Google Analytics – Keywords and Covering the Basics
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One of the issues that we feel happens when people start using a system like Google Analytics, is they over complicate things and try to figure out super complicated calculations, when at first there really should only be a few things you look at. Once you start using it and get a good grasp on the basics, then you will be at a position to start playing with the more advanced functions that they provide.
What we decided to do is to put together a quick and easy series for you on how to use Google Analytics for basic organic traffic improvement. Each day we will cover one different element to give you bite size pieces to be able to play around with.
This is by no means going to be a detailed course that will make you a Google Analytics pro but we promise it will give you a solid foundation to start with and you will love the information it gives you.
If you have just installed Analytics, you are going to want to bookmark this and come back to it in a couple weeks. We personally like to have a good 4 weeks of data under our belt before we start analyzing it but at minimum you want 2 weeks.
Over the next few days we are going to cover using the analytics function of…
- Keywords
- Incoming links
- Outgoing links
- Content
- Creating Goals
- Tracking through Java-Script events (create for affiliate marketing)
We will cover one topic per day only (trying to keep our posts a little shorter), each lesson will assume that you have already installed Analytics (if not then read yesterdays post on Installing Google Analytics) and will end with a “Purpose” that explains how we use the info.
Today we are going to talk first about…
Google Analytics for Keywords:
One of the first things we like to look at with Google Analytics is what keywords are being used to find our blog. We are always amazed at how words we never even plan to market for that can sneak their way into becoming huge opportunities.
The mistake a lot of people make is they look at these results and look for the keywords they were trying to get traffic for and ignore the other words. What we do is look for the words we want to rank for but also look for the words that are sending us traffic and we try to figure out how to increase that traffic.
Step 1: Log in to your analytics account and click on “View Reports” for the site you are wanting to analyze.
Step 2: In the left hand navigation, click on “Traffic Sources” and then “Search Engines”. Do not click on keywords because you are primarily focused on Google right now.
Step 3: Now you will get a list of all the search engines that have been sending you traffic. Click on “Google”. If you do not see Google then either give the system a little bit of time to gather some data or go back and do some promotion 
Step 4: You will now have a list of all the keywords that analytics has tracked from Google. What you will want to do now is click on the drop down box at the bottom of your screen that says “Show Rows” and select 500. This will now display all your keywords on one screen.
Step 5: Now you will want to start at the top of the list and find out where you are ranking in Google. To do that copy the first term and then go to…
http://www.google.com/advanced_search
…and enter the term and make sure to select 100 for the results per page. You will also want to make sure you are searching in Google.com for the USA unless you are trying for traffic in a different specific country.
Step 6: Now in your browser go to “Edit” in the top menu bar and then click “Find it in this page”. Now enter your URL in the “find it” box.
Purpose of these Steps: What you are looking for here are keywords that are sending you some traffic but are not ranking for you on the first page (in the top 10). So if you find a keyword that has sent you 10 hits in the past month and you see that you are on page 4 of the results, you can safely assume that if you could increase that listing to page one, you could get a lot more traffic.
It is much more effective to focus on keywords that you are already getting some action for then blindly researching for keywords that you currently do not even exist for. We recommend once a month to make a list of the 5 keywords you want to improve on and focus on that every month. Since you are already ranking, it is often very easy with just a little focused keyword focused back link promotion to bump yourself from page 3 to page 1.
So, whats your opinion on this little tip and what we plan on covering?
