Do-It-Yourself Updates for Your Local Internet Listings

October 31, 2016 Beth Devine

Your Google business listing doesn’t have a “forward to” address or a “301 redirect” to help you with changes. If you’re planning a move for your small business, or you’ve made some other change to your NAP (Name, Address, Phone Number), it’s important to make the changes in not only Google, but all your local listings.

In the last post we went over the top citation services, the companies that do this for you. Here we’ll cover how to manually update your business listings and check for inconsistencies in your NAP that could harm your search results.

Where To Get Listed

Doing it yourself means you need to know where to get your business listed. Here’s a handy link to a compilation of the top 100 local listings for your business. Doing it yourself takes some serious time investment, and it involves checking all the listings so they are accurate and compatible.

Why is it so important to get listed and keep your listings accurate? The more online directories your business appears in with consistent information, the more likely Google will display your business in search results. Incompatible and inaccurate data could result in your business not showing up in a Google search.

Doing it yourself means you not only need to know where to get your business listed, but you need to maintain accuracy. This includes minimizing any possible duplicate listings as well as any inconsistencies in the data from one listing to another.

First Thing On Your To-Do List

Get started with your local listings by making sure you update your Google business listing. Because most people are searching for local businesses online and Google is the most popular search engine, you want your Google business listing to be accurate. So where to begin?

Go to Google My Business and make sure all your information is correct. Verify your business location so results will appear in Google Maps. Learn how to make edits so your hours and holidays are up to date. You can do all this for free from this one site. Next, check to see how your business shows up on Google search by going to gybo.com.

Google won’t trust your Google My Business listing unless it can verify the information with other sources. Even if the information you’ve entered into Google My Business is accurate, Google might not show your business in its search results if there’s conflicting data from other online sources. Making sure Google has consistent data as it crawls the internet includes avoiding even small typos. For example, spelling, abbreviations, and apostrophe use must all be exactly the same

Top Four Local Search Aggregators

There’s a difference between local search aggregators and citation services. Local search aggregators are like an hourglass for collecting your business data. They accumulate and analyze all the information from many sources and then redistribute it to local directories and other places.

These aggregators get their data about businesses from many different sources, including registration records, chamber of commerce rosters, phone bills. Citation building services use the aggregators to create their directories, but not all citation services use all four aggregators.

The top four biggies to pay attention to are Express Update, Acxiom, Neustar/LocalEze, Factual. Two others data aggregators to consider are Infogroup and InfoUSA. They will funnel your business information to local business directories to give you better and more accurate coverage.

A do-it-yourself method to updating your business’s local internet listings should start with these top aggregators since they feed the information to what’s known as the local search ecosystem. Check that your official address matches the US Postal Service database and use this exact form in all your listings. Follow these steps outlined by Moz for claiming your business as you contact each listing.

Doing all this manually involves an initial investment of time, but once your information is up and running (and it can take time for listings to go live), the maintenance is simple until you have changes that require updates.

How to Improve Your Google+ Brand Page

February 21, 2015 Beth Devine

Now that Google has ended its Google Authorship program, it’s more important than ever to give your G+ profile a boost.

What? Did you hear that right? Why would anyone bother with Google+ now? Because Google+ may have ended its authorship program, but its Author Rank lives on. More than that, Google+ is said to be better for your blog than Facebook.

Get your Google+ brand page tips and learn how to rock your profile.

Apply to be a Verified Local Business

This option remains available and will give your brand a silver-shield check mark by your company name indicating you as a Verified Local Business. By clicking on your business address, the user will be directed to your Google Maps page.

Being a part of Google+ Local helps users to discover and share your business. Unlike Facebook, which does not have Facebook maps, in case you hadn’t noticed.

Complete Your Profile

This is your “about” section that tells users what you do and how to connect with you. Include a link to your business website as well as any other applicable links, such as a link to your blog. By adding your website URL, you can link your brand page to your website and get a check mark by your website on your Google+ home page.

