content jam 2014 - james ellis - analytics without fear
DESCRIPTION
Studies show that after dying and public speaking, Americans' biggest fear is analytics, even more than mutant spiders that talk or Gary Busey*. But unlike monsters or Mr. Busey, understanding your analytics helps you make smarter web and business decisions with confidence. It can show you who your most valuable audiences are, how they find you, and how to grow them. But you can only do that if you get past your fear. That's where I come in. While I can't turn you into a Google analytics nerd in an hour, I can give you three smart rules to give you a far better grasp of your analytics and actionable items for your to-do list, all without having to do any real math. Understanding these rules will help you shake your fear, feel smarter, and make better decisions. *Mr. Busey will not be attending. They made me say that. Because you never know where Gary Busey will be!TRANSCRIPT
![Page 1: Content Jam 2014 - James Ellis - Analytics Without Fear](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022070302/547e6916b37959932b8b55bc/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
Analytics Without
Fear
![Page 2: Content Jam 2014 - James Ellis - Analytics Without Fear](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022070302/547e6916b37959932b8b55bc/html5/thumbnails/2.jpg)
Analytics Without
FearBut still some swearing Hi
!
![Page 3: Content Jam 2014 - James Ellis - Analytics Without Fear](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022070302/547e6916b37959932b8b55bc/html5/thumbnails/3.jpg)
Why I love analytics:
It’s not the number. It’s what the number lets you do.
![Page 4: Content Jam 2014 - James Ellis - Analytics Without Fear](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022070302/547e6916b37959932b8b55bc/html5/thumbnails/4.jpg)
The Problem:“What just happened?”
Analytics tells you this
“What worked so I can do it again?”But you want to know this
![Page 5: Content Jam 2014 - James Ellis - Analytics Without Fear](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022070302/547e6916b37959932b8b55bc/html5/thumbnails/5.jpg)
Solution:Change your thinking.
Stop worrying about the number and focus on the idea.
![Page 6: Content Jam 2014 - James Ellis - Analytics Without Fear](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022070302/547e6916b37959932b8b55bc/html5/thumbnails/6.jpg)
So let’s do
this!
![Page 7: Content Jam 2014 - James Ellis - Analytics Without Fear](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022070302/547e6916b37959932b8b55bc/html5/thumbnails/7.jpg)
Campaigns
SegmentsConversions
![Page 8: Content Jam 2014 - James Ellis - Analytics Without Fear](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022070302/547e6916b37959932b8b55bc/html5/thumbnails/8.jpg)
Segments
Averages are lies!!!
![Page 9: Content Jam 2014 - James Ellis - Analytics Without Fear](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022070302/547e6916b37959932b8b55bc/html5/thumbnails/9.jpg)
Average Time On Site: 2:10Is that good? Is that bad?
Who cares? That’s the wrong question!
![Page 10: Content Jam 2014 - James Ellis - Analytics Without Fear](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022070302/547e6916b37959932b8b55bc/html5/thumbnails/10.jpg)
OR!
Bounce Bounce Bounce
1:15
2:01
0:45 1:458:35
7:50
10:21
Average Time On Site: 2:10
![Page 11: Content Jam 2014 - James Ellis - Analytics Without Fear](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022070302/547e6916b37959932b8b55bc/html5/thumbnails/11.jpg)
Segment by:
Where• Social v Non-social• Facebook v Twitter• Email v Ad• Message 1 v Message 2
What• People who saw
more than five pages
• People who bought something
Who• Mobile v Desktop• Geography
![Page 12: Content Jam 2014 - James Ellis - Analytics Without Fear](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022070302/547e6916b37959932b8b55bc/html5/thumbnails/12.jpg)
What do you want to know?
• Where do people who stay long come from?• What did they read that made them more likely to stay?• What content lead to the most sales?• What piece of content made them stay for more?
![Page 13: Content Jam 2014 - James Ellis - Analytics Without Fear](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022070302/547e6916b37959932b8b55bc/html5/thumbnails/13.jpg)
Live Internet Stuff
![Page 14: Content Jam 2014 - James Ellis - Analytics Without Fear](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022070302/547e6916b37959932b8b55bc/html5/thumbnails/14.jpg)
Amazing!
![Page 15: Content Jam 2014 - James Ellis - Analytics Without Fear](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022070302/547e6916b37959932b8b55bc/html5/thumbnails/15.jpg)
Campaigns
The message is what moved them!
![Page 16: Content Jam 2014 - James Ellis - Analytics Without Fear](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022070302/547e6916b37959932b8b55bc/html5/thumbnails/16.jpg)
A little secret:Google is kinda dumb.It only thinks in “channels.”