Part 1: Google Analytics – Installing
Part 2: Google Analytics – Keywords
Part 3: Google Analytics – Incoming Links
Part 4: Google Analytics – Outgoing Traffic
Part 5: Google Analytics – Content
Part 6: Google Analytics – Tracking with JavaScript Events
Part 7: Google Analytics – Creating Goals
negative keyword list tips if you want to take your use of broader keywords to the max. And if any of you use Google Analytics or are thinking about it, head over to John Cow for his new series on thebasics of Google Analytics. Like this post? Publish It On Your Own Blog ShareThis Tags: affiliate marketing, dynamic keyword insertion, fast blog finder, google adwords, google analytics
Check out what keywords your page is being found with, check to see where you rank in Google for that keyword and if it can be improved… Just Do It! So what are your thoughts on todays tip and do you have any to add? Part 1:Google Analytics – KeywordsPart 2: Google Analytics – Incoming Links Part 3: Google Analytics – Outgoing Traffic Part 4: Google Analytics – Content Click Here Now to Download “How to Build a Business Not Just a Blog” for FREE and Learn the Right Way to
Part 1:Google Analytics – KeywordsPart 2: Google Analytics – Incoming Links Part 3: Google Analytics – Outgoing Traffic Click Here Now to Download “How to Build a Business Not Just a Blog” for FREE and Learn the Right Way to
are coming from. You can use it on all your sites, except for your actual company site. However, you can track how many times the link to your company product site is clicked. John Cow.com of Make Money Online has some very good tips aboutUsing Google AnalyticsShareThis
, but I promise you that very soon, this blog will be open for contributions. Until then, read John Cow’s tutorials on Google Analytics. They helped me a lot while optimizing some old web sites. Part 1: Google Analytics – Installing Part 2:Google Analytics – KeywordsPart 3: Google Analytics – Incoming Links Part 4: Google Analytics – Outgoing traffic Part 5: Google Analytics – Content Part 6: Google Analytics – Tracking with JavaScript Events Part 7: Google Analytics – Creating Goals
Even if this not going to be detailed course as you say, it will be of great utility for many bloggers.
One of main reasons i use analytics is to find what keywords are doing good for me. I found that i rank well in specific topic and i have been writing articles about it to take advantage of that factor
Hugo Santoss last blog post..Sudden Cardiac Arrest
Thanks and glad to here you are using it
I am finding exactly what you said, I am being found through keywords I did not even consider! Loving your course’s Mr Cow, you keep me moo-ving forward!
The Dudes last blog post..The Dude Game – Week 3
It’s a great topic. All the techniques and methods of getting your site to rank don’t mean much unless you know how to use your stats software. And Google Analytics takes a little bit of learning.
Stephan Millers last blog post..Affiliate Alerts from the Weekend
we did nothing with it the first few months we had it installed on our sites, seemed to complicated. Then once we started actually using it, we started understanding it and we realized we were over complicating it.
The biggest thing is just start using it and figuring out what the info actually represents and lights start coming on with how to use it.
Thanks for going over the basics…reminding me of the small important things I must remember. Also, your post is very user friendly with pictures etc… Great!
I’m just a noob and I don’t give too much attention about Google Analytics I see it just a requirement only, Now I know I’m so wrong about it.. Thanks Cow
Your welcome
I was expecting your first post to be on a slightly different topic ( who r u) but I think you would be delaying it the last possible moment.
Anyways as always you have come with a tip that people ( including me ) so often underestimate but surely I will try to work upon it
Hi
Thanks this is a very good piece of info, I was always going to add Google analytics, however this article inspired me to get on with it.
Thanks Malc
This is definitely something I have been wanting to learn more about, glad you decided to take it on. I look at the keywords and I too find it interesting what words bring people to my site.
I’ve never had a plan though, just looked at them and though “cool”
Seriously, I’m going to try some of this out, even though it’s small, it can make a huge difference. I look forward to the rest of the series.
I have a question:
Does the “search engines” report on google include the traffic that you are getting through Adwrods? Or just the Natural searches?
Thank you very much for this lessons!
Alexs last blog post..Por arte de magia!
When you click on Google it will show a combination of paid and unpaid. There is a link right above the list of keywords that says…
Show: total | paid | non-paid
Click on the non-paid for the traffic that is not from Adwords
Great! thanks again!
Alexs last blog post..Por arte de magia!
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I put off using GA for a while, but once I use it, it was much easier that I thought it would be. Some of those long tailed keywords you find can bring in some extra traffic with very cheap Google Adwords (and even cheaper with other PPC services).
