When we asked our readers what things we could help them with Google Analytics was at the top of the list.  It’s really no wonder as Google Analytics can be very tricky to navigate and get the information you want out of.  A few months back we helped our members with How To Add Google Analytics Tracking To Your Handmade Spark Account.  I thought our members and readers would benefit from some further insights into Google Analytics.

Helix | sculptures by dan bentley

5 Simple Ways to Get More Out of Google Analytics [GigaOm]: touches on some basics that are important to learn: Alerts, Custom Reports, Export, Customize Your Dashboard and In-Page Analytics.  A later article, 3 More Google Analytics Tips discusses a few other more complicated functions of Google Analytics.

Understanding Google Analytics – Your Website Traffic Report [OCreative Designs] is a really fantastic article from OCreative Design Studio that features a very useful video on GA basics.

Understanding Google Analytics For Beginners [EZine Articles] is super easy to understand with some great definitions of the basic Google Analytics terminology.

When in doubt, the support pages from Google Analytics can be really helpful with some digging.  Their Getting Started page offers up easy to follow instructions too.

All in all, Google Analytics takes practice and some time to get used to.  It’s A LOT of data in one place.  Get to know the basics before jumping in to some of the more complicated areas.