How to Set Up Goals in Google Analytics

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.

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How to Set Up Goals in Google Analytics | Top Draw

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

You should come out of this step with webpages that are good indicators of success if a

customer views them, or parts of code (like website forms) that visitors have to fill out

Work out the value

Most people don’t realize this, but you can get a ballpark figure on lead value fairly easily First, work out your average customer lifetime value I know, I know, your products and services span a wide range of prices If you can’t ballpark it, crack open your CRM and calculate the average

customer lifetime value Barring that, at least get an average first sale value Now, go ask a few of your salespeople how many leads they need to close a sale, or use your CRM to calculate it Take your lifetime value or average first sale and divide it by the number of leads it takes to get there Boom! You’ve got a lead value If you want to get really fancy, use profit instead of revenue so that you can directly compare cost vs profit in your marketing funnel

Plug it into Google Analytics

This part is actually pretty easy After logging in to Google Analytics, hit the Admin button in the top right, then choose the Goals heading Give your goal a name (nothing too long, otherwise it might be cut off in later reports) and choose the Goal Type For beginners, I recommend using the URL Destination For advanced users or for people who can code, Events can be a bit more

precise and won’t inflate your total pageview count, though it will still influence bouncerate The goal I have below is what you might setup if your Contact Us form sent visitors to a Thank You page after they filled it out

Tracking other stuff

Rapid fire style, here’s how you configure other goals:

PDF downloads: Either use a built-in plugin like Google Analyticator, or attach event

tracking or virtual pageview code so that when visitors click on the pdf, it also tracks it in Analytics

Clicks to a separate website: Same as above.

Form fills, or form steps: You’re going to want to go to custom event tracking here.

Google has some pretty straightforward documentation on the subject

eCommerce: eCommerce tracking is its own ball of wax Make sure your eCommerce

engine supports Google Analytics by default before going with it, because hacking

eCommerce engines to add in Analytics tracking can be more trouble than it’s worth

Google Analytics can give you powerful insight into the performance to your website, but it takes

a little know-how to get the most out of this online tool Remember, if you can track and measure results, you can find ways to improve them!

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Adriel Michaud

@adrielmichaud+Adriel Michaud As Partner and Director of SEO at Top Draw, Adriel

Michaud is committed to maximizing ROI for his clients He helps companies

understand how effective internet marketing can drive their business forward and

set them apart from the competition His fact-based approach to web analysis,

along with his extensive industry experience, translates into business process improvement and online success Adriel has traveled extensively as a consultant and presenter on such topics as lead generation, search engine marketing and sales