Google Analytics

There is no better way to get a feel for how a website is really performing than by looking at website analytics data (of course if you are making money hand over fist via internet referrals or sales from your website then you can probably stop reading now).

If you a a client of Lumina Web Solutions, then we will have set up a Google Analytics profile that starts to collect data about your websites activity soon after it is linked to your site.  There are many analytics systems available, however Google analytics is one of the most widely used and is easy to work with.

You will need to set up a Google Account

Once you have set up an account, or already have an existing account with Google, we can link the analytics data from your website to it.  From then on you can log-in at anytime and look at the statistics.  Find out:

• Visitor numbers
• Where in the world your visitors come from
• How long your visitors stay on your site
• Which pages get the most visits

... And much much more - that was just scratching the surface.

How do I set up a new Google Account?

Step 1: Browse to the Google home page: www.google.co.nz

Step 2: Look for the 'Sign In' link in the top right of the page and click on it.

Step 3: On the right side of the page there should now be a sign-in box.  Below it is a link to 'Create an Account Now'.  Click on this link.

Step 4: Follow the instructions to create your account.

Step 5: Now, when you browse to the Google home page, you need to look again in the top right corner.

• If you are signed in you will see a 'My Account' link located there - click on it and it will take you to your Google account home page.
• If you are not signed in, click on the 'Sign In' button and enter your account details (email and password) that you created in Step 4.  Then you will be able to see the 'My Account' link as above.

Once you are logged in to your account page you can access your website analytics once it is linked up.

Note: There are a LOT of other great tools that Google provides account holders, like Google Docs (online spreadsheets, word processing, presentations), Google Calendars and creating your own annotated Google maps.