How To Use Google Analytics To Boost Your SEO

Google Analytics is one of the most helpful tools you can utilize to improve your search engine optimization (SEO).

Analytics can provide you with a wealth of information regarding the success of your website in relation to search engines, amongst other things.

You may use Google Analytics to find pages that need to be improved, pages that are operating better than others, and pages that require your immediate attention. Google Analytics gives you all of these insights in one place.

If you are new to SEO, you will discover that the features of Google Analytics are highly valuable, and it will quickly become one of your favorite tools. If you are an SEO veteran, you will find that the features of Google Analytics are even more beneficial.

If you have been using Analytics for some time, it is time to brush up on your knowledge of the platform and learn how to harness the power of its reports to enhance the SEO of your website.

The following subject areas will be discussed in this post:

• Advantages of Using Google Analytics

• Instructions on How to Install Google Analytics on Your Website

• Fundamental Settings for Google Analytics

• Instructions on How to Improve Search Engine Optimization Using Google Analytics

• Instructions on How to Create Goals in Google Analytics

Several Advantages to Employing Google Analytics

It is equivalent to operating a vehicle without using your eyes if you do not have Google Analytics installed on your website.

Analytics will tell you many things about your website, including the following:

• How much traffic you receive and where it comes from

• What pages they visit and how long they spend on each page

• Which pages they visit before they exit

• Which buttons get more clicks and what they do next?

• Which portion of your traffic converts (performs an action that you want them to do)

• How many users are on mobile, tablets or desktops?

• Where your users are located (countries) and what software they use

• How many users are on mobile?

These are only some of the queries that can be answered by reports generated by analytics.

Users with more experience are able to take it to the next level and perform more complicated tasks such as customer segmentation, experimentation, and a host of other capabilities that the powerful Analytics platform offers to marketers.

This essay will not describe how to use all of the tools that are available in Google Analytics; rather, it will discuss how to use the data that is offered to come up with activities that can enhance your SEO.

Before delving further into the specifics, it is important to note that Analytics is a product that was developed by Google and that it is available for free integration into any website or mobile application.

The Step-by-Step Guide to Installing Google Analytics on Your Website Although there are a few different approaches you may take to install Google Analytics on your website, the first thing you need to do is create an account and register your website with Analytics.

Simply navigate to the Google Analytics website and select the “Start for Free” button located in the upper right hand corner of the page.

First, set up a property by following the directions that appear on the screen. A “property” refers to the website that will host the analytics code that you will add.

After that, you will be shown both your tracking id and your tracking code. The following is the code that needs to be included on your website.

Where should you add the code for tracking analytics?

The code needs to be inserted into the head> section and then the /head> section of each and every page on your website.

Because the most majority of contemporary CMSs already come equipped with this feature, all you need to do to implement it is copy and paste some code into the relevant area.

If you use WordPress, there are a number of plugins, such as Monster insights, that can be of assistance to you.

Configuring the Barest Essentials of Google Analytics

After you have installed and activated Google Analytics on your website, the next step to take before delving into the reports is to modify your website in the manner described below.

Adjust the time and currency for reporting, as well as the bot screening.

Check that the time zone that you have selected under ADMIN > VIEW > VIEW SETTINGS is correct.

You should make sure that the appropriate currency is selected (this is helpful if you run an online store), and you should also make sure that the BOT FILTERING box is checked so that all hits from known robots and spiders are omitted.

Your reports will be free of ‘data noise’ as a result of this change because it will exclude any visits made by crawlers such as search engines.

Create a connection between Google Analytics and Google Search Console.

Google gives you the option to link your account for Google Analytics with the account you have for Google Search Console. Because of this, you are able to view analytics data in the search console, and vice versa. This is a really valuable feature.

After you have logged in to your Google Search Console account, from the bottom left corner, click the link that says “Go to the Old Version.” Because the new version of Google Search Console does not yet have this capability, it is imperative that you complete this step.

Choose your website from the list, then click the SETTINGS icon (located in the top right corner of the screen), and after that, choose Google Analytics Property.

Choose the website you’d like to link to your console account, then click the SAVE button.