Completely fill out your profile by adding the categories that accurately describe your business. Don’t forget to sound uber cool, since we all know you are.

Use a Cover and Profile Photo That Stand Out

The large banner at the top of the Google+ page is your cover image and is the first thing a user will see. At 2120 pixels by 1192 pixels, this gives you the opportunity to make an awesome impression, so choose a stand-out image that best conveys who you are.

Next, since the circular profile photo (250 x 250 pixels) will also be the avatar on all your Google+ posts, comments, and +1s, choose one that represents your brand. Any updates in your followers’ newsfeeds will show this photo as well.

Are you still looking cool? Good, I thought so.

#Don’tBeAfraid to Use Hashtags

Social media is rife with hashtags, and Google+ is no exception. Help users track down subjects of interest and showcase your relevant posts with hashtags which will appear in the upper right corner. By holding the cursor over the top right hashtag, the other hashtags you added will appear.

Dr. Seuss is cool enough to speak for itself, but just in case, I added more hashtags about blogging.

Add a Google+ Badge

Google+ makes it easier to connect with your readers and help you increase followers with a Google+ Badge. Google+ is a place where people share interests. Other platforms are based on connections between people you already know, whereas your circle of Google+ friends is a culture of common ideas and shared interests.

This is what makes it a great place for businesses! Is Google+ growing on you yet?

Make a Vanity URL for Google+

If you want to create a vanity URL for your Google+ page, try Plus.ly. Instead of a long list of numbers, you can share something easily decipherable.

For fun, I created one for Web Savvy Marketers: http://plus.ly/websavvysuperheroes. Super cool stuff, in case you want to try.

It’s All About Content, Content, Content

Out of all the Google+ brand page tips that exist, there’s no escaping this one. To create an engaged community, you must create compelling content that educates, entertains, and inspires.

Because Google+ offers the ability to create custom circles, you can easily segment your content for specific circles and control what certain groups get to see. Each time you share something, you can select which circles you wish to publish to.

Google+ content relies on its image-rich nature. When you scroll through your news feed, the picture and video components are striking and bold. Take advantage of the platform’s visual character by sharing some of your own photos and re-sharing others’.

So on those days you feel text-deficient, share some visual content that will make your audience happy to know you, and get your brand page rockin’ like a beast.

5 More Marketing No-No’s

December 4, 2014 Beth Devine

In continuation of our previous 5 Online Marketing No-No’s, here are five more marketing mistakes to avoid. Like the wise business person you are, be sure to check this list and revamp any marketing mistakes into nonexistence.

5 More Mistakes for Your Marketing Know-How

1. Your email list is dirty

If you’re email marketing isn’t compliant with spam, you’ll get a high bounce rate, or worse, you could get your email efforts shut down. CAN SPAM carries severe penalties for non-compliant commercial email, but it’s simple to check it and stay within the law. Be sure to email only recipients that have asked to be on your marketing list, which means they’ve freely given you their email information.

It also helps your email marketing performance to separate your email list into groups, including targeting your list based on deliverability. This means paying attention to your email open rates and selecting recipients who open your emails and click on links you’ve embedded in them.

You might target your new email group by sharing only your best offers with these more interested readers, or by mailing the less responsive recipients less often.

2. Your customers need some TLC

Did you forget about those happy customers of yours? Or how about those new clients whom you’ve been ignoring due to other, more seasoned ones?

Sometimes we forget about and neglect our long-time, happy customers and the newbies who’ve just walked through the door. But both are equally valuable and deserve your attention.

It’s easier to sell a solution to an existing problem than it is to sell a positive benefit. So spend some time finding out ways you can help your happy customers to be even happier by learning what problems they continue to struggle with.

As for your new customers, they are often eager to respond to your questions when it comes to determining how you’re doing and how you could improve. If you don’t ask, you won’t know. Ask them to take a survey and give them a free beginner’s guide or offer them a free gift or holiday discount for doing so.

