Hi! I'm a drawing of Catherine. She does most of the writing here, including this blurb. (Does this count as writing in the third person?) Catherine believes that websites don't really run on technology, they run on emotions. If you agree, then she wants to help you rock it out and be awesome online.
It’s hard to know if you’re doing well without metrics. Many web hosting providers include a statistics package, which will give you measurements about:
- how many visitors have come to your website, and which pages they visit
- where the visitors are from
- how long visitors stay on your website
- how many visitors return
- where the traffic is coming from: are they clicking on a link on another website, or search engine listings, or by typing in the address directly?
If your web host doesn’t provide statistics, or if you want another data source (they’re never 100% correct and so never quite agree with each other), it’s simple to add Google Analytics to your website.
1. Go to http://google.com/analytics and sign up. (You’ll need a Google account for this. If you have a Gmail account that will work.)
2. Click on Create New Website Profile. Fill in the form with your website address, time zone and country. Click Finish.
3. You’ll receive a unique UA code. This is the marker that identifies your website, and you need to install it on every page you want to track.
4. If you’re using WordPress, there are a number of plugins that will take all the annoyance out of adding the Analytics code. Click on your Plugins menu, then Add New. Search for “Google Analytics” and pick any with 4.5 stars or more. Install it, then paste in the UA code as directed. Done!
5. If you’re not using WordPress, click on the Analytics Help for clear instructions to suit your website. It’s not hard, but if you’re manually copying the code into 50 HTML pages it is gonna take longer than 5 minutes.
Do you use Google Analytics, or something else? Tell us in the comments!
Catherine, Does Google Analytics add a lot of overhead to one's site?
I wouldn't say much, no. The code just adds a Javascript snippet that allows Google to monitor. I have noticed what wheen I'm on a very slow connection it adds a second or so, but that's on a load time of ten seconds.
Thanks. Sounds like a no brainer given the value received.
E-zackly!
I love Google Analytics! I also use WordPress.com stats and my host stats – it is weird how they can be so different.
Exactly! I don't recommend people get TOO uptight about stats (although I check my Google Analytics every day at least once – I must stop doing that!) because they're so subjective. They're for trending, not point-by-point analysis.
I was about to comment about you checking reports, but looking at the date for the comment I realised it was before we set up the automated email.
Automating procrastination FTW!
You know, I'm still checking them manually. *ashamed face*
I'll set up the auto email today!