Google™ Analytics 2.0

Chapter 8. AdWords Integration

Whatever else Google Analytics is, it’s a power tool for Google’s AdWords program. Like the radial-arm saw that you use to create the perfect shelf for your entertainment hutch, Google Analytics is the tool for building the perfect AdWords campaign.

So which came first, the chicken or the egg? Analytics has been around for a long time, but until AdWords, there was less of a reason for the little guys to have Analytics. If you’re spending money on AdWords, you absolutely want to have Analytics.

Why Google Analytics with AdWords?

If you’re not already using AdWords, you might be wondering why you would want to put the two together. Even without Google Analytics, AdWords has decent reporting capabilities. But when you add Google Analytics, what you get is a picture of your campaign performance worth a thousand (Ad)Words.

Using Analytics’ tools, you can measure the ROI (return on investment) of your ad campaign by tracking not just your AdWords campaigns but also any banner ads, referral links, e-mail newsletters, or offline advertising campaigns that drive visitors to your web site and entice them to buy.

Once you link the two accounts, Analytics will automatically track any active campaigns in your AdWords account. You get a single view with all the information you need. It saves you a ton of flipping back and forth between windows, trying to figure out what’s working and what’s not — not to mention all the work that you save in trying to tag ads so that ...