Secrets to Teaching Google Analytics the Easy Way

This Post Was Updated for GA4 on February 10, 2020

 

Focus on Analytics

At the Fall Marketing Management Association Conference in Kansas City, which focuses on marketing education, I will be facilitating a workshop with Dr. Holly Syrdal and Dr. Leila Samii on Tool and Approaches for Teaching Digital Marketing:  Focus on Analytics.  This is the fourth time academic colleagues and I have facilitated this type of workshop at MMA.  We are delighted to present this topic to our interested colleagues and I am summarizing the highlights of my talk in this blog post.  A link to the Conference information is included in the list of Web Resources at the end of this post. 

What is Analytics?

Our workshop team thinks that Analytics does not have to mean advanced statistics.  We think that analytics means insights from data and that employers are looking for graduates who can put on a thinking cap and make intelligent inferences from data. Holly and Leila focus on developing insights from data by teaching easy ways to look at social media in Excel and derive insights from that data.  No higher math is required but the focus is on the students being able to make marketing interpretations of data to improve marketing campaigns.

Teaching Google Analytics the Easy Way through Blogging

My section of the workshop is on how the easy way to teach Google Analytics.  In particular, the presentation focuses on teaching introductory Google Analytics with a project that links Google Analytics to a blogger blog.  Blogging is a good way for students to learn the valuable skills of blogging and get started applying course concepts in a digital marketing course to managing a real-life marketing campaign. 

The basic concept is that students create a blog of interest to them and then over the next few weeks they promote the blog on social media and email (Mailchimp).  They also practice using visual images on the blog and writing a long-form blog post (1500 words or more).  The students start out with a simple blog post introducing their blog and then write four other blog posts over about a ten week period. I recommend a few weeks between blog posts so students can analyze the results of the prior post, write another post and give it at least a week to see the effects of any changes in writing style or promotion.

To think about what topic to use for the blog and what keywords to use, I ask the students to turn on Google alerts for topics they might be interested in focusing on for their blog and follow them through the course of the semester.  We also look at Google Trends

Linking Google Analytics to a Blogger Blog

Blogger provides excellent analytics, particularly on individual posts, but these numbers can sometimes appear inflated. To link a blogger blog to Google Analytics, simply copy the URL to the blog, open the admin tab in Analytics and add a web property.  In the process you will be invited to copy and paste HTML tracking code in to the blog.  This is not necessary when using blogger.  Copy the Website Tracking ID, which is in the form of UA (Universal Analytics) followed by numbers, i.e. UA-12345678-1.  Go back to blogger and paste under “Settings/Other” the Tracking ID.  Within a day or so the blog will start showing up in Google Analytics.

 

NOTE:  Since the upgrade to GA4, please note that you must create both a GA and GA4 web property.  Then toggle to Universal Analytics and get the UA code under admin.  

Finding the Tracking Code

In my class, we are not using advanced analytics.  Our undergraduates learn that information in the Marketing Metrics and Analytics Course.  In digital marketing, we learn the basics of analytics.  So we look at page views, the audience, the bounce rate, session length etc.  Students derive insights on the traffic to their blog and how changes such as using more visuals or writing longer copy affect the blog.  Students also report on the insights from blogger, which provide greater details on individual blog posts. 

Google Analytics Tracking Code is Added Under Settings, Other

Reflecting on What Was Learned

Students are required after seeing the results of each post to write a short reflection in Canvas about what they observed from weeks to week.  Students might report that visuals were most appealing to their audience or that LinkedIn resulted in the most page views because of their particular topic.  They might report that the long-form blog posts increased the average page session length. In these posts, I ask them to apply the reading from class.  For example, they might apply the metrics chapter of Zahay and Roberts and pick key metrics.  Or they might create a compelling call to action in their blog and apply the direct marketing material.

Not only can creating and track a blog can teach students analytics and campaign management skills, but this real-life project does not need a project sponsor.  The students and their careers are the client.  Several students have reported to me that they received job offers based on having a blog. It is likely that students will be employed.

Incorporating HubSpot Inbound Marketing Certification

During my undergraduate digital marketing course where students blog, students also become certified in Inbound Marketing at HubSpot’s online Academy.  The HubSpot material focuses on the importance of blogging in business applications.  Students sometimes have to be convinced of the benefits of blogging, so there is a link to a blog post with some pertinent statistics at the end of this post.  Basically, blogging can dramatically increase the chances of being ranked highly in search engines and is the number one content marketing tool for most business-to-business firms. 

Learning Google Analytics

My recommendation for learning Google Analytics is Google itself. While formal certification in Google Analytics is available through the Google Academy for Ads, there is a stand-alone video course on Google Analytics for beginners that I highly recommend. This video covers enough material for students to do well in this project and to give you, as an instructor, sufficient background in the material to coach students intelligently.

Incorporating Experts

Sometimes I also bring in a guest speaker to talk about blogging or storytelling. Professors from the communications and journalism programs at your University can be great resources for guests.  Industry experts are also often eager to participate and to coach students.

Wrapping It Up

In summary, blogging is a great skill for students to learn to promote their own brand and the brands of others. Connecting the blog to Google Analytics provides students with additional insights in to the reach and impact of their posts.  By writing reflections each week, students learn to apply course material and explore the most effective blogging techniques for the audience of their blog.

For a detailed syllabus containing information on how to use this assignment in class, log in to Cengage’s website and create a course using the book Zahay and Roberts, Internet Marketing:  Integrating online and offline strategies in a digital environment.  The teaching resources are there as well as a link to our course blog run by MaryLou Roberts with updates on digital marketing material per chapter. Or email me at dblatz@stedwards.edu and I will send along a copy of the syllabus.  Good luck and let me know if you have any questions

Web resources:

Google Analytics for Beginners from Google

10 Reasons Blogging Matters for Content Marketing from Hubspot

How to Write a Blog Post from Orbit Media

MMA Fall Workshop Information

Internet Marketing 4e Update Blog