3. Your networking is abysmal

Okay, so you aren’t particularly social. Find someone who is and can network for you, or challenge yourself and get out there and attend one of the many events that are going on, particularly during the holidays.

Take advantage of the opportunities to meet new people, build relationships, and create new business. Better yet, sign up to speak at one of the events and really challenge your social fears. Speaking in public gets easier and the rewards of speaking at public events are like networking on steroids.

Seth Godin talks straight on the fear of public speaking, clarifying that it’s not about you. It’s really about what you have to offer. So make it about your audience and how you can help them. Isn’t that what you are trying to do anyways as you network?

4. You ignore the potential of your referrals

Referrals are your free marketing resource. Imagine getting new business and customers just from recommendations from your already satisfied customers.

Do you have a referral program working for you? Are you emailing customers after you complete a project they’re happy with to ask for a referral? Do you follow them on LinkedIn and ask them for an introduction to a potential client?

It’s that simple. When you ignore the potential of referrals, you’re missing out on an inexpensive way to market your business. So go ahead – do your part and ask.

5. You overlook the obvious: free press

Free press opportunities are an obvious method for marketing your company, but too often they’re overlooked. It’s an incorrect assumption that the press will come looking for you and your awesome product or service. You have to pitch them your grand idea to get their attention.

And they will pay attention because they are always looking for news. They want to know what’s going on with your company. Get their attention and get some press, and that will drive traffic to your website.

When you’re seeking out press options, don’t forget about small time players, such as online bloggers and local, small-town print dailies and weeklies. These formats are all thriving and open for business for your news.

Stop hiding from your marketing mistakes. It’s easy to make them, but it’s nearly as easy to correct them.

What in the World is a +1 on Google Plus?

February 19, 2014 Beth Devine

The Google plus +1 is not a Facebook like. It’s not a Twitter favorite. It’s nothing like the love heart on Instagram, Pinterest, or Vimeo. And no, it’s not like a thumbs up on YouTube.

What is a +1 then?

The Google plus +1 is so much more than your stamp of approval. It’s inherent ambiguousness – it’s not a word or a familiar symbol – opens the doorway to a wider meaning.

Are there times on Facebook when you want to click like, but it feels inappropriate because the post is about something sad or troubling? If you’re looking for another way to express your appreciation for a post, the +1 is how you do it.

Do you want to make a public recommendation because the content is superb, even if you don’t agree with the point of view? The +1 is your vehicle. How about when you merely want to acknowledge you’ve read something directed to you? +1 can signify you’ve done this.

As a simple response that your comment has been seen, the +1 reminds me of Facebook likes. However, +1’s always originate from a human, unlike Facebook likes, which can be bought and can come from spam.

The +1 gets even better.

The Best Thing About +1’s

The wider interpretation of +1’s as compared to other content appreciation signals is far from its best feature. Perhaps the best thing about +1’s is they give you a wider audience.

There are three ways this can happen.

1. As a recommended search result.

Your name might show up in the Google search results of people who have you in their Google+ network for content that you’ve +1’d. This demonstrates how powerful growing your Google+ network can be.

3. As a recommended post.

When your post is +1’d by someone, it can appear in your Extended Circles streams. This means the people who’ve circled you, as well as the people who’ve circled them, could end up seeing your post. The Google+ post header would read: “(Your name) +1’d this.”

3. In an advertisement.

Your Google+ profile picture and name could show up in ads. When you +1 a brand or brand’s content, Google could use this in their advertisements on other web sites.

You can choose to opt out of this by going to Settings at the bottom of the drop-down menu on the left side in your Google+ account. Once there, find Shared Endorsements and uncheck the box that reads “Based upon my activity, Google may show my name and profile photo in shared endorsements that appear in ads.” Be sure to click save.

Want to know one more cool thing about the Google +1?

The more +1’s and comments you get, the greater chance you will rank higher in search results. That is to say, there’s not a cause and effect relationship, but there’s a direct correlation. This comes as no surprise when you consider that most content with a lot of +1’s, comments, and reshares are probably quality content.

