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How to Use Google Analytics

June 18, 2019 by Ann 10 Comments

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Google Analytics can be a game changer if you are struggling to get more traffic to your blog. Using Google website analytics is a great way to start figuring out where your audience is coming from, who you are attracting to your site, what is the best social media platform to use, and so much more. How to Use Google Analytics is great for beginners who need to know the basics to boost their blog’s traffic and more!

how to use google analytics for beginner bloggers

There are many ways to use Google Analytics for your blog. Today I want to talk with you how to get set up on Google Analytics and a little about how to use it for your blog.

Set up Google Analytics

This isn’t as hard as it sounds and you will thank yourself for doing this sooner than later. Before you even sign up for Google Analytics, you want to have your blog set up and running. Read my post on How to Start a Blog, and then come back here to set up your Analytics.

Create an account by going to google.com/analytics/. Follow the steps to create a free account on Analytics. You will need to then set up your property, your blog, to connect the analytics.

Follow the instructions to set this up correctly. Once set up, you can then connect your analytics to your blog!

How to Use Google Analytics on a Computer

Connect Google Analytics to Your Blog

You will want to connect your Analytics to your blog so that you can start tracking where your traffic is coming from. Make sure to follow all directions to set this up correctly.

You will be prompted to add a tracking code to your blog. There are several ways to do this. I added my analytics tracking code using a widget on my blog.

Traffic Trends

Do you want to know where your blog’s traffic is coming from? Google Analytics will give you the answer to this and more! Take time to explore and learn parts of your analytics to get to know your audience better.

how to use google analytics for blog traffic

The best place to start is the home page of your analytics. You will find a lot of valuable information on your home page, which is the best place to begin learning about analytics.

At the top of the home page you will find how many users are on your site, the amount of sessions your blog has, the bounce rate, and session duration. These are basic, but important bits of information that can tell you how and why you are or are not getting traffic to your blog.

Right below this is a bar graph, showing you where your traffic comes from. This is broken up by social, organic search, direct, referral, and other. Based on my Google website analytics, I get most of my traffic through social media platforms.

google analytics website traffic trends

You will also find what time of day your users go to your blog, where they are from, and the types of devices they use to view your blog. Last, but certainly not least, is a list of your most popular pages.

Knowing the above stats can really help you determine the best types of blog posts to write in the future that will be helpful to your audience. This is explained in the audience section below.

Analytics and Social Media

Social media platforms are a great way to attract traffic to your blog. Some platforms may work better for you than others. You can find out which ones work best on your blog by studying your Google metrics social stats.

social media on google analytics

To get an indepth view of where your traffic comes from, click on Acquisition on the left side of the home page. Next, click Social and then click Overview. This page will give you a general guide of which social media platforms are most popular for your blog.

I use this page to determine which platform to focus on the most when it comes to driving traffic to my blog. Over time, you can also discover which platform or platforms work best to get traffic to your blog.

Listen to Your Audience

One of the hardest parts of blogging is figuring out what problems your audience needs help solving. Using Analytics to find out what blog posts are most helpful to your audience is super helpful when planning future blog posts out. This can take some trial and error at the beginning.

google metrics on analytics

I love that I can discover my ideal client with Google Analytics. I can find out where they live, how old they are, when they check out my blog, what they view on my blog, and so much more.

Further Use of Analytics

This is just a general guide on how to use Google Analytics. For further study, I highly recommend you spend time on analytics to discover other bits of information about your blog that you can use to gain more followers and give your audience the type of information they want from you.

Studying your Google website analytics is also a great way to improve your site’s SEO. To get started with your blog’s search engine optimization, read more about it in my blog post entitled, How to: SEO for Beginners.

google analytics image

My Google Website Analytics

I included screenshots of my Google metrics to show how the numbers are constantly changing. On some days I have more traffic than others. Seeing the trends my traffic has on analytics can help me better understand my audience and what types of posts they read.

How to Use Google Analytics

Do you use analytics on your blog? If not, set it up today! Let me know about your experiences with Google Analytics in the comments section below.

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Filed Under: Blogging Tagged With: analytics, google analytics, google metrics

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Comments

  1. Chocoviv says

    June 21, 2019 at 5:14 am

    Thank you for these tips!

    Reply
    • Ann says

      June 23, 2019 at 4:15 pm

      You are very welcome!

      Reply
  2. Ashlee says

    June 21, 2019 at 5:18 am

    I use analytics, I think it’s pretty cool to find all you traffic stats, from different platforms. You have lots of info thank you!

    Reply
    • Ann says

      June 23, 2019 at 4:15 pm

      I love analytics! I’m glad you find it useful as well!

      Reply
  3. Kristin Harris/Tales From Home says

    June 24, 2019 at 1:21 pm

    Google analytics always felt like such a huge learning curve when I started blogging and while I know a bit more about it now I still learned a few things from this article and wish I had been able to read t when I first started! Still better late than never! Thanks for the great guide!

    Reply
    • Ann says

      June 26, 2019 at 11:15 pm

      You are welcome! I know how daunting Google Analytics can be. I’m still learning new things about my blog through it. Its such a great tool to use with it!

      Reply
  4. flyhiee.com says

    June 27, 2019 at 9:01 am

    This is a great post.
    Thank you very much for sharing.
    I have been using analytics and i can say that you have made it simple for the others to use it.

    Reply
    • Ann says

      June 29, 2019 at 1:59 am

      You are welcome! I’m glad you found it useful.

      Reply
  5. Sarah - Insecure Housewife says

    July 14, 2019 at 2:25 pm

    This is really helpful information. I just recently signed up for Google Analytics but hadn’t quite figured out how it all works. Now I have a better understanding of it and can put it to good use.

    Reply
    • Ann says

      July 16, 2019 at 8:23 pm

      I’m glad you found it helpful! It can be overwhelming at first but is a great way to understand your audience and what they want to read from you. Good luck!

      Reply

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My name is Ann. I am a lover of God, flowers, cats, beaches, and my family and friends. Stop and smell the roses while you are here. And even learn to grow your own! Welcome to my blog! Read More…

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