5 Tips for Setting up a Google Analytics Account Structure

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How to set up a Google Analytics Account Structure?

While setting up your account it is hard to foresee where the account will be in the future. Yet there are some factors that you should always account to, to ensure that your account is setup to grow in a sustainable manner.

Here are 6 factors to keep in mind when setting up your Google Analytics Account:

  • Keep in mind that GA is there to serve your marketing and business strategy.
    As much as the setup is important, it is more important to check it daily. Most successful marketers and business people check their analytics almost daily. It usually guides their decisions to be more data-driven. As you design your structure, think about how you will use it daily.
  • Don’t forget the purpose of data and GA. The main reason to use GA is to make sure visitors are doing what you want them to do on your site or web property. This could be contact form submission, sign up to a newsletter, buy a product, request a quote, etc. When setting up GA remember your KPIs and goals for the site.
  • Remember that a big strength of GA is the ability to integrate with all the other Google tools. Keep in mind that you will likely be connecting your GA account with Google Ads, Google Search Console, Google Tag Manager, Google AdSense, etc.
  • Another strength of GA is the ability to customize reports to your needs. As you go through the process of setting up GA, keep in mind how you want to view the data. Better yet, always bear in mind who will benefit from what report. When we approach the end of this book where you’ll learn how to customize data, bring these thoughts to life through the right dashboards.
  • Through GA, you can compare data across different months, traffic sources and other dimensions. As you analyze different reports, remember to make data more relevant through comparing.
  • Remember that GA can do (much of) the work for you. You are better off creating intelligent alerts to notify you of a rise or drop in traffic or any other significant change with your site data, rather than relying on manual daily checks.

Learn More about analytics and how to capitalize on it: Get your copy of “The Secret to Capitalizing on Analytics” here

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How to Properly Setup Google Analytics

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Google Analytics Structure

GA is divided into three levels.

The account level: This is where you label your group of properties. Every account can have up to 50 properties.

The property level: This is where you manage all your web properties. A web property could be an app, a website, a POS, etc. Any property that is solely yours could be here. For example, you own your mobile app, so it can be tracked as a property. You don’t own your Facebook page – that’s the property of Facebook – so it can’t be tracked as a property. Each property can have up to 25 views.

The view level: This is where you select the different ways you can view your property. One unfiltered view for every property in your account is automatically created. You can set up multiple views on a single property.

Let’s use an example to better understand this structure:

I run a business called The Camino Within. Let’s imagine it has a blog, speaking site, book site and a mobile app. These are all separate properties, meaning the blog, for example, is not embedded within the main website, but has its own URL.

The account name would be:

  • The Camino Within

The property names would be:

  • The Camino Within site – thecaminowithin.com
  • The Camino Within blog – blog.thecaminowithin.com
  • The Camino Within travel app – IOS & Android apps
  • The Camino Within speaking site – speaking.thecaminowithin.com

A good example of the views could be as follows:

  • All data view
  • Canadian visits
  • International visits
  • External traffic only
  • Backup view

With views, you apply filters so that you only see the data you want within that view. This makes it really easy to quickly extract your most relevant and frequently needed information. Just note that when you’re in a particular view, you won’t be able to retrieve any information that you’ve set to be filtered out. You’ll need to remove that filter or choose another view. Also, be sure to label your views very clearly.

Google Analytics Structure

As you will learn further along in this book, this structure is important for permissions, account management, integration and accessibility. For this reason, take care that your GA structure makes sense for you, your business and your business objectives.

Takeaway

Google Analytics account structure is an important factor in collecting and compiling the data most relevant to your business goals, in a way that makes sense for you. When setup properly, it will help considerably in the long-term planning, preparation and performance of your business online.