Searchmetrics tells us,

“Web pages that rank higher in Google searches tend to have more Google+ plus ones and Facebook shares. While having a relevant keyword in the web site domain name or web address now seems less closely linked with high rankings according to new research. And while pages with higher quality content rank better, top brand web pages apparently continue to automatically rank in top positions without obeying the same rules as other sites.”

This is the impact of social media as a content marketing strategy. And it’s not going away. Google+ is a smart place to begin your social media efforts if you want to extend the reach of your brand and your content.

Google defines the +1 as a feature that helps people discover and share relative content from people you know and trust. Using the +1 to engage with your Google+ circles gives far greater results than any other content appreciation features in social media.

+Post Ads Make Google the Smartest Fish in the Web Stream

December 12, 2013 Beth Devine

Google’s new +Post Ads are making the Internet one giant social stream. With the introduction of Google+ social posts as paid advertising on selected websites, more people are going to join the conversation.

The social stream on Google+ is going to become a raging river.

But not in a bad way. It’s going to grow not only conversations. Growing Google+ is going to build relationships between the brand and consumer unlike any other social platform.

“Rather than to talk at them, we wanted to talk with them,” said Monica Peterson, Director of Social Media, Toyota USA.

As Peterson says, delivering “the right message, at the right time, to the right person” is key to growing your brand. With Google+ +Post Ads, consumers can talk within the advertising itself.

How cool is that?

Advertising on social media sites is like crashing a party. Hardly an effective method for promoting your product. But imagine having the opportunity to share your thoughts on a strategically placed social media post that’s placed outside the social media platform.

Clearly, Google imagined just that. They also thought up a way for advertisers to pay for Google+ advertising in the process. Pure genius.

As Mark Traphagen explains, Google+ +Post Ads will show up as live Google+ posts embedded where we would traditionally see static banner ads on a website, Users can comment on +Post Ads, +1 them, and share them with friends. Because the advertiser will get a notification of every person who engaged with the post, it’s like a landing page on a site where you can capture email addresses.

For a brand, this definitely changes what you’ll say to your audience. For the consumer, how the message is crafted will have everything to do with how you impact the conversation.

The way we interact on social media increasingly defines who we are. From one fish to another, I am excited to see how this all ~~plays~~ swims out.

Folks who haven’t set up a Google+ profile yet will be enticed to do so, and those who’ve merely created one so they could do a Hangout will begin doing more than sticking a toe into the water.

Google+ moves forward as the smartest way to interact on the web. It’s no wonder that Albert Einstein is the most talked about person there, compared to Rihanna on Facebook and Bieber on Twitter.

Google “who is the most talked about person on Google+” and see for yourself.

As Dustin W. Stout so aptly put it, “G+ = IQ². Enough said.”

Watch how Toyota reaches out with new Google+ Post Ads.

This work, “fish bowl,” is a derivative of “Creative Commons flickr photo” by Dean McCoy, used under CC BY 2.0.

Business Owners: You Can’t Afford to Ignore Google Plus

August 12, 2013 Beth Devine

Google Plus announced in the fall of 2012 that they had officially surpassed the 400 million registered users mark. About 100 million of those users actively check their Google Plus accounts, Gigaom.com reports. That is a potential pool of 100 million customers, some of whom will be interested in what you are selling. Companies such as H&M, BMW and Mercedes-Benz consistently engage customers through Google Plus, and the effort appears to be paying off. Each of these corporations has more than 2 million followers.

It’s understandable if your company is wrapped up in marketing efforts through Facebook and Twitter. After all, those seem to be the networks everyone is using. While you’re posting and tweeting in those spaces, though, you may be missing a large, well-educated audience that hangs out at Google Plus.

Who’s Using Google Plus

Google reports that, at nearly 70 percent, users of Google Plus are overwhelmingly male. They are well-educated and technologically savvy; they are not on Google Plus to find out what you had for lunch or how your sister-in-law is doing after the birth of her child. This is their tool for keeping up-to-date on the things that matter.

