I know you’re doing a great job. Now let’s make sure that your boss knows it too.
Not even bosses can argue with the numbers, right? You can use the data in your Google Analytics account to impress your boss or colleagues.
Let me show you how to find the information that will wow your boss, like how to determine the number of people that are visiting your site at this very moment or whether that media interview really paid off.
So, pretend you can read the boss’s mind and answer her questions…
How many people are visiting the website right now?
This feature of Google Analytics might come in handy right after you send the enewsletter or in these final days of December when donors make their year-end gifts.
In Google Analytics, navigate to Real Time → Overview
You’ll see a number that represents the people that are visiting your website at this very moment.
You’ll also be able to see trends such as where these visitors came from and what pages they are browsing.
(Warning: This tool can be habit-forming!)
Do our supporters care about ABC story/service/event?
At some point, every boss I ever had asked me to promote a story/service/event that I wasn’t quite sure would resonate with our supporters.
The easiest, fastest way to answer this question in 2015/2016 is to post the story/service/event to your website and then test the idea with a Facebook post.
A day or two after your Facebook test post, log into Google Analytics and navigate to Acquisition → Social → Landing Pages.
This is the list of URLs that your social media followers clicked.
Do you see the website link from your test post among this list? If so, then your supporters are interested and you can go forward with bigger promotion plans. If you don’t see it on this list, you may need to tweak the pitch, or have a heart-to-heart with your boss about your supporters’ lack of interest.
Did that media interview pay off?
Your boss (or maybe her boss) gives interviews to the press but usually doesn’t get any feedback about whether the interview generated positive outcomes for your organization.
Google Analytics can help you determine whether the interview generated any visits to your website.
In Google Analytics, navigate to Acquisition → All Traffic → Referrals
You’ll see a list of websites that sent visitors to your site.
Among these, do you see the website of the news outlet that interviewed your boss? If so, make note of how many sessions and how long those visitors tended to spend on the site. Your boss will be excited to have this little slice of feedback.
There’s so much more to Google Analytics! Need help getting started?
Join my free Google Analytics mini course now and look for the full Google Analytics Toolkit for Nonprofits coming in 2016.