 

Learn More about analytics and how to capitalize on it: Get your copy of “The Secret to Capitalizing on Analytics” here

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How to Successfully Utilize Google Analytics

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SUCCESS IN GA REQUIRES 3 STEPS

Like all tools, GA is only as effective as the person wielding it. Take the time to get to know the tool and how best to use it within your business. These are 3 key steps you need to invest in to ensure success with GA:

  1. Setting up Google Analytics in the right way
  • Creating a Google Analytics account
  • Customizing the account
  • Understanding the structure
  • Understanding how you can create views and properties for your account
  • Understanding how to distribute privileges
  • Understanding how to activate features
  • Understanding GDPR, privacy and Google Analytics

 

  1. Translating your data into insights
  • Understanding metrics and dimensions
  • Understanding data hygiene
  • Knowing where to find relevant data
  • Understanding what this data means for your business
  • Understanding what is working and not working
  • Getting the most out of the data

 

  1. Acting on your insights
  • Applying learnings to your business
  • Knowing how to react to data
  • Optimizing for better results

 

Lessons from GA Consulting

When I work with companies, I always work on getting to know the client first, understanding their business and their goals.

After that, I aim to create a Google Analytics account setup that is fully aligned with their goals.

To go the extra mile, I also help them with reporting, insights and dashboarding.

So, the process goes like this:

  • Understanding who you are and what you want to achieve;
  • Customizing your account to gather and compile data that’s relevant to who you are and what you want to achieve;
  • Creating reports and dashboards that give you easy-to-interpret visuals of what your data means.

But here’s the crazy part: even though the client is the person in this equation who best knows the business, they always want me to be there to act on their insights, data and reports.

What this taught me is that data is more than just marrying our minds with numbers. In fact, it’s not a marriage at all. It’s more of a master and machine relationship. YOU are the master. You need to make the machine work for you.

Every time I sit down with a client’s team to go over their data, we always end up with more than just the sum total. We always end up with genius ideas and actionable next steps. The data becomes an impetus to launch creative new ways to market and cater to customers.

The ability and drive to interpret and act on data is there, but for whatever reason, many people need to be led to the water, so to speak.  Don’t ever play the passive or reactive role to data. Be involved at every level. Data will not act alone. It needs you in the driver’s seat. Get yourself in that mindset.

To bridge this gap between gathering the data and acting on it, I divide analytics consulting into setting up, researching and recommendations. For this, I like to use the metaphor of producing a Broadway play.

 

Prepare. Practice. Perform. Here’s how it goes:

Prepare

  • Get to know the structure of your GA account.
  • Learn how to create a Google Analytics account.
  • Learn an alternative way of adding GA through a tool called Google Tag Manager.

Practice

  • GA uses some terms you may be unfamiliar with. Learn the most important metrics and dimensions so that you are able to read the data on GA reports.

Perform

  • Navigate the platform.
  • Read and analyze GA reports.
  • Act on the knowledge and insight they provide.

 

Takeaway

Having data without interpretation is like trying to perform in a play without a script.

Don’t ever play the passive or reactive role to data. Be involved at every level. Know the tool, learn how to wield it, then do it.

 

Learn More about analytics and how to capitalize on it: Get your copy of “The Secret to Capitalizing on Analytics” here

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What Can Marketers Learn From the Movie Industry?

The movie industry is one of the most competitive and engaging industries when it comes to marketing.

This industry requires quick adaption, seasonality, buildup, a lot of preparation and planning, which makes it a learning ground for marketers who want to get better and want more challenge.

Here are 12 things marketers can learn from this industry:

1. Do something that is worth talking about

Creating quality content, visuals and videos. Most of us tend to create OK content, and then pay for ads that will send people to this channel and wind up. While the right way to do marketing is to create amazing things and amazing content and then market that content.

2. Capitalizing on “Build-up marketing” 

Most consumers check a product or a service before it is released. Based on a Google study, most customers look for a movie a month before its release. The same thing happens for new product releases, as a marketer you should capitalize on both pre-release and post-release moments.

3. Local targeting, Geo-targeting and I-beacons.

Most promotions associated with movies are mainly done using geo-tools, this helps marketers reach certain areas with higher theatre density and denser population with more ads.

As for I-beacons, marketers are now creating location-based games and mobile apps, associated with movies themselves, that viewers can play while in the theatre, making the promotion more native and in-place.

4. Language tailored creatives and promotions:

Due to the fact most movies contain different languages and subtitles. Marketers make sure that the right creatives reach the right group, in the right area, with the right creatives.

