Which Report Is Right for You?
Google Analytics provides tons of metrics and reports to monitor a website performance. From traffic and funnel reports to device and goal tracking, it can be very overwhelming. Most people set up their Google Analytics account but stop because they are not sure where to go from there.
If you are not sure where to start and which report to use, hopefully, this quick guide of the most common Google Analytics reports will help you know which report is right for you.
Common Google Analytics Reports Based on Website Goals
- How Many People Saw The Website?
The Traffic Report will show you the number of people that have visited a website over time. It can be broken down by day, week or month. How many people should you expect? It will vary by website. The big thing for this report is not the number of visits/sessions but the trends. Are there months where there were spikes or has the number steadily increased over time? The ultimate goal is to have an increase compared to the previous time period (week or month). - How Did They Find The Website?
The Referral Report will show you all of the URLs that a user was on just prior to accessing your website. It could include typing in the URL, social media, search engines, news websites and so much more. Depending on the goal, the more links you can get from anything beyond "direct" will help with your end goal. - What Are Users Utilizing to Access the Website?
With recent changes to Google through the Hummingbird Update, ensuring that your website can be accessed on multiple devices is more important than ever. To see what your users utilized check out the device report. This can show you if mobile, desktop or tablet is most popular. It can help you determine the urgency of a responsive design. - Customized Metrics
For more advanced users there may be a certain metric that you want to monitor that is not available or is buried deep in another report. Using Goal Tracking allows you to have a more advanced option to target a specific goal. - A Google Analytics goal could be a specific page on the website, duration, viewing a number of pages per visit and more. If you are looking for something specific, create a goal.
With so many available reports, remember that you don't have to use or monitor them all. Only select the reports which match your goals and don't get overwhelmed by all of the others.
If you need help with your Google Analytics account, contact Informatics.