How to Improve Search Engine Optimization Using Google Analytics

Utilizing Google Analytics to monitor your website’s traffic and come to judgments that might potentially boost your website’s ranking position in search engines is one of the most important reasons to use this tool.

You can find the answers to the following questions in the reports provided by Google Analytics. You will also understand how this report can assist you with SEO as you read each of the answers.

• What percentage of my organic traffic comes from the various search engines?

• Which of my pages receives the most visits, and which receives the fewest?

• Which pages do people see when they initially arrive at my website (referred to as landing pages)?

• Which pages on my website should I designate as the “Exit” pages?

• What percentage of your traffic originates from mobile devices?

• In what part of the world are my users located?

• How many people are visiting my website right now, and which pages are they looking at?

• What do visitors to my website write into the search box on my page?

• Does Google currently have a penalty placed on my website, and if so, when did this begin?

How much traffic do I get from search engines based on my SEO efforts?

One of the KPIs that you need to monitor on a regular basis is the amount of traffic that comes to your website from search engines, in particular Google.

The answer can be found in the reports generated by ALL TRAFFIC.

The first thing you should do is go to ACQUISITION > ALL TRAFFIC > CHANNELS and then use the date dropdown menu in the top right corner to select the date range.

This report provides a summary of all of the different sources that contributed to the traffic that was brought to your website.

Check the box next to “organic traffic,” then click the “PLOT ROWS” button, to get a graphical representation of the proportion of overall traffic that is comprised of organic traffic.

Selecting SOURCE / MEDIUM from the menu on the left will allow you to examine your traffic in greater detail, revealing exactly where it is originating from.

After that, select “Google / Organic” with the mouse. This is the amount of traffic that came to your site from Google Organic Search within the time period that was chosen.

Why is it necessary for SEO to pay attention to this report?

You may use it to track how much traffic you receive on a daily basis from the various search engines and analyze your performance over time. You can also use it to track how much traffic you receive on a daily basis.

If you see any significant drops in traffic, this indicates that you have lost some of your ranks. You can conduct a more in-depth study to determine the causes for the drop as well as the specific keywords and pages that were affected.

Which of my pages receives the most visits, and which receives the fewest?

Knowing which pages on your website receive the most traffic is another helpful measure that can assist you in improving your SEO rankings.

You can see this by selecting BEHAVIOR > SITE CONTENT > ALL PAGES from the navigation menu.

You can see the percentage of people who leave your website after reading a certain page, as well as the bounce rate and the amount of time they spend on your website, in addition to the number of page views that each page receives.

When people visit my website, which pages do they go to first (also known as landing pages)?

You can take it a step further by clicking LANDING PAGES, which will allow you to see which pages visitors view the very first time they land on your website. You can then compare these pages to the ones that have the most visitors.

Why is it necessary for SEO to pay attention to this report?

This can provide you with a hint as to which pages visitors like to visit more frequently, allowing you to decide whether or not to include those sites in your sidebar or to include certain pages as “sticky posts” on your homepage.

Making it simple for visitors to access your most visited pages will result in an increase in the amount of time people spend on your website, which in turn will bring you a variety of other advantages.

In the report, the “bounce rate” is displayed in one of the columns. The percentage of users that visited your website but did not go on to see any additional pages is referred to as the “bounce rate.”

The better results you get, the lower the value of the bounce rate.

You need to determine which pages have a high percentage, then take steps to lower the bounce rate and encourage users to view more pages on your website before leaving it altogether.

Which pages on my website are considered to be the Exit pages?

Another report that is equally as significant is referred to as the EXIT PAGES report, and it displays the final page of the website that the user viewed before leaving.

Why is it necessary for SEO to pay attention to this report?

Pages that have a high percentage of visitors leaving without reading the material can be improved by altering their layout or making the content more engaging.

It is essential that before you make any changes, you maintain track of the values both before and after you make the adjustments. This will allow you to determine whether or not the modifications are beneficial to your website.

How much of the traffic originates from mobile devices?

In today’s day and age, everyone is talking about how important it is to have a website that is mobile-friendly.

According to the statistics, more people are accessing the internet through their mobile phones rather than on desktop computers.