Another lure of the average Google Plus user: According to the search giant, their users have far more money than those who use other social networks. While 16 percent of Facebook and Tumblr users make more than $100,000 a year, a full 30 percent of Google Plus users do.

The Basics

Signing up for a Google Plus account is as easy as signing into your Gmail account. If you don’t have a Gmail account, you know the drill. Simply go to Gmail.com, and register by coming up with a user name and password. That’s it. Once you have a legitimate Gmail account, you can begin to access all those millions of people who also have Gmail accounts. You can reach your Google Plus account directly at plus.google.com.

Practical Viewpoint

A strong presence on Google Plus is directly correlated with stronger search engine results. The only real way to gain traction online is through search engine results, and Google is the gatekeeper. If you are going to market online, you need to see Google as your ally. That friend is handing you a golden ticket to the party through Google Plus. This complex system is one of the greatest assets in social media marketing, www.dsl.com reports, whether we like it or not; business owners who ignore it are missing out.

Google Is Listening

While behemoths such as Facebook and Twitter may take forever to make the kinds of changes their users clamor for, Google is good about keeping an ear to the ground. In fact, the organization of Google Plus has changed dramatically over the past two years to keep up with what users tell them they want. The site allows you to separate people into categories, depending upon whether they are friends, family, acquaintances or people you are following. While that may not sound like much, it enables you to pinpoint the audience you reach. There’s no reason to let your mother know about the new promotion going on at your gym if she’s not going to be interested. You can upload text, photos, links, videos or special events, and target them precisely to the people who are most likely to care.

Circles

While “circles” may sound like a cute way of saying “friends,” it really is more than that. Because your personal circle is broken down by category, the direction you choose to expand your circle is up to you. For example, if you have a particular business acquaintance and would like to have more like him, you are able to reach out to the people in his circle and ask them to join yours. No, you may not be as interested in your brother’s softball buddies, but then, you don’t have to expand your circle in that direction.

Growth

Business Insider made waves in May by reporting that Google Plus was outpacing Twitter and poised to become the second largest social network in the world (behind Facebook). What makes this particularly surprising is that Google Plus got off to a slow start following its 2011 launch. Although millions of people signed up to use it, critics panned it to the point that users lost interest, and many never even accessed the accounts they set up. Business Insider goes on to say the recent rapid rise of active Google Plus users is likely due to a number of factors, including Google’s efforts to link all of their services together—so if a user signs into one, he signs into them all.

Google Plus is already an important marketing tool, and it’s poised to become a force. Business owners need to be on board.

Image by Flickr user Bruce Clay, Inc.

Sign-In With Google+. Or Else.

July 25, 2013 Beth Devine

Admit it. You despise having to sign in to sites, remember your password, your username, and authenticate you’re human.

So show some empathy. Make it simple for your site visitors by installing Google+ Sign-In. Next to Facebook, Google+ has the largest percentage of social logins, more than Twitter and LinkedIn.

For users, Google+ Sign-In lowers the barriers to logging in. For website owners, when you offer login and registration with an existing social identity like Google+, drop-off during registration disappears, you increase referral traffic, and you learn more detailed information about your users.

Link Up With the Network

While the old version of Google sign-in is still working, Google+ Sign-In links directly to Google’s social network and profiles, adding another layer of social sharing potential. With their permission, users give access to the basic information from their Google+ public profile, including the list of people in their circles.

If you have a mobile app for your site, Google+ will prompt anyone who logs in to your site through the Google+ Sign-In to download it. Results show that 40% of users are accepting the offer to install a website’s mobile app when offered in the Google+ sign-in process.

People trust Google as a secure provider of their online identity. Using Google+ as your sign-in service also gives site owners the benefits of any improvements and bug fixes that roll out.

It’s a win-win scenario for Google, who clearly is encouraging Google+ participation. If you haven’t created a Google+ profile, it’s not too late to jump on the Google bandwagon and reap its benefits. Authorship markup and author rank are two significant benefits for a website owner.

