If you are looking for an Analytics service to use, you should consider using the Google Analytics tool. Google Analytics helps you to get a deeper understanding of your customers and also gives free tools you need to analyze data for your business in one place. If you wish to have a better understanding of Google Analytics, then you’ve come to the right blog post. In this post, we will be looking at Google Analytics from a better point of view.
I will be talking about what it means, why you need it, how it collects data, how to use it, and other important notes on it. So let’s dive in and find out.
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The Google Analytics Tool
Google Analytics is simply a web analytics service that is offered by Google. It helps to track and report website traffic. The service or tool is currently a platform inside the Google Marketing Platform brand. As of the year 2019, it was the most broadly used analytics service on the web. It provides an SDK that allows you to gather usage data from iOS and Android apps, which is known as Google Analytics for Mobile apps.
The Google Analytics tool works by the inclusion of a block of JavaScript code on pages on your site. It is built to work with Google advertising and publishers’ products so you can use your analytics insights to reach the right customers. This awesome tracking and [porting tool from Google has some quite interesting features that you will look forward to.
Features Of Google Analytics
As I said earlier, Google Analytics is used to track website activity such as session duration, pages per session, bounce rate, etc of individuals using the site. Alongside is also the information about the source of traffic. It can be integrated with Google Ads, from which users can create and review campaigns online by tracking landing page quality and goals.
These goals or conversions might include sales, lead generalization, viewing a specific page, or downloading a particular file. This Google service approach is to show high-level dashboard-type data of the casual user and more in-depth data further into the report set that will be shown to you.
Its analysis can identify poorly performing pages with techniques such as funnel visualization where the visitors came from. This process can also be called referrers. And it also identifies how long they have stayed on the site and their location or geographical position.
Google Analytics also allows a user to have insight into visitors currently on the website. You can have up to 100 site profiles. Each of these profiles generally corresponds to one website. However, it is limited to the site that has traffic of fewer than 5 million page views per month, unless it is linked to an Ads campaign.
How Does It Work
Here’s how the Google Analytics tool works. When users of your site view a page, this JavaScript code references a JavaScript file. The file executes tracking operations for Analytics. Then it retrieves data about the page request through various means. Afterward, the information will be sent to the Analytics server via a list of parameters attached to a single-pixel image request. Now here’s what is in for you;
- You get to understand your site and app users to better evaluate the performance of your content, products, and others.
- Google Analytics gives you access to unique and machine-learning capabilities to help get the most out of it.
- You can connect your insights to results and make your data work for you.
Actually, there’s more you can get with it, all you have to do is to start using the service.
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How Google Analytics Collects Data
If you are wondering how this analytic tool collects data, then here it is. The data that Google Analytics uses to provide all the information in your reports comes with;
- The HTTP request of the user.
- Browser/ system information
- First party cookies
The HTTP Request contains details about the browser and the computer that is making the request. Such as the hostname, browser, referrer, and language. In addition, the DOM of some browsers provides access to more detailed browser and system information which includes Java and Flash support and the screen resolution.
The information collected is used to construct the reports just as the Map Overlay and Referring Sites. It also sets and reads first-party cookies on the user’s browser in order to obtain user sessions and ad campaign information using a page request.
The tracking code of Google Analytics reads the DoubleClick cookie to get information about the display features. Now, that brings us to the Google Analytics Tracking code.
How the Google Analytics Tracking Code Works
The tracking code retrieves web pages data as follows;
- A browser requests a page that contains the tracking code.
- A JavaScript Array is created and tracking commands are pushed onto the array.
- An element will be created and enabled for asynchronous loading.
- A tracking code is fetched with the appropriate protocol automatically detected.
- The script element will be loaded to the DOM.
- After the tracking code gets the data, the GIF request is sent to the Analytics database for logging and post-processing.
That’s how it works.
How To Use Google Analytics
To use Google Analytics, follow the instructions below;
- Create an account or sign in.
- Then add a name, URL, and the industry of the site you’d like to track.
- Get your own custom JavaScript tracking code. This code allows you to monitor the site.
- Then add the code after the head tag of your website.
- Visit the Google Analytics portal and verify the code that was given to you.
Now, we know about Google Analytics, let’s dive into how you can use it. If you wish to start collecting data from a website;
- Create or sign in to your Analytics account.
- Go to the analytics page at Google Analytics.
- Then to create an account, click on “Start for Free” or click on “Sign In To Analytics”.
- Set up a property in your Analytics account.
- Set up a reporting review on the property.
- Then follow the on-screen instructions to add the tracking code to the site.
- Once, this is done, you can collect data in your Analytics property.
The next step will be for you to configure the account, properties, and views to determine access to your data and the data available.
Google Analytics App
Now that you have installed the tracking code on the site or app and configured the account, the next step is to download the app. By doing the Analytics app, you can take your site or app reporting with you anywhere. The application is simple and free to be installed on your device and it is compatible with any device type. That is to say, you download it on your iOS or Android device.
How to Download Google Analytics App
All you have to do is to head to the App Store on your device and enter Google Analytics in the search box. Tap on the first Analytics app on the page to load Google Analytics install page. Then tap on “Install” to get. It will be installed immediately on your smartphone.