You can see the Mobile traffic report, which is located under AUDIENCE > MOBILE > OVERVIEW, in order to gain an idea as to whether or not this pattern is also true for your website.

This report provides you with an analysis of your website’s traffic based on three different categories: mobile, desktop, and tablet.

Why is it necessary for SEO to pay attention to this report?

You have numerous options to choose from depending on the outcomes of the test.

For instance, if the majority of your site visitors are accessing it through mobile devices, you should evaluate your mobile pages to ensure that they load quickly, are in compliance with the recommendations made by Google for mobile use, and also feature your ‘call to action’ buttons in highly visible locations.

This is a really common mistake, and a lot of webmasters are guilty of making it. They optimize their ‘call to actions’ for desktop users; but, as the website develops in traffic, the bulk of visitors are coming from mobile; thus, their conversion rates fall down due to the fact that their mobile websites are not optimized for conversions.

Even while having a website that is mobile-friendly and responsive is the most effective method for managing mobile traffic, this does not mean that you should kick back and relax just because your website is responsive.

You need to analyze the data and modify your responsive website in such a way that conversion rates on mobile devices are comparable to, or even higher than, those on desktop computers.

Where exactly do my users call home?

The location report, which can be found in the AUDIENCE > GEO > LOCATION menu option, is yet another report that can assist you in providing the appropriate material to your visitors.

If you already receive a respectable quantity of traffic, you will be shocked by the number of different countries that send you visitors. This is the kind of piece that never fails to pique my interest since it demonstrates, albeit on a relatively little scale, the power of the internet and how it can link individuals from all over the world.

Why is it necessary for SEO to pay attention to this report?

You are able to view the locations of your visitors and can make an effort to serve them content that is specific to their location.

For instance, if you run an online store that sells products all over the world and you see that a significant number of your customers are coming from the United Kingdom, you could show the prices of your products in the currency used in that country, which is the pound sterling (GBP). Similarly, if you see that a significant number of your customers are coming from Germany, you might want to think about creating a German version of your website so that your customers can understand and engage with your content more easily.

How many people are visiting my website right now, and which pages are they looking at?

I was wondering how many people are now visiting your website and which pages they are looking at. The solution can be discovered in the REAL TIME report, which can be accessed through the OVERVIEW tab.

Invest a few minutes of your time per day (at a variety of various times) to monitor what is going on with your website. Where do the visits come from, what did they look for to locate the website, which pages do they look at, how long do they stay before departing, etc. are all questions that may be answered by tracking where they come from.

Having access to this real-time perspective can sometimes assist you in thinking creatively and discovering new methods to make your website better.

What do individuals put into the search box on my website?

If your website features a SEARCH BOX, you can make use of Google Analytics to determine what users put into the search box as well as which pages of your website they visit.

To begin, you will need to enable Search Box Tracking by navigating to VIEW SETTINGS. After that, you can move on to the next step.

You can get the report under “SEARCH TERMS” by navigating to the BEHAVIOR menu and selecting “SITE SEARCH” from there.

Why is it necessary for SEO to pay attention to this report?

Due to a variety of circumstances. To begin, you should determine whether or not the search box is something that the people who visit your website actually make use of; if not, you should remove it.

Second, you will be able to view the actual search phrases that they use and then check to ensure that your website contains pages that are optimized for those terms.

Third, you can use ‘search terms’ to make your material more ‘user-friendly’ by include those phrases on your pages. This is known as the ‘search terms’ option. Users will be able to comprehend that they are in fact viewing the appropriate website as a result of this.

Is Google penalizing my website, and if so, when did this begin to take place?

Your website could be positively or badly affected at some point in the future as a result of the hundreds of changes that Google makes to its ranking algorithm every single year.

Viewing the organic traffic report on Google will allow you to determine whether or not you are subject to a Google penalty, as well as when and why this occurred.

Choose your website from the list of available metrics on the Google Analytics dashboard, and then navigate to the Acquiring > All Traffic > Source / Medium section.

Choose “GOOGLE / ORGANIC” from the list of options. The amount of visits that originate from searches conducted on Google is currently displayed in the report.

