What is Google Analytics?
Google Analytics (GA) is a service that enables bloggers and app creators to track and analyze user traffic and behavior on their sites and apps.
Google Analytics provides creators with various tools to monitor site and app performance and understand user interactions. The creator, in turn, can use this information to make data-driven decisions to improve their site and app’s usability and performance.
With Google Analytics, a blogger or app creator can monitor several valuable insights into their site and app, including:
- The number of users that visited the site or app
- Where the users are coming from
- How long they were on the site or app
- The number of pages they visited before leaving
- The most popular pages on the site or app
- The engagement and conversion rates of the site or app
Google Analytics is owned by Google and offers free and paid versions. The free version provides enough analytics data for everyday users and creators, while the paid version is helpful for enterprise teams that want more insights into their data.
How Google Analytics Gathers Its Data
Google Analytics gathers its data using a tracking code the blogger or creator installed on their site or app. The tracking code collects data about visitor interactions and behavior and sends it to Google Analytics servers, where it is processed and analyzed.
The reports of the data are then presented to the creator on the Google Analytics dashboard. Creators could also connect to the Google Analytics API to display the data on third-party apps and platforms.
What Are Metrics in Google Analytics?
Metrics are quantitative measurements or data points that provide specific information about the performance of a site or app. Some standard metrics you will encounter in Google Analytics include:
Pageviews
Pageviews refer to the number of times a site or app page has been viewed by users.
Unique Pageviews
Unique pageviews refer to the number of individual sessions during which a specific page was viewed at least once.
Average Time on Page
The average time on page metric indicates the average time users spend on a specific page before leaving.
Bounce Rate
Bounce rate refers to the percentage of single-page sessions where the user leaves the website without further interaction.
Sessions
Sessions refer to the total number of user interactions within a specific timeframe.
Users
Users refer to the total number of unique individuals who have visited the site or app.
New Users
New users refer to the number of first-time visitors that visited the site or app within a specific timeframe.
Returning Users
Returning users are the number of visitors who have returned to a website within a specific timeframe.
Goal Completions
Goal completions refers to the number of times users have completed a specific action on the site or app.
Conversion Rate
The conversion rate is the percentage of visitors who have completed a desired goal or action.
Revenue
Revenue is the total monetary value generated from completed conversions on a site or app.
Ecommerce Conversion Rate
Ecommerce conversion rate is the percentage of visitors that completed a purchase on an ecommerce site or app.
Average Order Value
Average order value is the average monetary value of all orders placed on an ecommerce site or app.
Exit Rate
Exit rate is the percentage of users who exit the site or app from a specific page.
Event Count
Event count is the number of times an event is triggered within a site or app.
Social Media Referrals
The social media referrals metric specifies the number of visitors who arrived from social media platforms.
Organic Search Traffic
Organic search traffic refers to the number of visitors who arrive from organic search engine result pages.
Direct Traffic
Direct traffic is the number of visitors who arrive at a site by directly typing the URL or through a bookmark or other source Google Analytics cannot identify.
Referral Traffic
Referral traffic refers to the number of visitors who arrive at a site by clicking on a link on another site.
Page Load Time
The page load time measures the time it takes for a page to load and display its content.
Avg. Page Load Time (sec)
The average page load time metric reports the average page load time across all pages.
Average Session Duration
The average session duration is the time users spend on a site or app during a session.
Ad Impressions
Ad impressions refer to the total number of times an advertisement has been displayed to users.
Click-through Rate (CTR)
The click-through rate is the percentage of users who click on a specific link or ad after viewing it.
Ad Clicks
The ad clicks metric measures the total number of times users have clicked on an advertisement.
Cost per Click (CPC)
Cost per click is the average cost incurred for each click on an advertisement.
Cost per Acquisition (CPA)
Cost per acquisition is the average cost of acquiring a conversion or desired action on a website.
What Are Dimensions in Google Analytics
Dimensions are pieces of data that provide context to metrics. They offer a way to segment and analyze data based on different criteria. Some dimensions you will encounter in Google Analytics include:
Traffic Source
Traffic Source indicates the origin of the traffic that arrives at the site or app. Google Analytics recognizes several traffic sources, including Direct traffic, Organic Search, Referral, Social, Paid Search, and Email.
Session by Device Category
The device category identifies the device a visitor uses to access a site or app. This could be a desktop, mobile, or tablet.
User Demographics
The user demographics dimension identifies data that provide insights into site visitors or app users, such as their age, gender, and interests.
Country
The country dimension identifies the geographic location of the visitor.
City
The city dimension refers to the city from which the visitor accesses the site or app.
Landing Page
The landing page dimension identifies the first webpage the visitor visits on the site or app. This is typically the first page the visitor sees when they arrive the site or app.
Campaign
The campaign dimension identifies the marketing campaign that brought the visitors to the site or app.
Browser
The browser dimension identifies the web browser used by the visitor.
Operating System
The operating system dimension identifies the operating system running on the visitor’s device.
Language
Language identifies the preferred language set by the visitor in the browser.
Page Title
Page title refers to the title of a specific webpage.