Google Analytics Demystified: A Hands-On Approach

Note: The Third Edition of Google Analytics Demystified is now available. See above.

The Second Edition has been completely revised and updated to reflect the current state of Google Analytics. In addition to these changes, the book has been expanded with new chapters that help you understand how to:

- ensure data integrity by removing referral spam,

- use cohort analysis, benchmarking and treemaps to improve insights into site performance,

- use custom tables to reduce data overload, and

- increase site traffic through search engine optimization.

Discussion has also been expanded and refocused throughout the book to make content more actionable and responsive to your own strategic information needs. The Second Edition shows you how you can use Google Analytics to immediately make better informed and therefore more successful decisions.

Simply put, Google Analytics Demystified helps you work smarter (not harder), so that you can increase the success of your digital property. We show you how to use and apply Google Analytics to answer questions such as:

• How are visitors finding my site? What do they do when they arrive?
• Which content do my visitors find most interesting and motivating?
• How much of my content is actually being consumed?
• How do I set site goals and measure how well they are being achieved?
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of site interactions?
• What can I do to improve visitors' experience and engagement?
• How well are my campaigns working? How can I make my campaigns more effective?
• How can I conduct tests to optimize site characteristics?
• How do I manage data flow and analysis?
• How do I choose the most appropriate and useful reports and data?

The book's approach is unique.

Beyond detailed yet easy to understand explanations of key concepts, the book provides you with a free website.

This approach advances your learning in three important ways. First, you will be an active rather than a passive participant in the learning process. You will be able not only to read about what Google Analytics can do, but you can immediately apply and explore key concepts on a working website. Second, you can explore Google Analytics without risk to existing data. Since mistakes are an important part of the learning process, you can make and correct errors without any harm to your existing website. Finally, because you will have an active site and real data, you can explore on your own, thereby increasing your depth of understanding. We walk you through all the steps to obtain and get the free site up and running.

There are also self-assessment questions, application exercises, and case studies (all with answers provided) to ensure your full understanding of Google Analytics.

Joel has earned the Google Analytics Individual Qualification, a recognition by Google that he has demonstrated proficiency in Google Analytics. He is an international analytics consultant and a professor in the School of Journalism & Media Studies at San Diego State University. Joel teaches both students and industry professionals how to use Google Analytics to better understand customers' behaviors and then apply this knowledge to increase business success.