Make use of the drop-down menu for the date, select a lengthy time frame, and keep an eye out for any unexpected shifts in your website’s visitor count.

Next, navigate to this page, which details all of the significant days on which Google implemented modifications to their ranking algorithm, and check to see if there is any correlation between the dates on which the algorithm was deployed and changes in the amount of traffic that your website receives.

Why is it necessary for SEO to pay attention to this report?

If you are subject to a penalty, you are obligated to perform the necessary study to determine what led to the imposition of the penalty and then take the necessary steps to recover.

Creating Goals in Google Analytics and Their Steps

“Goals” is one of the most valuable functions of Google Analytics because it may help you figure out how to direct traffic to the most important portions of your website. This is one of the reasons why “Goals” is one of the most useful functions of Google Analytics.

Every website ought to have some sort of objectives, or purpose. You are selling a product or service You want users to enter their contact information into a form (leads) You want users to contact you You want users to download your mobile app

You will be able to understand how to improve the conversion process by identifying the pages (or steps) that cause users to abandon an action if you create the aforementioned as ‘Goals’ in Analytics. This will allow you to:

• Understand the traffic sources that generate more conversions.

• Understand the path users follow before converting.

• Understand how to improve the conversion process (typical example is a confusing shopping cart that keeps users from making a purchase).

These are only a few examples of Goals; however, depending on the kind of website you have, you may be able to devise more goals that are congruent with your SEO approach.

Instructions for establishing a target in Google Analytics

It is highly advised that you spend some time reading the comprehensive guide that Google has provided on the topic of goal planning. You can find it here.

It is essential that you have a solid understanding of the various kinds of Goals, as well as their functionality and the settings you can use to design them.

I will demonstrate for you below, using a real-life scenario, how to set up one of the most typical goals, which is to have users “submit contact form.”

One of the purposes of the website I use for my company is to generate leads for new prospective clients who are looking for monthly search engine optimization services.

On the website, I have a page that provides information on the SEO services that we offer, as well as a contact form that customers can use to get in touch with us.

A “Thank you page” is the page that a consumer is taken to after submitting a contact form.

By establishing the ‘Thank you’ page as a destination goal in Analytics, I am able to determine which traffic sources result in a greater number of conversions. I can then make use of this information to focus my efforts and resources on the aspects of my company that contribute the most to its financial success.

For instance, if I receive more conversions from users arriving at my website via Google search, then I will spend more time blogging; if I get them via Facebook, then I will spend more time on Facebook; and so on.

The example given above is one of many common ones that can be used to websites and online companies.

Pick the ADMIN tab when you are logged into Analytics, and then click the GOALS option under the VIEW menu.

You can set a new goal by clicking the NEW GOAL button, giving it a name, and then selecting DESTINATION before clicking the CONTINUE button.

Select EQUALS TO from the Destination drop-down menu, then enter the URL of your “Thank you” page (omitting the domain, as shown in the example below), and click the SAVE button.

When you return to your Analytics reports, you will see that there is a new dropdown as well as an additional column displaying the values of your goals that have been completed.

Take note that the number of goals that have been completed can now be viewed, broken down by traffic source. This is information that is helpful for your upcoming actions and the expansion of your website or business.

Conclusion

Every SEO expert really ought to have Google Analytics at their disposal. Google Analytics can tell you a lot of information about your website that you wouldn’t know otherwise, whether you run a blog, a business website, or an online store. These are things that you wouldn’t know otherwise.

The installation of Analytics on your website couldn’t be simpler and the service is completely free. After you have it installed, let it a few days to collect some data, and then begin to educate yourself regarding your website by experimenting with the many reports that are available.

Do not worry if you are just starting out with Analytics and digital marketing and find all the available alternatives to be difficult; after you have mastered the fundamentals, things will become much simpler for you.

First, you should become familiar with the reports that were mentioned above, and then you should try to study other reports and alternatives gradually.

Don’t forget to set up your goals so that you can use the data in the reports in a more efficient way. Keep in mind that your ultimate goal is to raise the number of conversions and improve the overall quality of the user experience on your website.