Show Me the Numbers: Basic Metrics to Grow Your Project, by Susan Mernit

Susan Mernit

Show Me the Numbers Knight Circuit Rider,
Oakland Local Editor/Publisher

Basic Metrics to Grow
Your Project
April 10, 2013

What we’re discussing
• How can I look at core metrics and use them to grow
what I do?
• What are the basic tools and tips to work with?
• How do I make decisions based on metrics data?
• What are best practices to follow working with
metrics in an ongoing way?
• What are some good time management practices
around metrics reporting?

3 All rights reserved. Houseoflocal.org

Getting started with metrics
• Web analytics is the
measurement,
collection, analysis
and reporting of
internet data for
purposes of
understanding and
optimizing web usage

Metrics are CORE for any small site operator

Core measurement tools

Google Analytics

Facebook & Facebook
Insights
Twitter & Tweetreach

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••GoogleAnalytics dashboard
Google Analytics dashboard
measures site data including
measures site data including
••Traffic
Traffic
••Audience
Audience
••Content
Content
••Geography
Geography knightdigitalmediacenter.org
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Essential GA metrics to evaluate
– Time spent
– Pages viewed
– Returning vs. new visitors
– Referral source
– Location
– Unique visitors
– Page views
– Platforms

But it’s a matrix: Metrics are most meaningful
in relationship to one another

Watching the GA connections to
drive site growth
• Google Analytics factors:
– Referral traffic: Where are the most engaged
users coming from? (referral traffic/time spent
metrics)
– Content behaviors: What is average time spent
per story? How do content stats per story (NOT
averages) relate?
– Content: What keywords drive traffic for my site?
– What are top entrance pages (correlate with
search engine traffic)

Decisions based on Google
Analytics
• Type of content (topics, trending issues, cost)
• Geographic focus (review of location &
mission)
• Social media marketing outreach: Focus on
top social media referral sources based on
– Top referrers
– Best time spent metrics from specific referrers
– Campaign reviews (newsletters)


Location: Checking geographic
focus

The Location tab
(under Audience
Demographics)
shows where your
audience is from—
essential for
sales/funders


Understanding Mobile

Under Audience, Google Analytics will tell you what percentage of
your audience is via mobile—and which platforms


GA: Checking content & interest vs.
referrals

IMPACT: Improve
understanding
of top content and referral
sources

Other core metrics tools

Facebook Insights Twitter
Likes Followers
Comments Retweets
Tweet reach

Facebook Insights

Measures tweet
Measures Facebook
impact
page data

13

Facebook Insights--Admins can access

Insights is the equivalent
Of Google Analytics for
Business—not personal-Facebook
pages—need 30+ followers
Data is exportable—correlate
with Google Analytics in your
analyses


Use the FB demographics data!

Who’s talking shows demographics—key for advertisers—and for
targeting content


Facebook provides INSTANT
feedback
Content & Audience Ads & social marketing
• What’s popular (views) • Tracking response on social
• What’s being referred (viral) marketing/promotion posts
• Who is your audience • Tracking likes & reposts
(followers & demographics)

Apply Facebook data to recruit new advertisers,
fine tune your content, define audiences, drive traffic to website


Tweetreach is a critical Twitter
metrics tool
17

• Shows most retweeted

• Shows top retweeters

• Shows top tweets and how far each reach


Oakland Local: Tweetreach

How many people are
How many people are
you reaching via
you reaching via
Twitter—and who are
Twitter—and who are
they? Tweetreach
they? Tweetreach
gives you data
gives you data


Tweetreach report
First screen


Tweetreach data dive—who’s
Contributing to your stream?


Workflow and process best
practices
Source: http://fobango.com

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Create a reporting dashboard to
track stats over time- Excel
Spreadsheet tracking
key metrics month by
month, quarter by
quarter.

Build or download a
template to collect
data

Check data weekly

Your dashboard should track

Let’s discuss: how does this work
• Google Analytics as a weekly/daily report?
• Unique visitors
• First time vs. repeat visitors
• Time on site
• Pages per visit
• Bounce rate
• Top 10 Content (by page views or by unique visitors)
• Number of comments (conversion goal)
• Number of member blog posts (conversion goal)
• New members (conversion goal)
• Top referring sources


Your dashboard should track

Let’s discuss: how does this work
as a weekly/daily report?
• Facebook Insights
• Followers
• Demographics
• Location
• Likes/virality
• Tweetreach
• Top Tweets
• Top Tweeters
• Most retweeted


Want to learn more?
Videos on the Official
Google Analytics
YouTube Channel
are a quality resource.


Putting knowledge
to work

Things to Ask & Try

Source: http://blog.podio.com

When do you check stats?
• Daily or weekly • Monthly
– 30 minutes or less – 90 minutes
– Review all stat sources
– Look at basic – Build a monthly report
weekly stats – Compare 6 month trend
• Top content data
• Google Analytics
• Top referrers • Facebook Insights
• Tweetreach
• Time
spent/bounce
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Putting info to work--Start with
basic analysis
Planning
• What is your site’s greatest strength according to
Google Analytics?
• Example: High number of returning visits, high time
spent on pages metrics
• Use stats to portray your strengths-Create a 1 pager
• What is a problem you see in your site that Google
Analytics shows you?
– Example: High bounce rate, poor referrals from
social media despite putting investment there
– Use stats to portray--Create a 1 pager

Workflow: Monthly reporting?
• What does a monthly report about your site
look like?
– Construct a monthly report across all data sources
highlighting metrics you consider
meaningful/important
– Make some inferences/assertions and test them


Followup
• Should we have a peer learning circle? More
trainings? YOU TELL US
– If yes, contact susan@oaklandlocal.com
– More on metrics (including the basics):
http://slideshare.com/susanmernit
– More individual and group training possible—
contact susan@oaklandlocal.com
– See this presentation and download
at http://slideshare.com/susanmernit

Show Me the Numbers: Basic Metrics to Grow Your Project, by Susan Mernit

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