Google Analytics is such a powerful tool to use – it actually allows you to decide what you want to measure on your website. You can literally put this tool to work for you and personalize it as well.

Google Analytics allows you to identify you ideal objective, goals and specifics. If all you want to know is who visited your website and how they got there – that is simple enough, you can do that. However, the power of Google Analytics lies in the ability to define goals and put on filters that will allow you to do in-depth analysis of your website. 

What does this mean? Let’s break it down for you so you understand how Google Analytics works to your advantage. First of all, Google works with objectives, goals, and specifics these allow you to really hone in on what you are trying to accomplish when managing your website.

Objectives: An objective is the big picture – what do you want your website to do? What is the purpose for your website – what do you want visitors to do once they are there?

If you are an e-commerce site maybe you want to sell an item and make lots of money. On the other hand, you may want to know what products are selling and what products you should take off your catalogue.

This would be an objective.

Goals: If objectives are the result you ultimately want to achieve with your website,a goal is a short term aim. What has to happen for you to hit your objective. Do you have to track visitors that enter on a certain web page? Or perhaps your goal is to sell 30% more widgets within 6 months.

You can do this using Google Analytics as the tool and setting goals within the application.

Specifics: Now that you have outlined your objectives and goals you are ready to use Analytics to your advantage. Specifics are the “how” the action steps you will take to reach what you really want.

Example: You would set up the sales page and a funnel (using google analytics) to measure how traffic is coming into your website. Google can tell you where they are entering as well as where your visitors are exiting your website. Knowing how your visitors are responding to your website allows you to go to these pages and tweak them – this help you achieve the results you want.

Google has made it easy to place code in your web pages, they do the initial metrics for you and best of all it is free.

If you are not particularly savvy about how your website is put together or developed – leave it up to your website professional to add the code to your individual web pages. Once the code is embedded analytics will start collecting data and within a few days you will see countless stats related to your site.

Once you become familiar with the dashboard that Google Analytic’s provides, you will be able to set up the goals and specifics of your website. You will access all the data through the Internet, you can login and set the parameter right then and there.

Another great function of Google Analytics is that you can set up different profiles for one website. You can break down your website into different sections called “profiles” and monitor them independently, this allows you to see which sections of your website are effective and which need work.

AdWords and Analytics

Google AdWords is a pay-per-click advertising program. Essentially you would buy keywords and then pay a small amount for every time a potential client (website visitor) clicks on an ad you put up through Google.

If you are thinking about using AdWords as part of your marketing campaign or are using them already, Google works seamlessly in providing you with the answers to all important questions like, is this add working or am I making more money on these ads then I am spending? You will be able to monitor visitors who click on the ads and buy and those who just leave your site before every going to the sales page.

When you sign up for Google AdWords use the same account number as you did with analytics (Google uses your gmail accounts login and password). You will then be able to link both accounts together. AdWords will be imported into your Google Analytics account. This helps provide you with a safety net so you can watch the behavior of your visitors and change what isn’t working.

The development team at Google has a way of making their tools very usable and Google Analytics is just one of many tools that lives up to Googles high standards.

Free Blogging Program

Blogs have become very popular, and the most popular blogging platform is Wordpress. Wordpress is a powerful blogging program that is also a content management system (CMS). 

A content management system manages the content on your site. Why is this important? It makes it simple for anyone to set up a site, add content to it, and not worry about it any further. The program manages the content for you, setting it up in archives, categories, and so forth.

There are hundreds (maybe thousands) of free plugins available to make Wordpress incredibly powerful and easy to use. One of the best places to find free Wordpress plugins is at wp-plugins.net.

There are also thousands of free Wordpress templates available. Many of them can be found at the Wordpress.org site under Themes. There are themes that are 2 columns, 3 columns, that accept widgets (which make it very easy to modify the sidebars), and themes of every color and design.

Free HTML Editors

The two most popular free HTML editors are NVUdev.com and Notetab Lite (available at Notetab.com). NVU is comparable to Dreamweaver. It might not be as powerful as Dreamweaver, but provides enough power for most of us who just want to create some basic Web sites.

Whether you use NVU, Dreamweaver, or Frontpage, having Notetab Lite on your computer is highly recommended. Many people use it for editing existing HTML files. It is quick and easy, and it is freeware.

Free Graphics Program

Probably the most powerful free graphics program is GIMP. With GIMP you can edit photos and other graphics. Most people will find that GIMP has all the tools they need.

GIMP supports the most popular file formats: GIF, TIFF, PNG, PSD, and JPEG. It works with Windows XP and Vista, Mac, Linus, and Sun. You can check it out at GIMP.org.

Tutorials for HTML, Wordpress, NVU, and GIMP

All of these programs have tutorials available. There is also a Dummies book for Wordpress if you find it easier to gather information in book format.

Some tutorials can be found at the sites listed above, or you can do a search for “nvu tutorial,” “gimp tutorial,” or “wordpress tutorial.” A popular HTML tutorial can be found at BoogieJack.com. One of the great things about the Web is all of the free tutorials available.

Get Started Today

With these powerful free tools available there is no reason not to get started online today creating Web sites. If you are completely new, try setting up a Wordpress blog first. It is easy, it is free, and it is a great way to get started.

Gmail: With Gmail businesses are able to create email accounts free of charge. Sure the email address will have “@gmail.com” attached to it, but nobody wants to pay big bucks for a custom email address when Google offers a solution for free. Gmail also has enough storage for your email needs, and the user friendly interface makes this tool a valuable resource.

Google Docs: Google Docs allows individuals to share files and store data on the internet free of charge. In todays world of technology businesses require files to be shared over the internet and Google Docs is an excellent way to do that. Businesses can create files, make changes to them, and republish them online.

Google Calendar: With Google Calendar people can manage there time better than ever. People can schedule tasks, set due dates, and use time more efficiently. This tool also lets individuals share schedules with others making it easier for people to collaborate with each other. This again comes at the amazing price of free.

Google Webtalk: Webtalk is perhaps the most valuable tool that businesses should use to elevate there business. This tool allows individuals to converse with one another from anywhere in the world in real time. Employees and business owners can conduct meetings from a computer anywhere in the world. This means more business can be done with more flexibility. Webtalk will allow businesses to conduct company meetings, allow employees to collaborate, or do anything else that helps businesses grow.

All of these tools combined will prove to be beneficial to any business. Put all of these resources together, and a business can be run from anywhere in the world. The best way to get started with Google Apps is to create an account with Google and download this powerful application.

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