Ted
Thanks for another good lesson. B
bets last blog post..VOLUNTEERS WANTED
GA is very helpful if you know what to look at. It’s the keywords, the exit pages, entry pages and more.
Chips last blog post..Link Of The Day
Thanks John this information is very helpful for me.
In the past I have tried to figure Google Analytics out on my own… obviously from reading this post I have been missing out on some valuable information.
Is there a way to find out with Analytics which are the keywords which make me earn the most money (or at least the most clicks, altough this doesn’t automatically mean that I get the most money of them) with Adsense ?
Thanks in advance & ciao
alex
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Yes and i will be sharing this is the last lesson, which is in 3 days
Thanks for the answer John.
I’ve a silly question: I messed up the analytics code of one of my blogs and I’m aunable to find out where to copy it again. Are you able to tell me how I get it again without deleting the submitted domain and registering it again ?
thanks in advanceciao
alex
Big Bloggers last blog post..Why you’ve to set the price to $9,99 instead of $10
In your adwords account, click on edit, which is under settings. and then on your profile settings page, click “check status” and your code will be there.
Thank you, it was preatty hided.
ciao
alex
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Keep ‘em coming
The nice thing about analytics is that gives you a really targetted set of long tail keywords that bring traffic to your site.
Jamess last blog post..Clothes Summer Sale at Boden
Jason, Jason, and Marc,
Good to see you “came out of the closet”.
You know I’ve been using Google Analytics since it first came out, thanks to you .
If you’re going to win you have to “track”
that’s a fact.
Keep up the good work. You guys all deserve the very best!
Sincerely,
Roy Leonhardt
[...] to offer a recommended resource or an upsell. So did any lights come on from this post? Part 1: Google Analytics – Keywords Part 2: Google Analytics – Incoming Links Part 3: Google Analytics – Outgoing Traffic Share and [...]
Holy Cow, John Cow! What a great subject for a series of posts! Finally, something explained with pictures, instead of just “blah, blah, blahs”. I actually stayed awake through the entire post!
For me, my sites don’t generate that kind of traffic in order to view Google’s keywords in a monthly fashion, so I expanded the timeline to encompass the current year so that I could get a couple of hits on each keyword.
Other than that one expansion, I used the steps to locate my standings with ease. Dual windows, or even browsers, make it fast to copy and paste your keywords and turn them into meaningful results.
Keep this series going! (I need to learn more this fast and easily)
-Kreg
[...] 1: Google Analytics – Keywords Part 2: Google Analytics – Incoming Links Part 3: Google Analytics – Outgoing Traffic Part 4: [...]
[...] 1: Google Analytics – Installing Part 2: Google Analytics – Keywords Part 3: Google Analytics – Incoming Links Part 4: Google Analytics – Outgoing Traffic Part 5: [...]
[...] 1: Google Analytics – Installing Part 2: Google Analytics – Keywords Part 3: Google Analytics – Incoming Links Part 4: Google Analytics – Outgoing Traffic Part 5: [...]
[...] 1: Google Analytics – Installing Part 2: Google Analytics – Keywords Part 3: Google Analytics – Incoming Links Part 4: Google Analytics – Outgoing traffic Part 5: [...]
[...] 1: Google Analytics – Installing Part 2: Google Analytics – Keywords Part 3: Google Analytics – Incoming Links Part 4: Google Analytics – Outgoing Traffic Part 5: [...]
[...] Google Analytics – Keywords and Covering the Basics [...]
[...] Cow.com of Make Money Online has some very good tips about Using Google Analytics addthis_url = [...]
Hello,
Thanks for these helpful posts on GA – very helpful indeed!
I have a question regarding the paid traffic information: Does GA only provide data on paid (i.e. Adwords) traffic from your own account? For example, if I’m an affiliate and the merchant has GA installed on their sales page, do they get the keywords and actual search terms I’ve been sending them via Adwords, or only the data for traffic they direct from their own Adwords account?
Thanks!
Carrick