5. Creating engaging and compelling landing pages

We are more willing to stay on a page if we connect with something familiar. Marketers need to capitalize on this, emphasizing logos and brands.

6. Creating interactive social campaigns

Smart marketers create campaigns that rotate around the audience and concentrate on their involvement while using all social channels with the same theme.

They also ensure the story rotates around the viewer by capitalizing on social competitions and quizzes.

7. Using interesting partnerships aligned with their brand

8. Utilizing paid media across search and social channels

It is important to use the search and social channels in an integrated manner, ensuring that all creatives and promotions are aligned perfectly.

9. Capitalizing on YouTube :

4 out of 5 movie lovers go to YouTube (source: thinkwithgoogle)

10. Looking at the big picture, and understanding their viewers:

Knowing and using the interests of their viewers, and targeting them accordingly

11. Using online and offline marketing in a parallel and integrated strategy

12. Using exclusivity in state of the art email campaigns:

this helps in maintaining brand advocacy and loyalty

Conclusion, there is always something that marketers can learn from other industries, especially the ones that are more seasonal and versatile. As a marketer, keep an eye out, dare your industry guidelines in the name of innovation.

Sources:

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How Do You Explain Digital Marketing to a 92 Year Old?

I was recently invited by a networking group to give a presentation on how digital marketing is impacting the way we market and do business.

As I began the presentation, I introduced myself and what I do, then moved into an explanation of search engine optimization, search engine marketing and the ins and outs of this constantly changing market.

About 25 minutes into the presentation, as I immersed the crowds in details of digital marketing and how I use it to make brands and businesses grow and increase their online presence, I saw a shaky hand emerge from the audience.

I assumed the hand indicated a question about my current slide. I welcomed the question.

The gentleman attached to the hand took his time standing up. He looked at me with a blank face, seeming hesitant to ask his question.

He then uttered these 4 words: “What is digital marketing?”

You had to be there to see the surprise on my face. I wasn’t expecting this question at all, especially not so far into the presentation. And not because the question was wrong to ask. In fact, this 92-year-old gentleman was brave to ask it.

I was surprised because, while I have answered this question many times, for many different people (even an 8-year-old!), I was not prepared to answer it for a 92-year-old.

There I was, onstage, trying to put myself into a 92-year-old mind. What kind of marketing has he been exposed to in his lifetime? What kind of marketing would he be seeing today? Where would he go when looking for a product or a service?

With more than a 60 year age gap between myself and this gentleman, it was a challenge.

I decided to start answering what I knew – comparing traditional marketing to digital marketing and explaining the difference.

“As marketing throughout the 60s,70s, 80s and 90s was mainly through TV, radio and newspapers, that is considered ‘traditional marketing’. Digital marketing is done through more recent technologies such as mobile phones, computers and tablets, while utilizing different channels such as search engines and social media.”

The blank stare persisted. Except now, it looked even blanker.

I was trying to find something in my mind that this fine gentleman could relate to.

Suddenly, I had an epiphany.

I remembered helping a friend’s parents move. I clearly remembered seeing stacks of Yellow Pages as we moved boxes of books and magazines from their basement. I asked why they kept them, to which they replied that they wanted to ensure they had the numbers and contacts of everyone from year to year, as advertisers tended to vary annually. To them, it was a coveted database of contacts.

Back in my onstage moment, I took a deep breath, smiled and said to the gentleman,“Remember in the old days when you wanted to find something or someone, your first instinct was to look for them in the Yellow Pages book? Nowadays, all you have to do is search them up on search engines such as Google.”

As soon as I said this, he smiled. His whole face lit up.

To him, digital means that the coveted Yellow Pages book and its wealth of information are now online. Advertisers that once used the Yellow Pages as a channel to increase their presence now use search engines and social media to do the same.

You see, the game hasn’t changed. Only the field. Marketing has always been about getting your message where people will look for it, find it, see it, consume it.

So the next time you are sitting down with Grandma and Grandpa and, out of nowhere, they throw you an unexpected question on any digital-related matter, you will know exactly how to answer them. Start with the playing field they know.

Follow Tarek Riman on Twitter @tarekriman

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