It doesn”t know that all your work was designed to work together. Like a campaign.
![Page 17: Content Jam 2014 - James Ellis - Analytics Without Fear](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022070302/547e6916b37959932b8b55bc/html5/thumbnails/17.jpg)
What”s a Campaign?A series of related actions that are connected in your mind, but not in Google’s mind. Think:
Animated Lizard vsTalking Pig
![Page 18: Content Jam 2014 - James Ellis - Analytics Without Fear](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022070302/547e6916b37959932b8b55bc/html5/thumbnails/18.jpg)
Product Launch CampaignAds on Google
Tweet (x10)
Facebook post (x2)
Flyer
Posts on Craigslist
Post on your blog
To Google Analytics, this looks like six completely independent referrers.
And it doesn’t know the difference between tweets that are connected to the campaign and ones that aren’t.
![Page 19: Content Jam 2014 - James Ellis - Analytics Without Fear](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022070302/547e6916b37959932b8b55bc/html5/thumbnails/19.jpg)
Tag those URLsGoogle Analytics is designed to be “anonym-ish”
While you never get to know people’s ID, you do want to know if they came in because of a campaign, because of a certain ad/message, or if they just wandered in “off the street.”
Yes, there’s a way to do that.
Google URL Builder Yes, I Google that every time
![Page 20: Content Jam 2014 - James Ellis - Analytics Without Fear](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022070302/547e6916b37959932b8b55bc/html5/thumbnails/20.jpg)
Tag those URLstest.com/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=Ad&utm_campaign=Launch
Landing page URL Stuff gets
added to the URL
Don”t worry:Only Google Understands this
![Page 21: Content Jam 2014 - James Ellis - Analytics Without Fear](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022070302/547e6916b37959932b8b55bc/html5/thumbnails/21.jpg)
Tag those URLstest.com/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=Ad&utm_campaign=Launch
Landing page URL
Source
Medium
Campaign
![Page 22: Content Jam 2014 - James Ellis - Analytics Without Fear](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022070302/547e6916b37959932b8b55bc/html5/thumbnails/22.jpg)
Tag those URLstest.com/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=Ad&utm_campaign=Launch
test.com/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=sm&utm_campaign=Launch
test.com/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=sm&utm_campaign=Launch
test.com/?utm_source=flyer&utm_medium=flyer&utm_campaign=Launch
test.com/?utm_source=craigslist&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=Launch
test.com/?utm_source=blog&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=Launch
![Page 23: Content Jam 2014 - James Ellis - Analytics Without Fear](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022070302/547e6916b37959932b8b55bc/html5/thumbnails/23.jpg)
Hey look! Internets!
![Page 24: Content Jam 2014 - James Ellis - Analytics Without Fear](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022070302/547e6916b37959932b8b55bc/html5/thumbnails/24.jpg)
Conversions
Traffic is dumb.
![Page 25: Content Jam 2014 - James Ellis - Analytics Without Fear](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022070302/547e6916b37959932b8b55bc/html5/thumbnails/25.jpg)
Here’s the thing:You don’t want “traffic.”You want sales. So stop thinking
about how many people saw your site. Think about which ones converted.
![Page 26: Content Jam 2014 - James Ellis - Analytics Without Fear](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022070302/547e6916b37959932b8b55bc/html5/thumbnails/26.jpg)
Why do you have a site?What do you want people to do on
your site? Buy something? Read something? Call their mom?
So measure that instead!That”s a “conversion.”
![Page 27: Content Jam 2014 - James Ellis - Analytics Without Fear](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022070302/547e6916b37959932b8b55bc/html5/thumbnails/27.jpg)
Right?
![Page 28: Content Jam 2014 - James Ellis - Analytics Without Fear](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022070302/547e6916b37959932b8b55bc/html5/thumbnails/28.jpg)
Interwebz!
![Page 29: Content Jam 2014 - James Ellis - Analytics Without Fear](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022070302/547e6916b37959932b8b55bc/html5/thumbnails/29.jpg)
Understanding
ConversionSegm
ent
Campaign
![Page 30: Content Jam 2014 - James Ellis - Analytics Without Fear](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022070302/547e6916b37959932b8b55bc/html5/thumbnails/30.jpg)
![Page 31: Content Jam 2014 - James Ellis - Analytics Without Fear](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022070302/547e6916b37959932b8b55bc/html5/thumbnails/31.jpg)
James Ellis: The ContentHam@saltlab
Director of Inbound MarketingTMP WorldwideMeshworking.com@TheWarForTalent
Who do I blame for this?!
Are you kidding me?