What the frak is Google® Analytics?

Official Description: Google Analytics (GA) shows you how people found your site, how they explored it, and how you can enhance their visitor experience. Improve your website return on investment, increase conversions, and make more money on the web.

Google has a great support section, and they answer many more detailed questions here.

What does it Cost: Google Analytics is free*. If you ‘do it yourself’, it takes about 30 minutes a week or less to use most of it’s features.  If you’re serious about changing your web site based on the results, it will cost you 2-4 hours per month to utilize that information, assuming you have basic web skills.  Google has great help files to explain everything you see.  In terms of a professional helping you with GA, it will run you about 1-2 hours per month, including a phone consultation.

How it works:  Google Analytics has two parts.  The first is a special little script – a piece of hidden web code (javascript) - that hides at the bottom of every web page.  To get ‘it’, you have to first create a Gmail account, and then log on into the analytics website.  Once there, you can enter your web site address, and then the script is automatically created.  Installing it is fairly simple, and most web developers will add it little or no cost.  If the site was built properly, adding the script takes 60 seconds. 

I should point out that if you don’t have a clue about HTML – get someone who is  to set this up for you.

The second part is a grouping of 80 reports, which once your site is being tracked, can give you some very startling information about your website.  For the layman, most of this information ‘just looks cool’, but with a little reading, valuable insights can be found.  How long a person stays, what they looked at, and how they found the web site are just the begining.

Results start showing up about your site starts usually within 24 hours.

*For the moment, Google Analytics is free.  It started it’s life as a custom software app that you paid to have installed called Urchin for $2,995.  Google bought out that company, and started to offer this service for free while still offering a paid version through Urchin.  So how can Google give away $3k in software for free?  The best answer is your data.  Google learns from the activity on your website.  While it looks like this service will continue at no cost for the forseeable future, Google does have the right to charge for it later.

Benefits for ‘Basic’ Realtors

1. At the very least it gives you a very accurate reading on how successfull your web site is (or isn’t).
2. It can help you identify problem areas, bad links and problems.
3. And it can help streamline the purchase of AdWords (should you be actually advertising on Google).

Benefits for ‘Active’ Realtors

Now the value of Analytics really kicks in.  In truth, Analytics affects every aspect of your online marketing.  From the success of email campaigns, to promotions, to the effectiveness of landing pages – GA gives you an up to the minute view on the success or failure of everything online.

Working with a qualified developer or marketer, Analytics can establish the true cost of getting a sales lead.  By establishing the true cost & nature of developing a sales lead, you can then focus your efforts to produce the best results.

Realtor Example: 

First time realtor, averaging 1 listing every 45 days, mostly through existing contacts.  After installing GA, he quickly discovered the most used ’search terms’ that drove people to his web site.  He saw where they stayed the most, and what pages had problems.  Refining those areas of the web site needing work, and by altering keywords, his traffic started to increase.

Within 6 months, his listing were up to 2 new listings per month based on referrals from his web site.  This allowed him to actually have an advertising budget, which he then invested into AdWords – a paid advertising service from Google.  More on that in another post.

The end result after 12 months was the generation of 3-5 new clients each 30 day period above, at a cost of about $125 per conversion.  A ‘conversion’ is taking a visitor and turning them from a lead into a client. 

If I said to you – I’ll give you a client, you give me a $500 referral fee… how many of you would jump at the chance?  Now imagine your reaction if i said I only wanted $125.

Summary:

• Installing Google Analytics should be a requirement; if you’re not doing it, you’re losing valuable information and insight. 
• Even if you only use the basic reports, it will help you define and give you a better direction to market.
• If you’re a more aggressive realtor, and want to expand your business, Analytics is the best place to start.
• If you do any sort of online email campaigns, GA is the one tool that will help you define your success, and help you achieve it.