Google Analytics Goals allow you to determine whether or not you are meeting your objectives. With each Goal completed by a user, your Google Analytics account logs a conversion. There are different types of Goals used for different purposes. You could generate Goal Reports to see Goals conversions and you can also see Goals conversions in Visitor Report, Site Search Reports, Events Reports, and Traffic Reports.
Steps in Setting up Goals
Begin by defining your goals. What works for one site will not work for the other. The goal you choose should be based on the purpose of your website and factors like: what you want to measure, the factors that determine your site’s success, and if you are targeting inquiries from potential clients.
Once you have determined your goals, log on to your Google Analytics account and select the profile you intend to add Goals to. Click on ‘Edit’ to access your profile’s setting. You will see a column with the different titles, including ‘Goals’.
Click on ‘Overview’, select ‘Set up goals and funnels’ link.
You will be taken to a page that has Goal sets. These allow you to group different goals for easy management. You get to choose from four sets, each of which has five goals. If you are just beginning, click on ‘+ Add goal’ on (set 1).
Next, name your goal. Ensure that the name does not cause future confusion. Activate the Goal by clicking ‘On’. Set the goal position as ‘Set 1, Goal 1’ if this is what you have chosen. Goal 1 is your primary goal.
The next step is selecting a goal type based on your particular needs. YChoose between ‘URL Destination’, ‘Time on Site’, and ‘Pages/Visit’. When you select a goal ‘Goal Type’, a section titled ‘Goal Details will emerge. This section is basically settings for your goal. The different Goal types have different Goal details.
URL Destination’ tracks visitors who enter specific pages in your site. Choose between ‘Exact Match’, ‘Head Match’, and ‘Regular Expression Match’ under ‘Match Type’ and enter your site’s URL under ‘Goal URL”. Head Match is used if your Goal page requires URL variables that change. Exact Match is used if your Goal page is a static URL, like contact. Regular Expression Match is used if there is likelihood that there could be a change in the start of your URL.
‘Time on Site’ allows you to determine the time limit. You will be able to determine, for example, if visitors are spending time browsing photos or watching videos. Under ‘Time on Site’, select between the Conditions ‘Greater than’ or ‘Less than’ based on the information you want. On the boxes on the left, indicate the number of hours, minutes, and seconds that you want to track.
‘Page/Visit’ allows you to track the amount of page views of each visitor. Under ‘Pages Visited’, select between the Conditions ‘Greater Than’ or ‘Less Than’. On the box on the left, enter the number of pages visited that you want to track.
The ‘Goal Value’ option is present in the three goal types. In this section, put in the monetary return that, according to your estimates, a completed goal is worth.
Once you are done, click on ‘Save Goal’ at the bottom.
Funnels
You cannot talk about Goals without mentioning funnels. Funnels are optional pieces to setting up Goals that allow you to track the path visitors take to landing on your page. When you set up funnels, you are setting up pathways to track if your visitors are walking the same pathway. While you can set up different funnels for one goal, you should restrict the number of your funnels to avoid confusion. Create a maximum of 2 funnels for every goal. An example of a funnel is tracking the number of people who download a particular .zip file from the home page versus from the article page.
There are two types of funnels: ‘Conversion Funnel’ and ‘Sales Funnel’. Conversion funnels are basically series of Web pages that you expect visitors to follow to complete non-transaction goals such as ‘downloads’ or ‘newsletter sign ups’. Sales funnels are basically series of Web pages you expect visitors to follow to complete transactional goals like placing an order.
The Funnel Visualization Report
The Funnel Visualization report maps the entire sales/conversion process in Google Analytics. This allows you to determine where visitors are leaving your page. This information is important so you can locate the part of your conversion process that needs urgent attention.
The report is a timeline chart followed by a flow diagram through the funnel. You can see the number of people who enter at that particular stage, how many continue in the next stage, how many people leave at each stage without completing, and where people who leave go next.
You can access the Funnel Visualization report by logging into your Google Analytics account and clicking on ‘Goals’ under ‘Conversions’. Note that to start the Funnel set up process, click on ‘Edit’ next to the Goal you are creating the Funnel for and then click on ‘Yes, create a funnel for this goal’.
Using Google Analytics Funnels Effectively
One of the most common reasons for an ineffective funnel is failure to properly interpret the Funnel Visualization Report. This leads to the wrong conclusions and, consequently, wrong marketing decisions.
For example, the number 2,037 in this screenshot does not denote the number of people who have completed the purchase. The truth is that this number shows unique page views and not the number of visitors.
Another common mistake is believing the Funnel Visualization report shows the actual conversion path. The report only shows the order of the funnel steps that you have set. In the example below, there was a ‘loop back’ (the visitor went back to the previous page), but the report does not show this. In this particular case, the visitor went back to the home page once he was done with the shopping cart page
There are several factors that will result in the misinterpretation of the Funnel Visualization report. These include failure to segment the funnel data, ignoring issues with data sampling, and using a large data set with a small time frame.
In the example below, we can see the figures, but we do not have information on the type of visitor (from paid search, organic search, social media, or email campaign), which makes it difficult to make an informed decision.
You should always check the ‘case-sensitive’ box when setting up your funnel to ensure that your goal page and funnel page URL exactly match the capitalization of the URLs visited.
Other common reasons for ineffective funnels are assigning monetary values to Goals that are transactional, incorrect REGEX for Funnel and Goal pages, failure to understand the required first step, and failure to test the funnel setup.
Google Analytics Goals and Funnels are a valuable resource to help you determine if your website and SEO is working effectively. Unfortuantly, many users don’t use this resource or use it incorrectly. Taking the time to learn how to use Google Analytics Goals and Funnels is well worth it to ensure your marketing strategy is working.
Hemina Shah is an Internet marketing specialist at Shivam.com.au, an innovative internet marketing company that always comes up with new ways of building links in the post panda/penguin era. She has helped many clients in recovering their website affected by the algorithm updates.