Google+ Isn’t Just Another Social Site

If you own a website and are interested in content marketing, then you should jump on quickly.Your family jewels may be at stake. In fact, your entire future may be at stake, for Google+ is not merely some silly social network where you make snarky comments and share inane drivel.

Google+, my fellow friends of the Net, is being compared to The Matrix.

As Mike Elgan writes on his Google+ page, The Matrix analogy assumes the “synthetic world around us that exists not for our benefit but for the benefit of the machines, a.k.a. Google,” who “uses Google+ and the Google+ Sign-In to harvest signals from users, and that’s the whole point of the ubiquitous Google social layer.”

Elgan disagrees with this analogy. He says The Matrix is the opposite of what Google+ offers. With The Matrix, humans are stuck in the past as their energy is harvested for exploitation by the machines. Instead, Google helps us to move forward, offering us all of its services for free, a far cry from deceiving us into a virtual reality existence.

Adding Google+ Sign-In begins to sound entirely reasonable, rather like making a simple choice.

Blue pill or red pill? Sign in or sign out?

Is Author Rank Magic Waiting to Happen?

April 23, 2013 Beth Devine

It’s not for real…yet. Author Rank is being touted as the most significant up-and-coming SEO influence. Definitely sounds like magic, right?

Author Rank is Pixie Dust Today, a Flying Algorithm Tomorrow

When – not if – it comes into play, those who’ve been sprinkling their efforts in preparation for Author Rank will – at the very least – have established authority, according to SEO expert A.J. Kohn of The Blind Five Year Old.

Author Rank is Google’s push to rank the landslide of data in a way that will help you:

link to your great content
build a website with authority
get quality content into your SERPs
make relationships with other people in your field
share relevant content – your own and others

The strategic steps towards building a platform where authors will be ranked according to their content creation are already in place:

1. Identity platform (Google+ profile)
2. Social search (Search + Your World)
3. Google verification method (Google authorship)

What flies next logically follows, especially when you take into account Google’s patent application and Google insider statements:

4. Graded ranking in search results (Author Rank)

This verified author content will be given a grade that will influence its rank in Google search results. When Author Rank actually happens, that is.

In the meantime, taking the steps toward building authority is a prudent and practical move. Whereas Author Rank is still fanciful pixie dust, Google Authorship Markup isn’t hocus pocus; it’s real and you need it to stay relevant.

Here’s what else you can do to prepare for Author Rank and build authority.

Get active on Google+. Keep your participation on the upswing. It’s good right now for your Authorship Markup because Google is putting Google+ posts in SERPs of your circles. Think building your circles, posting original work, resharing, liking, commenting, replying, and hangouts.
Maintain your social profiles. This could give your overall ranking a boost, while giving you added exposure now.
Produce great content. Give your readers the information they want while publishing your best work. Now that your name and headshot are attached to your work through Google Authorship Markup, building your reputation is unavoidable.

Like Google Glasses, there’s a chance the technology won’t pull through to do what’s expected. But what if the fairy dust makes it fly and Author Rank is “the next Pinterest plus Amazon plus Facebook plus the iPhone put together,” as analyst Sarah Rotman Epps with Forrester Research suggests about the glasses.

What if someday we wear Google Glasses and our brains help rank content as it travels over the lens? What if we refuse to dabble in the magic?

What if all you had to do was be a wizard in your field and sign up?

Authorship Markup: How to Survive the Digital Age and Stay on Top

April 18, 2013 Beth Devine

There’s a technological revolution going on. Anyone who wishes to survive this sweeping change must do two things, and they must do it now.

If you want your website content to stay on top in Google search results, it’s time to employ the old philosophy “better safe than sorry.” The safe thing is easy to do and risk free. If you choose to ignore the digital shift, that’s when you’ll be sorry.

Don’t Be Anonymous

The digital revolution requires authorship. This means, as Google chairman Eric Schmidt warned, you remain anonymous at the peril of irrelevance.

