Packet - City of Faribault

2016-05-23 TC Packet

2016-05-23 TC PACKET.PDF

1.

Documents:

Please contact the Administration Department at 507-333-0353 If you need special accommodations related to a disability to attend this meeting.

TOURISM COMMISSION MEETING

Monday May 23, 2016 – 4:30 p.m. – City Hall

1. Call to Order & Roll Call

2. Routine Business – A. Minutes of the previous meeting B. Financial reports

Monthly Bills Report

Previous month P & L

Year to date Budget to Actual

3. Requests to be Heard

Each speaker is limited to 3 minutes

4. Items for Discussion

A. 2015 presentation given to City Council B. 2016 Budget Balance

2016 YTD collections

2015 final carryover

Forecasted planned expenditures

C. Web Service Agreement D. Draft Budget Additions – group exercise will have the worksheet “live” with

recommendations to start from

5. Monthly Reports and Updates A. Directors Report - verbal

6. Monthly Topic (if time permits)- Google Analytics

7. Next Month

Monthly Topics – 2017 Planning Session?

8. Adjourn

City of Faribault Tourism Commission Minutes

Monday, April 25, 2016 at 4:30 p.m. Faribault City Hall – Public Meeting Room

1. Call to Order & Roll Call Commission Chair Kevin Voracek called the meeting to order at 4:34 p.m. in the Public Meeting Room of the Faribault City Hall. Commission members present: Rod Gramse, Tami Schluter, Kevin Voracek, and Jana Woodside (departed at 5:23 p.m.). Commissioners absent: Tonya Dunn, Susan Garwood, and Erin Sellner-Honken. Also present: Marketing Director Nort Johnson, Kymn Anderson, Janna Viscomi, City Administrator Brian J. Anderson, and Administration Department Secretary Gina Carlson. 2. Routine Business A. Minutes Commissioner Schluter requested a correction be made to the minutes pertaining to item #4 U of M TAP Report Discussion. In the 6th paragraph, Waseca should be changed to Wabasha. There were no other corrections or changes. Motion by Commissioner Woodside, second by Commissioner Gramse, to approve the March 28, 2016 Tourism Commission minutes as amended. Motion carried. B. Financial Reports: The monthly paid bills report, monthly P & L, and current Budget vs. Actual financial reports were submitted for approval. Commissioner Voracek stated that he wanted to make sure the website approval would not be problematic for the budget. Director Johnson indicated the budget is in good shape. Motion by Commissioner Gramse, second by Commissioner Woodside to approve the financial reports as submitted. Motion carried. 3. Requests to be heard – None Jeremy Bokman, Cannon River Offroad Cycling & Trails (CROCT), addressed the commission. CROCT is a member of the International Mountain Bicycling Association and they are seeking support from the commission to further natural mountain biking surfaces in the area. CROCT is a 501c3 entity who has recently built natural mountain biking surface trails in Northfield. The group is looking at sites in Faribault. The CROCT model is that the trails are built 100% voluntarily and with no expense to the City. Bokman stated the BMX trail located in Faribault is 1 of 10 in the State and a natural surface bicycling trail in Faribault would make Faribault a mecca for cycling. Bokman, along with Griff Wigley and Marty Larson of CROCT, will meet with Parks and Recreation Director Paul Peanasky on May 5, 2016 to discuss the proposal. Bokman indicated the timeline for this project would be a few months.

Janna Viscomi addressed the commission and asked for more diversity in the Facebook postings. She would like to see more than just the downtown bars featured. She would like other information and businesses to be posted in an effort to reach a broader audience. 4. Recommendation for Web RPF Award Director Johnson stated the web committee met and requests the Tourism Committee to approve moving forward with Fox Company for the web design. Launch 5 is unable to do the project. Fox Company has an office in Faribault. Fox Company will launch the Visit Owatonna website in five days and was spoken of favorably. Commissioner Voracek wanted to ensure that the two websites would not be too similar in appearance. Director Johnson stated the web committee would work with Fox Company during the web design process. Motion by Commissioner Schluter, second by Commissioner Woodside to approve awarding the web site design bid to Fox Company pending clarification of the design question. Motion carried. 5. Items for Discussion A. Review 2015 presentation to City Council Director Johnson presented the PowerPoint draft of the 2015 Presentation to the City Council. Commissioner Voracek stated he would prefer to see items included in the packet for review prior to the meeting and suggested including a watermark on the document indicating it is a draft. Director Johnson appreciated the feedback. Upon completion of the presentation, Director Johnson asked the commission for feedback. Commissioner Gramse indicated the presentation looked complete from his perspective. B. Review Tri-Fold Creative The commission reviewed the draft copy of the tri-fold brochure Visit Faribault. Under the Did you know? section of the brochure, City Administrator Anderson would like to see the year built added to the Alexander Faribault House listing and/or that tours are available. Commissioner Voracek would like to see a third food option added to the eat column; “We offer several diverse dining options from American to Thai to Mexican.” Commissioners Woodside and Voracek suggest moving the Cheese Cave from the what to do column to the eat column and Commissioner Voracek suggested moving “relax with a brew from the F-Town Brewing Co.”, as well. Director Johnson will modify the brochure to add more of a local flavor to the listings. Commissioner Woodside noted that the blurred photo of the Woolen Mill could be removed to allow for expansion of the listings in the three columns. Commissioner Gramse recommended changing the photo of the kayaker on the middle panel to a photo of bicycling; bicycling is more accessible to people than kayaking. Commissioner Schluter would like the lists in the three columns to be visually equal in length. Director Johnson will incorporate the suggestions into the brochure. C. Budget Surplus Idea from Commission The commission discussed possible uses for the budget surplus. Director Johnson stated he would like to see tourism maps printed.

