How to Set Up Goals in Google Analytics

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How to Set Up Goals in Google Analytics | Top

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Posted By:Adriel on October 3rd, 2012

Filled Under:SEO & Online Marketing

The most powerful thing you can do to evaluate your

website, outside of setting up the Google Analytics tracking

code, is configuring goals in Google Analytics. The out-the￾box statistics that come with Google Analytics don’t do a

great job of tying in site performance with business

performance. There are simply too many variables mixed in

there.

Setting up goals separates the wheat from the chaff, the

great traffic from the garbage, and unleashes your Google

Analytics to really show you which marketing endeavors are

working and which should probably be scrapped.

Think like the customer

Before you even log in to Google Analytics, you need to look at your website through the eyes of

a potential customer. I’ve found the best way to do this is to create a scenario and ask a few

people to run through the site. I try to be specific with background details, but not with how-to

instructions, or the next steps to take to accomplish the assigned task. This forces my tester to

think about their next steps and might show me where I’m not providing what they need.

An example scenario might be:“You’re a purchasing officer with Exxon, and you need to find

WHMIS training for 30 new employees, as well as ongoing training for your existing workforce as

WHMIS certificates come up for renewal. Take a look at this website.” You should be looking for

clues as to when that prospect is ready to enter the next stage of a relationship with your

business. This can include looking for a phone number or address, filling out a form so they can be

contacted back, or downloading a datasheet about a complex product that you sell.

Keep in mind that you’re not able to measure all the leads coming out of your website.You don’t

want to force everyone to use a website form if most people in your industry use a phone. The

idea here is not to measure every single lead, but to measure the ones that make sense and not

make your website difficult to use.