—offering a streamlined, user-friendly alternative that simplifies your analytics needs. Understanding Referral Traffic: Why It Matters Referral traffic isn’t just another metric in Google Analytics; it’s a window into the effectiveness of your online partnerships and the external perceptions of your brand. Recognizing the sources that bring visitors to your site can help you identify which partnerships are fruitful and which platforms you might be overlooking. Here’s what we’ll cover to demystify referral traffic and maximize its potential: Definition and Importance: What referral traffic is and why it should matter to you. Identifying Referral Sources: How to find and analyze your referral traffic data in Google Analytics. Leveraging Referral Traffic: Strategies to optimize and increase traffic from referrals. Abralytics Advantage: How Abralytics simplifies tracking and enhances the insights from referral traffic. Next, we’ll dive into the core of referral traffic, starting with its fundamental definition and importance. You’ll learn not just to track but also to leverage this data to forge stronger relationships and boost your digital marketing strategy. Understanding Referral Traffic: Definition and Why It’s Crucial Many marketers overlook referral traffic, focusing instead on direct visits or search engine traffic. However, understanding where your visitors come from can reveal which external sites are boosting your traffic and which might be leeching your credibility without providing value. Here’s how to make the most of this data: Start by filtering your Google Analytics to view referral traffic sources. This gives you a clear picture of which websites link to your page and how their audiences engage with your content. This information is vital for recognizing high-value partnerships. For instance, a high number of visitors from a niche blog could indicate a strong alignment with that audience, suggesting potential for deeper collaboration or targeted content. Evaluate the quality of traffic from each referral source based on metrics like session duration, bounce rate, and conversions. This assessment helps you distinguish between sources that drive engaged visitors and those that don’t. Create a simple dashboard in Google Analytics to track these metrics regularly, allowing you to quickly spot trends and adjust your strategy accordingly. Use the data to tweak existing campaigns or to inspire new initiatives. For example, if a particular referral source regularly leads to high conversions, consider investing more in similar channels or exploring co-marketing opportunities. A/B testing different referral strategies can help refine what works best for your audience, potentially increasing both traffic and conversion rates. Referral traffic isn’t just a metric to monitor; it’s a strategic tool that, when understood and utilized properly, can significantly enhance your online presence and marketing effectiveness. ‍ Identifying Referral Sources: Navigating Google Analytics Uncovering where your referral traffic originates can seem daunting, but it’s a crucial step in harnessing the full potential of your digital strategy. Here’s how you can effectively identify and evaluate your referral sources: Source: Google Analytics Demo Account Begin by accessing the ‘Acquisition’ section in Google Analytics, then navigate to ‘Traffic Acquisition’ and search ‘Referral’. This report lists the domains that have sent traffic to your website, providing a straightforward view of your referral landscape. Viewing this data allows you to see not just who is sending traffic, but also how much they’re sending, which can be pivotal in assessing the value of your external relationships. For each referral source, analyze key metrics such as page views, average session duration, and bounce rates. These indicators help determine the engagement and quality of the traffic coming from each referring site. You could use a visualization, like a heatmap, to quickly identify which sources are most valuable based on engagement metrics. This visual tool highlights areas of success and opportunities for improvement. Identifying and analyzing your referral sources in Google Analytics allows you to not only understand where your traffic comes from but also how to engage these visitors effectively. By focusing on data-driven insights, you can optimize your marketing efforts to leverage the most beneficial partnerships and channels. ‍ Leveraging Referral Traffic: Enhancing Your Marketing Strategy Once you understand where your referral traffic is coming from and how it behaves on your site, the next step is leveraging this information to optimize your marketing efforts. Here’s how you can actively use referral data to boost your traffic and conversions: Identify which referral sources bring the most valuable traffic—those with high engagement and conversion rates—and focus on building stronger relationships with these partners. This might involve more collaborative content, joint promotions, or shared campaigns. Consider reaching out to these partners for guest blogging opportunities or joint webinars, which can further engage their audience and bring more qualified traffic to your site. Analyze the content preferences of visitors from different referral sources and tailor your content to better suit their interests. This targeted approach can significantly increase relevancy and engagement. If visitors from a particular tech blog engage more with your software tutorials, consider creating more content in this vein or even developing specific features or services based on this feedback. Optimize the paths that visitors take once they arrive via referral links. Ensure that the landing pages are highly relevant and offer clear, actionable information aligned with the interests of the referral traffic. You might create customized landing pages for visitors from specific referral sources. These pages could highlight information or offers that are especially relevant to that