Google Analytics Cementing its Place in Social Media Reporting~By Tuhin Ghosh,

Social Media Reporting on Google Analytics

With Google announcing their social media reporting extension in Google Analytics, social media marketing experts can now see the financial value of their efforts. This is already pushing new trends into existence in 2013 and the face of social media SEO may soon change forever. Mind you, now the reports only apply to a few select social media sites that keep Google happy. So are we really getting a comprehensive picture?

The new Google Analytics social reports

Social media marketing usually piques interest and raises brand awareness, but seldom sells directly. The first new report available from Google Analytics examines conversions through social media. By using the new Google Analytics reporting, you can get a good idea of the effect social media has had on your site. It tells you the conversion value total, the maximum value of social media conversions and any sales resulting from direct social media visits.

Segmentation graphs

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You can also contrast your social traffic conversions with the rest of your website, through social segment graphs. Examining your visitor referrals and channel grouping all social media sites, is how this reporting works. Segmentation of this type could be obtained before, of course, but only going back by one month. Now you can get an overall idea very quickly, and evaluate how social media is benefiting your financial goals (or not).

Social actions

This shows how well your content strategy works in terms of being shared. Unlike social plugin reports, no further tagging is necessary. Everything has been moved to the new Google Analytics social media reporting. The social actions reports do need tagging for social network buttons so they appear correctly on your site, only – in the case of Google+ – this is already done for you.

Social actions off your website

This one is important. You can now evaluate performance by figuring out which content performs well in which social media. The social networks that form part of Google’s Social Hub program, i.e. Delicious, Blogger, Reddit and Google+, will allow you to follow user discussions about your website, even if they do not click through. Facebook and Twitter are excluded, however, so the reports may not be too accurate with these two major players absent from the equation. No one knows whether Facebook and Twitter will hone their own social analytics reporting to compensate for this or eventually end up taking part in the Google Hub project.

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Unknown territory

2013 will show what the new Google Analytics reporting uncovers. Perhaps we will simply find out that not many people are bothered or affected by social media (at least to the extent that they click on links to buy things). People may or may not buy the same stuff as other people on their social media networking sites. It is always a possibility that their purchases are simply guided by what they personally want or need!

So what might 2013 bring?

Social media marketing will probably begin to look at subtler patterns in 2013, although in the process, it may well come up against user privacy issues. One thing is for sure though: 2013 will be a VERY interesting year for gathering information about the value of social media marketing!

READ MORE:

9 Google Analytics metrics every marketer should know.

 By Rob Petersen.
The GPS for a website and any brand’s online effort is Google Analytics. If you have a website and don’t regularly review analytics, it’s the same as getting into a car to drive someplace without knowing where you’re going. When Google Analytics was released in 2005, it was a watershed event for any brand doing business on the internet. Google made available sophisticated analytic software for free. It changed the reason to build a website from “because every business has to have a website” to one where a website can be used to create business and be proven to generate even more.Although Google Analytics is an invaluable guide, it can be an overwhelming amount of data. And less may be more. How do you navigate Google Analytics. What are the measurements that matter? Here are the 9 Google Analytic metrics every marketer should know.
UNIQUE VISITORS: A count of how many different people come to your website within a specified period of time, usually 30 days. Google Analytics software distinguishes from cookies visitors who only visit the site for the first time is a specified period versus who return to the site. Every business relies on awareness to drive business growth. If unique visitors are not moving in a positive direction, most likely your business isn’t, either.SEGMENTATION: Not all visitors are equal and, for every business, there a wide disparity between best and worst customers. Once you know how many visitors come to your site, it’s time to focus on the ones with the highest value. Does your business have a geographic skew? Do people who visit 3 or more times tend to make a purchase? If you invest in media, do you want to know which ones give you the most visitors and sales? Segmentation can be easily viewed within Google Analytics on the dimension most important to your business or set up with their Advanced Segments feature.BOUNCE RATE: ” Bounce Rate” is the percentage of people who view only one page of your website. It is a measure of site’s relevance. Lower is always better For example, if your bounce rate is 35%, then 65% of people view more pages. A good bounce rate depends on your business objective and what your bounce rate is now. It is a primary metric because every business should have a site that as relevant to its viewesr as possible.TRAFFIC SOURCES: Viewers come from 3 “Traffic Sources”: 1) Search, 2) Referral (e.g. social networks, email, other sites) and 3) Direct. Once you know the percentage from each, you have the blueprint you need to create your marketing or outreach effort so get the greatest value and return for the time and/or money you invest.

KEYWORDS: Viewers come to your site because they have an unmet need. This is expressed through the “Keywords” on your Google Analytics dashboard. This is also viewed in the “Traffic Sources” section. If people know your brand, it’s advisable if traffic comes from keywords that have your brand name but also the category or industry you compete. This is the unmet need new customers want to have met and indicates people who know and want to know you visit your site.

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