Google Analytics Breakthrough

Google Analytics Breakthrough

by Feras Alhlou, Shiraz Asif, Eric Fettman
Released September 2016
Publisher(s): Wiley
ISBN: 9781119144014

Read it now on the O’Reilly learning platform with a 10-day free trial.

O’Reilly members get unlimited access to books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.

Start your free trial

Book description

A complete, start-to-finish guide to Google Analytics instrumentation and reporting

Google Analytics Breakthrough is a much-needed comprehensive resource for the world's most widely adopted analytics tool. Designed to provide a complete, best-practices foundation in measurement strategy, implementation, reporting, and optimization, this book systematically demystifies the broad range of Google Analytics features and configurations. Throughout the end-to-end learning experience, you'll sharpen your core competencies, discover hidden functionality, learn to avoid common pitfalls, and develop next-generation tracking and analysis strategies so you can understand what is helping or hindering your digital performance and begin driving more success.

Google Analytics Breakthrough offers practical instruction and expert perspectives on the full range of implementation and reporting skills:

  • Learn how to campaign-tag inbound links to uncover the email, social, PPC, and banner/remarketing traffic hiding as other traffic sources and to confidently measure the ROI of each marketing channel
  • Add event tracking to capture the many important user interactions that Google Analytics does not record by default, such as video plays, PDF downloads, scrolling, and AJAX updates
  • Master Google Tag Manager for greater flexibility and process control in implementation
  • Set up goals and Enhanced Ecommerce tracking to measure performance against organizational KPIs and configure conversion funnels to isolate drop-off
  • Create audience segments that map to your audience constituencies, amplify trends, and help identify optimization opportunities
  • Populate custom dimensions that reflect your organization, your content, and your visitors so Google Analytics can speak your language
  • Gain a more complete view of customer behavior with mobile app and cross-device tracking
  • Incorporate related tools and techniques: third-party data visualization, CRM integration for long-term value and lead qualification, marketing automation, phone conversion tracking, usability, and A/B testing
  • Improve data storytelling and foster analytics adoption in the enterprise

As many as 10-25 million organizations have installed Google Analytics, including an estimated 67 percent of Fortune 500 companies, but deficiencies plague most implementations, and inadequate reporting practices continue to hinder meaningful analysis. By following the strategies and techniques in Google Analytics Breakthrough, you can address the gaps in your own still set, transcend the common limitations, and begin using Google Analytics for real competitive advantage.

Critical contributions from industry luminaries such as Brian Clifton, Tim Ash, Bryan and Jeffrey Eisenberg, and Jim Sterne – and a foreword by Avinash Kaushik – enhance the learning experience and empower you to drive consistent, real-world improvement through analytics.

