web analytics and wordpress - wordcamp chicago 2011
TRANSCRIPT
7/30 – 7/31/2011 #wcchicago
Web Analytics and Wordpress
Understanding your Wordpress site stats and more about your visitors
Chris King – Senior SEO & Analytics Strategist, designory.
Blog: http://chrisking.infoTwitter: @fendmark
7/30 – 7/31/2011 #wcchicago
7/30 – 7/31/2011 #wcchicago
Wordpress & Web Analytics
• What is Web Analytics?
• Selecting Web analytics software
• Analytics setup and implementation
• Using analytics to grow your business
7/30 – 7/31/2011 #wcchicago
My Flooded Basement
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What is Web Analytics? • “Web Analytics is the measurement,
collection, analysis and reporting of Internet data for the purposes of understanding and optimizing Web usage.” Web Analytics Association
• Web analytics serves two main purposes– Identifies growth opportunities– Demonstrates the value of your site
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The most powerful combination in Online Marketing
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Selecting a web analytics tool
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Proper web analytics setup is critical• Tag everything• Set and validate conversion
tracking• Flash and rich media typically
require custom tagging• Specify channel tracking
strategy
• Don’t forget: Garbage In, Garbage Out
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Web Analytics Plugins for Wordpress
• YOU DON’T NEED THEM
• Just edit the header.php file in your theme and place analytics snippet just before the closing </head> tag and custom tag more advanced elements as needed
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Two Great GA plugins
Google Analytics for Wordpress (Joost De Valk) • http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/google-
analytics-for-wordpress
Google Analytics Dashboard (Carson McDonald)• http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/google-
analytics-dashboard/
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Setup on Theme Frameworks
• Thesis • GenesisTheme settings > Header/Footer Scripts
Admin Panel > Appearance > Thesis Options
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Use Analytics to grow your business
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But please don’t be this guy
How many hits did we get today?
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Analytics reporting is worthless unless you take action
• Spend less time on reports
• Focus on what matters• Use analytics to drive
site improvements
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Identify 2 main goals for your site• Select top Key Performance Indicators or (KPIs)
• What do you consider an indicator of success?– Email Newsletter Subscription– Clicks on ads/Banner Impressions– Product sale– Whitepaper download– Phone call – Lead generation form completion– Store locator visit
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Web Analytics Continuous Improvement Process
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What is your conversion rate?
• Desired Outcomes / Visits
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But.. conversion rate is only part of the whole picture
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The 1-3% who fill out a lead generation form,
make a purchase….Everyone Else
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Types of reports you should be pulling regularly
• Don’t look at any one metric alone, compare it to other data points to get context
• Top Entry Pages• Top Exit Pages• Conversion Funnel • Top Search Keywords (paid/natural)• Clickmap/In-Page Analytics• Bounce Rate Analysis • Top Referrers• Top Onsite Search Terms
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Use Google In-Page Analytics
See exactly where visitors are clicking on your Wordpress site
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Integrate your Adsense account with Google Analytics
Track Ad Clicks and Revenue Generated by
Keyword
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Track Wordpress Search in GA
• In profile settings add an “s” to query parameter
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Split A/B and Multivariate testing
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Multivariate Testing Split A/B testing
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Web Analytics Reporting
• A comprehensive web analytics program will include:– Monthly or Weekly top level reporting dashboard– Regular review of analytics trends– Monthly proactive reporting
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A Few Great Analytics Resources
• http://www.webanalyticsdemystified.com • http://www.kaushik.net/avinash • http://www.grokdotcom.com • http://visualrevenue.com/blog• http://analytics.blogspot.com
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Summary • Make sure your analytics software is setup properly and tag
everything
• Select two main goals to measure on your Wordpress site
• Web analytics is completely useless unless you are taking action on your findings
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Thank You Very Much
Chris KingSenior SEO & Analytics Strategist
[email protected]: @fendmark
Blog: http://chrisking.info