Web analytics, or what used to be called site statistics, collects, measures and packages data from a website. Web analytic software has come a long way from hit counters (remember them?) and leading the pack is Google Analytics (GA).

How does it work? A snippet of code is inserted into each of your web pages that links back to your account with Google. Every time your site is visited, it sends information back to Google and that data is analyzed.

The data includes information on the visit itself and the behavior of the user during the visit including Page Views, and Actions. Actions can be clicking on a button, completing a transaction or submitting a form. Once the data is processed it is turned into reports via tables and charts. It also provides useful information on your users such as their geographic location, if they are using a mobile device and which platform they are viewing it on.

Real Time Reports are useful to find out who is on your site right at that moment. This is useful when launching an ad or social media announcement. You can see the immediate impact of your advertising decisions.

More information can be found at Google.com/analytics.

Let us know if you are interested in adding Google Analytics to your website.