Updated January 13, 2023
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Arranging Key Reports At A Glance
Your Google Analytics Dashboard can provide amazing insights on the health of your website. Like any tool, learning all the bells and whistles can be daunting. I’ve been playing around with customizing dashboards and including Real-Time Widgets and I’m loving it. GA is notorious at providing tons of information. But it can be a bit of a data puke. When setting up your custom GA dashboard, here are my suggestions:
1. What Data Does Management Really Need
Just because you can pull the information from GA doesn’t mean you should. Think about the key performance indicators (KPIs) for your company’s website. By understanding what metrics should be monitored will help you narrow down the reports you should be reviewing often. If you haven’t already bookmarked Digital Marketing Evangelist Avinash Kaushik’s blog, do so. His analytics tip about real business profitability is a must-read.
2. What Are You Going To Do With the Data
This one is somewhat related to #1. Let’s use an example. Let’s say you’ve got a new Social Media intern tweeting and posting for your company. There’s no real strategy behind it because you are just testing the waters. You’re not sure if your target market actually engages on these SoMe platforms. What information do you need to determine if it’s a success or not? How will the intern’s manager use the data to better manage him/her?
3. Who Else Needs to See The Google Analytics Dashboard
One of the reasons I’m such a fan of setting a customized Google Analytics dashboard is the ability to share them. Keyword ranking can be a hot-button, and sharing GA ranking reports can help measure departmental initiatives.
Google Analytics dashboards are only as good as the insights they generate. That’s why strategy should always be the first step. What would you do first?
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