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Google Analytics was a great post! To put it mildly, I am a statistics nerd and Google Analytics (GA) is one of my favorite and most cherished online tools. Below, I have shared a quick “how to” on a great way to make GA work for you by using one of their most handy features: Customized Dashboards.

Unfortunately, while customized dashboard reporting is a dream for filtering data and creating meaningful information, I have found that is used less than expected. So why is it that we don’t spend time creating customized dashboard views for our stakeholders? Well, based on the facts, there is no good answer. Below, I have outlined how easy it can be.

The Pre-Step: RESOLUTION: EARN LOVE & DRIVE CHANGE. Pledge to shift away from a one-size-fits-all data dump, and use your web analytics tool to create a customized dashboard.

Step 1: Log in and just click on the Home icon in the orange top navigation. Then click on
Dashboards, and what do you see? Oh yes! + New Dashboard. Click!

I love that phrase “Blank Canvas.” So open. So full of possibilities. So much hope and wonder.

Step 2: Name your Dashboard: Now just because you can do anything does not mean you
should. Revisit your Dashboard Resolution and give your dashboard a purpose. Purpose
requires asking questions and focusing. And great, relevant, dashboards spring from asking.

I have named one of my dashboards: VP, Global Marketing. It now has a specific audience and a purpose. Rather than data dumping, I’m now forced to go talk to the VP of Digital Marketing and ask this question: “What are my business priorities for the next six months?” That will lead to: “And how will I know if we’ve successfully executed on priority x?” That will lead to: “Awesome, I know exactly which critical few Key Performance Indicators I’ll be showing in my dashboard.”

Pro Tip: Always, always, always let the Acquisition, Behavior and Outcomes framework be your guide. After you’ve created a dashboard, check to see that you have all three elements. If you don’t, you are not showing the end-to-end picture. Without this you fail in your duty (and the data recipients will make poor decisions).

The cool bit is that in addition to standard widgets and simple tables, you can also bundle along your smarts into the dashboard and delight your users.

Wha-laa – you are earning love from your colleagues by turning loads of data into meaningful information which can DRIVE CHANGE for your company! Great job.

Ever wondered where visitors to your websites have come from? Or perhaps what the ROI of online advertising is? Some of these questions require a vast amount of data to accurately reflect or even calculate reliable figures. The world of analytics has made leaps and bounds to ease the pain in some of these areas, but just haven’t quite managed it…and then there is Google Analytics. Have a read of the below info-graphic to see how Google Analytics could help with your online campaigns. And even if analytics is not your thing, some of the reporting and visualisation of data is very cool!