Using Google Analytics
I’m sooo confused.
Some time ago I added Google Analytics code on a few of my sites to get a better feel statistically on how they’re actually doing. Being the statistic watcher that I am, I thought “What the heck. It couldn’t hurt.” Well, no I don’t think it hurts, but it does confuse.
There is so much data at Google Analytics that I would probably need a 4-year college degree from The University of Google itself to truly understand what it offers.
As usual, when I’m totally overwhelmed, I leave it alone for a bit and come back to it on a full stomach. After eating several meals and attempting to understand all that Google Analytics has to offer, I only managed to gain a few pounds and become more confused. I even checked out Google Analytics for Beginners which helped, but it’s just a drop in the bucket when it comes to explaining all of the features.
One Useful Analytic Feature
The one thing I did discover is that I get a more accurate tracking of my AdSense income per site through the Analytics interface than I do from the Google AdSense interface. When I first added AdSense to my sites I didn’t fully understand the use of channels so I didn’t utilize them properly. Not wanting to take the time and fix my initial AdSense installation, I sort of limped along being thankful for any money I saw in the account.
After stumbling into Google Analytics, I’ve found that once I configured it to track my AdSense earnings, it more accurately told me which sites were actually earning money (and how much) and which ones weren’t. It turns out I gave too much credit to one of my sites only to find that it didn’t earn as much from AdSense as I thought it did.
TMI
Google Analytics is a useful blogger/webmaster tool and maybe eventually I’ll grow to understand and appreciate all of its nuances and features. Until then… it’s just plain TMI (too much information) for me to grasp at this point. I guess I’ll have to explore it one feature at a time.
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Comment by Ms Terri on 21 May 2009:
I agree that there is an overwhelming amount of information on Google Analytics. And in order to find anything useful, I have to drill down through several layers of pages, which is slow and frustrating, so I rarely look at it. Mostly I look at the WordPress Stats (from the plug-in) for a quick overview, and I also use statcounter.com, which gives a lot of detail, but unlike Google Analytics, is easy to use.
The one feature I like on Analytics is the page overlay, where you can see where people have clicked.
I haven’t hooked up Analytics to Adsense yet, so maybe I’ll give that a try. I’ve been dragging my feet because they are on different accounts, and I figured it might be a hassle to try to combine them …
Comment by Felicia on 21 May 2009:
I can’t say that I’ve used the page overlay. I’ll put that on my next Analytics “To Do” list.
Once you connect your AdSense to your Analytics account, AdSense shows a link to click that will bring you to your Analytics account. The connection process isn’t too bad. It’s just that there is so much info to look at.