42 Rules for Applying Google Analytics

by Rob Sanders

42 Rules for Applying Google Analytics is understanding a visitor's journey through your website then applying that measurement, collection and analysis of data for the main purpose of adequately optimizing and improving website performance. This includes learning where your visitors come from and how they interact with your site or measuring key drivers and conversions such as which web pages encourage people to react by calling, emailing or purchasing a product. The benefit of applying this free knowledge, whether you are an advertiser, publisher, or site owner, will help you write better ads, strengthen your marketing initiatives, and create higher-converting web pages. It is even more imperative to apply analytics now that online advertising channels have evolved from traditional display and text to mobile, video and social networking. If you are to succeed, it is a must and not an option to align metrics with business goals, draw actionable conclusions and articulate metrics and goals to stakeholders.

124 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2012

About the author

There is more than one author with this name

Rob Sanders brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the world of online marketing. He currently works with a diverse group of companies providing creative and technical solutions for online growth including overseeing their search engine marketing, social networking, blogs & video.

Prior to moving to San Francisco, Rob was an Interactive Project Manager chosen to lead multi-million dollar online initiatives for Ford Motor Company in Detroit, Michigan. Rob started his online career as a Web Producer for USA Today Online in 1994 before moving to Philadelphia to help launch an online media service at The Sports Network. Before receiving his undergraduate degree, Rob was honorably discharged from the U.S. military after serving four years abroad. He also earned a Masters of Business Administration from the University of San Francisco. He volunteers his time for a number of organizations including Junior Achievement, Ama Foundation and the San Francisco Aids Foundation, to name a few.

Reviews

[Jocelyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is geared for beginners, but unfortunately it might not provide you with enough explanation for you to easily implement the suggestions. You'd need to refer to it and also do some hands on practice if you have no prior experience.
The good part is - as what the author intends - that this book is easy to read, and provides you with a lot of ideas on what Google Analytics can do for your business.
Due to the time that has passed since it was published, there are outdated information in there.

I read this to see if I have missed out any tips on Google Analytics... so it was good to finish the book and find out that I know all these tips :-D (disclaimer: I work as a SEO). Instead, I learned a lot of new ways of explaining Google Analytics to the layman!

[Bonnie Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

42 Rules for Applying Google Analytics by author Rob Sanders is the perfect book for new webmasters or those with experience like me that find Google Analytics confusing. This book is an easy-to-read guide that is the opposite of other bulky, complicated books by other authors.

The 42 rules in the book are separated into the following sections and include thirteen figures:

Part I Preparation: What You Need to Know before You Begin
Part II Monitoring: What You Need to Focus on to Make Decisions
Part III Reporting: How to Get the Information You Need
Part IV Reading: Specific Action Steps to Help You Optimize the Data
Part V What Now? What to Do with the Data Now That You Have It

The author teaches readers how to discover who is visiting your site, where they come from, how long they stay and what they do during their visit. I found the explanation of Google Analytics jargon particularly helpful because you can't understand the data if the language is foreign to you. Also included is information on preparing your website for traffic with the best content and well researched keywords.

I have used Google Analytics for years to measure website traffic but I found much information in this book that I was not aware of or did not understand. If you need help with Google Analytics I highly recommend this book over using the member run forums offered by Google where much misinformation and daily flame wars are waged. For a reasonable price you can purchase 42 Rules for Applying Google Analytics and keep it on your desk to refer to over and over again.

[Lesli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unintentionally read this for work. It's good, not great. It would be great if it picked maybe 5 rules and explained each in detail (how to set up and use event tracking, for example).