How Google Analytics collects data from your website

Let’s start by talking about what Google Analytics (GA) is.

Imagine you are studying really hard for a major test or exam. You are flipping through and trying to read all 1300 pages of your exam study pack wishing you knew the exact questions that will show up in your test. Okay maybe that’s asking for too much 😃 but at least you knew the particular topics to concentrate on, to guarantee you a pass mark in your exam.

Just at that moment, someone hands you a tool (most likely an app) that can help you, determine and concentrate on only the most relevant topics that will get you a pass mark in your exam! Just like switching on the light bulb in a dark room. This is exactly what GA does for your website.

Google analytics gives you insights about your website visitors. It will show you the number of website visitors you had within a period, how they arrived on your web page, what part of the world they viewed your web page from, what they searched for while they were there, how long they spent on your website, what device and operating system the person used, what language their browser is set to, how many visitors purchased a particular item, etc. Armed with this information, you will be able to improve your site content to appeal to more visitors and well as make more informed business decisions.

To track your website with Google Analytics, you need to first add a small piece of JavaScript tracking code to each page on your site. Every time a user visits a web page, the tracking code will collect anonymous information about how that user interacted with the page. When the tracking code collects data, it packages that information up and sends it to Google Analytics to be processed into readable reports.

There are also configuration settings that allow you customize how that data is processed and what information you want displayed in your report. Once Analytics processes the data, it’s stored in a database where it can’t be changed.

If you need help setting up or managing your GA account, please feel free to contact me

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