Thanks to Google authorship, it matters who you are. When your content is linked to your portable profile, your identity helps promote your website. In turn, your content will determine just how valuable an authority you are.

Yes, content is still king. But with a mug shot, the best content gets the higher click through rates.

The results showing a human face stand out from the crowd of the other faceless SERP listings. More users will be inclined to click on the identifiable headshot, don’t you think? Your authority and and their trust are two major incentives to sign up for authorship markup.

In addition to the main headline, there are two more live links which readers can click. The first lands on the author’s Google+ profile and the second lands on a dedicated page with search results using the author’s name or the search query.

How to Get Authorship Markup

Here are the two things you need to do to grab the spotlight and stay relevant.

1. Create a Google+ account.

Getting on the Google+ bandwagon has many benefits. The number one reason to join right now is, you guessed it, authorship markup.

Remember, Google+ is not a social network. It’s organized around topics and content. Copyblogger’s Brian Clark calls Google+ “the glue that unifies Google’s various offerings into a seamless whole.” In other words, Google+ is equivalent to Google.

2. Verify Google authorship on your website.

By linking your content to your Google+ profile, your authorship – photo, name, Google+ profile link – will appear in search results for the content you create. Google walks you through the steps, making it easier than ever to implement.

Choosing a Google+ Profile Image

Think of the increased visibility your website content will receive when you link your content to a genuine human being. Now think of which photo of your fabulous face to use.

Heat map studies show that the human eye zeroes in on an image over text, and more so when there is a smiling face. When the face is gazing toward the listing (turn your head to the left when snapping the photo), the reader will also be prompted to look in that direction. Finally, when the image is large and appealing, the clicks increase.

I’m thinking I need to update mine. ASAP.

If you don’t see authorship markup results immediately, don’t worry. It seems to take a few days, and not every search result shows your picture. At most, there will be one photo per page.

Look for more to follow on Author Rank and how your SEO will be affected.

Get Going With User-Friendly Data From Google Analytics

April 22, 2012 Beth Devine

Get your free road map with Google Analytics. Whether you want to identify a poor performing page, evaluate transactions and revenue, or establish objectives and goals, Google Analytics will chart your Web site visitor’s traffic patterns.

How Are You Tracking Your Traffic?

Do you wonder how effective your Web site is? What sort of traffic is traveling through your Web site portal? You don’t need a degree in statistics to track and analyze your data. It’s easy to get started. Simply insert the code from your Google Analytics account and into your content management system or blogging platform such as WordPress, Blogger, or Tumblr. The system will update itself for each page you create. Custom-built sites will need manual code updates per page.

Who Are Your Customers?

Get to know your visitor’s navigation habits. How do they get to your site? What links do they click on? What search terms do they use? Which pages do they view and how do they enter and exit? You choose what information you want to track and customize your dashboard to display upfront the data of interest to you. With GA, your visitors will leave breadcrumbs of data from all referrers, including e-mail, search engines, links within PDF documents, display advertising, and pay-per-click networks.

What’s Happening on Your Site Right Now?

Ever been curious to know how many people are on your site, what their geographic location is, what traffic sources referred them, and what pages they are viewing in real time? Use this to determine how well a one-day promotion is doing, if new content is creating more traffic, and if a blog/social network post or tweet has any immediate effect on visits. With the speed of change today, assessing past performance alone isn’t always enough.

Google Gets Social

Which social media is beating the path to your Web site door? Your social media traffic won’t get lost with Google Analytics. You can follow your visitor’s social network path, the social media buttons being pushed (Facebook, Twitter, Google+), and what articles they’re sharing. You can even follow the URLs they share, and if they shared using a post, comment, or reshare.

Should you develop a Google Analytics addiction, look into the Google Analytics Application Gallery for the fix you need. But, please, don’t blame me.

Google image supplied by http://www.flickr.com/photos/khalidalbaih/6764585321/.