Table of contents

  1. Foreword
  2. Acknowledgments
  3. About the Author(s)
  4. About the Contributors
  5. 1 Introduction
    1. Why This Book?
    2. Who Should Read This Book?
    3. Chapter Summary
    4. Get Started
  6. 2 Google Analytics Reporting Overview: User Characteristics and Behavior
    1. Google Analytics Reporting: User Characteristics and Behavior
    2. Dimensions and Metrics
    3. Real-Time Reports
    4. Key Takeaways
    5. Actions and Exercises
  7. 3 Measurement Strategy
    1. Objective: Business Impact
    2. Measurement Plan
    3. Six Steps for Analytics Effectiveness
    4. Key Takeaways
    5. Actions and Exercises
  8. 4 Account Creation and Tracking Code Installation
    1. Creating a Google Analytics Account
    2. Google Analytics Account Structure
    3. Installing the Tracking Code
    4. Key Takeaways
    5. Actions and Exercises
  9. 5 Google Tag Manager Concepts
    1. Google Tag Manager Concepts
    2. Benefits of Google Tag Manager
    3. Creating a Google Tag Manager Account and Container
    4. Deploying Google Analytics through Google Tag Manager
    5. Access Rights
    6. Migrating to Google Tag Manager from Native Tracking
    7. GTM ENVIRONMENTS
    8. Key Takeaways
    9. Actions and Exercises
  10. 6 Events, Virtual Pageviews, Social Actions, and Errors
    1. The Need for Event Tracking
    2. Event Tracking in GTM
    3. Virtual Pageviews
    4. Tracking Google Analytics Events through the Google Tag Manager Data Layer and Custom Event Trigger
    5. Tracking Social Interactions
    6. Error Tracking
    7. Key Takeaways
    8. Actions and Exercises
  11. 7 Acquisition Reports
    1. Acquisition Terminology and Concepts
    2. Campaign Tracking: Google Analytics Needs Your Help for Attribution
    3. Channel Customizations
    4. Tracking Organic Traffic
    5. Key Takeaways
    6. Actions and Exercises
    7. Note
  12. 8 Goal and Ecommerce Tracking
    1. Goal Tracking
    2. Ecommerce Tracking
    3. Multi-Channel Funnel Reports
    4. Integrating with Third-Party Shopping Carts
    5. Key Takeaways
    6. Actions and Exercises
  13. 9 View Settings, View Filters, and Access Rights
    1. Why Do We Need Multiple Views?
    2. Best Practice: Working, Test, and Unfiltered Views
    3. View Settings
    4. View Filters
    5. Access Rights
    6. Change History
    7. Trash Can
    8. Key Takeaways
    9. Actions and Exercises
  14. 10 Segments
    1. Segment to Focus and Amplify
    2. Mapping Customer Constituencies as Custom Segments
    3. Sampling
    4. Segments versus Filtered Views
    5. Key Takeaways
    6. Actions and Exercises
    7. Note
  15. 11 Dashboards, Custom Reports, and Intelligence Alerts
    1. Dashboards
    2. Custom Reports
    3. Shortcuts
    4. Intelligence Alerts
    5. Annotations
    6. Key Takeaways
    7. Actions and Exercises
  16. 12 Implementation Customizations
    1. Custom Dimensions
    2. Content Grouping
    3. Custom Metrics
    4. Calculated Metrics
    5. Demographics and Interests
    6. Enhanced Link Attribution
    7. Tracking Info Customizations
    8. Cross-Domain and Roll-Up Reporting
    9. Cross-Device Tracking with User ID
    10. Key Takeaways
    11. Actions and Exercises
  17. 13 Mobile App Measurement
    1. Tracking Mobile Apps
    2. Why is Mobile Important
    3. Mobile Strategies
    4. What to Measure
    5. Mobile configuration in Google Analytics
    6. Setting up Google Analytics in Your App
    7. Account Structure Best Practices in Mobile Properties
    8. Real-time app reporting
    9. Integrations
    10. Mobile Campaign Tracking
    11. Mobile Privacy
    12. Key Takeaways
    13. Actions and Exercises
  18. 14 Google Analytics Integrations— The Power of Together
    1. AdWords
    2. AdSense
    3. YouTube in GA
    4. Analytics 360 Integrations
    5. Additional Integrations
    6. Key Takeaways
    7. Actions and Exercises
  19. 15 Integrating Google Analytics with CRM Data
    1. Long-Term Perspective
    2. Calculating Cost per Qualified Lead
    3. Joining Google Analytics and CRM Data with Visitor ID
    4. Key Takeaways
    5. Actions and Exercises
  20. 16 Advanced Reporting and Visualization with Third-Party Tools
    1. Framing the Issue: How to Get Data Out of GA
    2. ETLV–The Full Reporting Automation Cycle
    3. Advanced Use Cases for BigQuery/Tableau
    4. Key Takeaways
    5. Actions and Exercises
  21. 17 Data Import and Measurement Protocol
    1. Data Import
    2. Measurement Protocol
    3. Key Takeaways
    4. Actions and Exercises
  22. 18 Analytics 360
    1. Why Analytics 360?
    2. Increased Capacity
    3. Service-Level Agreements (SLAs)
    4. Analytics 360 Resources
    5. Where to Buy—Resellers or Google Direct?
    6. Key Takeaways
    7. Actions and Exercises
  23. Appendix A: Broadening Your Optimization Program
    1. Qualitative Inputs
    2. Overlay Reporting
    3. Testing
    4. Marketing Automation and Personalization
    5. Notes
  24. Appendix B: Resources
  25. Index
  26. EULA

Product information

  • Title: Google Analytics Breakthrough
  • Author(s): Feras Alhlou, Shiraz Asif, Eric Fettman
  • Release date: September 2016
  • Publisher(s): Wiley
  • ISBN: 9781119144014