How To Maximize The Benefits Of WordPress Google Analytics?

If you have a website or blog, the chances are that you already know how important is to check your metrics regularly. It is through your stats that you will know if you are creating the right content if your visitors are clicking on your links and other relevant information.

However, you can do much better than it, especially if you are using WordPress. We are talking about a platform that is resourceful and powerful enough to let you maximize what you can get from Google Analytics – another online service that you can’t live without.

Why Is It Important?

There are several reasons why you should consider spending some time improving the way that you use Google Analytics with your WordPress site or blog. And here are some of them:

• It will help you to know if your budget is going to the most effective strategies
• It will let you identify any patterns of your visitor’s behaviors
• It will tell you a lot about your buyer’s journey
• It will inform you about what your visitors want from your website or blog
• It will point out your most valuable pages or posts
• It will tell you which sites are sending visitors to you
• It will let you know if your visitors are checking your website from a desktop or mobile device

And there is much more to add to the list above. However, the general point here is that you will understand better what is working or not in your website or blog. And it will guide your next marketing strategies, and save you time and money as a consequence.

How To Install Google Analytics On Your WordPress Blog Or Website?

The first thing that you will need to check is if you have set up Google Analytics to be running on your WordPress blog or website.  And there are two ways to do it: manually, or through a plugin. Manually, you will create an account on Google Analytics to your website or blog. Through a form, you will give them your URL and decide how much access you will give them to your data.

Next step, will be to click on Get Tracking ID, which will provide you with your ID and also the code you will need to add directly to your header.php or via function.php – have a look at this post to understand how to it do it better.

After around 24 hours, you will start getting info on your Google Analytics dashboard.

Choose The Right Plugin:

But, if you want to do it the easy way, then you should consider installing a plugin on your WordPress. Actually, it probably was one of the reasons why you set your website or blog there in the first place: the flexibility and peace of mind given by having so many plugins at your disposal.

On the other hand, there are so many options available that you might find a bit tricky to decide which plugin is the best for you. So here is a selection of some of the most downloads Google Analytics plugin for WordPress and their features so that you can choose yours:

# Jet Pack:

Jet Pack is so complete that you will be happy to have it even if not for analytics purpose. But if this is your goal, you should know that statistical analytics is one of their default features, so you won’t need to spend time setting it up.

It can also display some of your stats on your main dashboard, and keeps track of very detailed information. With JetPack, you can decide who has access to your reports and comes with a friendly alert feature that will put a smile on your face.

# Google Analytics By MonsterInsights (Formerly By Yoast):

If your goal is to know everything about everything, then you should check Yoast plugin for Google Analytics – which has been recently moved to Monster Insights’ portfolio. It will offer you very detailed reports on all you need to know to make better decisions, from page views to 404 errors.

And if you aren’t happy enough, you can always get the premium version and enjoy custom reports, integrated AdSense tracking, and full-time technical support. And setting it up is very easy as well, and you will not need anything else but it to track your website or blog.

# WP Statistics:

WP Statistics won’t disappoint you. And if a location is something crucial to you, it comes integrated with a powerful tool, Maxmind GeoLite 2, which will give you in-depth data regarding this topic. And if privacy is an issue for you, you should also know that it allows that visitors’ IPs can be handled to protect their privacy.

You can also narrow down your stats by excluding a type of users according to your criteria. And your data can be exported as to XML and CSV files, or you can set it to be automatically sent to your e-mail when you wish.

Review And Adapt Your Content:

Now that you got Google Analytics set up, it is time for you to make the most of it so to improve your traffic and conversions. Then, the first and the most important thing that you will want to do is to review your content and adapt it if necessary.

And it is because you might find out that one post that you thought wasn’t interesting is exactly the one that is attracting more people. Meaning that you should create more in the same format or with similar content – but from a different angle, of course.

Plus, you should know that this strategy works in any case, either you are writing company reviews or a scientific article. What matters is that you use the stats so to deliver what your visitors are looking for at that time.

Create Better Call-To-Action And Lead Magnets:

Another thing that you will want to get done is a full check-up on your call-to-actions and lead magnets. With the reports you will be getting, you will know which ones are bringing you more conversions. You will also have insights on why it is happening.

This is to say that you will want to add what is working to the elements that aren’t working so well. Yes, it will mean that you will get some work to do, but it will pay you off soon enough, so don’t waste any time. Just get it started.

The Bottom Line:

So there you got what you have to do to make the most of what Google Analytics has to offer to your website or blog. It can give you so much valuable information about your content and visitors that the difficulty that you will face is to find out which ones are more relevant to you and in which cases you should take action.

Meaning that there is nothing wrong if you decide to take your time and spend some time having a look around, so you can learn a bit more about all the features you have just got. But be aware that while you are thinking, your competitors might be making improvements, so you shouldn’t waste any time.

In any case, rest assured that all the time and effort that you will put on it will bring you better results from now. And the best of all is that Google offers it for you for free – just be aware of all privacy issues that goes around it and decide wisely how much data you want to share with them.