Commissioner Schluter suggested hiring someone to compose blogs for the website and noted that Audrey Helbling blogs for Minnesota Prairie Roots. Commissioner Woodside suggested using the surplus on video, photography, blogs, and items to build up a stock supply for the upcoming year. City Administrator Anderson would like to see a bicycling map and suggested the City’s GIS Coordinator may be able to create one for the commission. Commissioner Voracek indicated he would like to see some of the surplus held in reserve for the website. Voracek would like to see printable maps available on the website as it is more convenient for visitors and would reflect a cost savings in the tourism budget. D. Video success – more to come! Director Johnson stated a 45 second video composed by Troy Temple had been posted to the Tourism Facebook page. Johnson would like to see video posted on the Facebook page in addition to photos. He specifically would like to see video of motorcycle activity in the City. Commissioner Woodside felt the video was great and interactive. Although the video showed what Faribault has to offer, she would like to see some captioning so the video tells the viewer what Faribault has to offer. She stated that the music that accompanied the video was on a different energy level than the subject matter. Commissioner Schluter felt the video was heavy for a tourism piece. Director Johnson explained the music used in the video was free and was chosen to hold the viewer’s interest for a longer period of time. Commissioner Woodside inquired about the use of stock video for future ads and Director Johnson stated the commission can afford it at this time. 6. Monthly Reports and Updates A. Director’s Report of Activities/Updates (Verbal) Director Johnson provided the following updates:

A meeting will take place in June with the State Amateur Baseball Association.

Some updates were made to the Minne-Roadtrip brochure.

The financial audit went well.

Feedback on the highway billboards has been positive.

Director Johnson and Commissioner Woodside are coordinating a literature swap “Come and Get It” day. This will provide an opportunity to share information. There will be no cost to participate.

The Facebook video post was successful.

An article published in MidwestLiving approximately 3 years ago was reposted to the Faribault Tourism Facebook page.

7. Monthly Topic – Millennial Profiles Director Johnson stated the Millennial Profiles show that Millennials are looser with their finances and are willing to travel greater distances in a day than Baby Boomers. Commissioner Voracek stated efforts should be made to make Faribault their base location for their travels.

Commissioner Schluter indicated that she is seeing more Millennials than Baby Boomers booking stays at her bed and breakfast. She also noted that Millennials tend to be more “last minute” and less “planned” in their habits. Commissioner Voracek asked if current advertising is the right type of advertising for Millennials. Director Johnson feels the advertising is balanced but can be modified to add a little adventure. Commissioner Gramse stated the commission needs to be ready to build on the advertising and give options to visitors to blend the historical side with the high-energy side. It is important to recognize the benefits. Commissioner Voracek suggested using a three-star rating system on the webpage to indicate low, medium, and high exertion/energy activities. Commissioner Gramse stated it would be a good idea to include such ratings. 8. Next Month Topics for next month include:

2015 Review

Budget Balance

Logo – there is not a desire to recreate the logo, but the commission needs to ensure the logo evolves with the changing times.

National Bloggers will be in Minnesota and will partake in the Minne-Roadtrip, June 6-8.

Commissioner Schluter noted that Faribault was not featured properly in the latest publication by Explore MN and they should be contacted.

Commissioner Voracek noted there are still plans for a hotel to be built near the Faribault Harley Davidson Dealership.

9. Adjourn Due to lack of a quorum, the meeting ended at 5:45 p.m. Respectfully submitted,

Gina Carlson

Gina Carlson, Administration Department Secretary

WEB SERVICE AGREEMENT

Faribault Area Chamber of Commerce & Tourism / The Fox Company

This contract of services is made effective on the date of signing by and between Faribault Area

Chamber of Commerce & Tourism of 530 Wilson Ave NW, Faribault, MN 55021, and The Fox Company of

320 NW 4th Street Suite 200, Faribault, Minnesota 55021.

1. DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES. Beginning on the date of signing, The Fox Company will provide to

Faribault Area Chamber of Commerce & Tourism the following services (collectively, the

“Services”):

Wordpress installation

Theme customization

Front-end coding / Back-end coding

Design and development of custom web pages (unique URL’s)

Jetpack and/or Google Analytics install and configuration

Responsive Framework for multi-device compatibility

Custom development / Code trimming

Custom contact form(s) generation

Security protocol configuration

Caching configuration

Spam protection

Site performance testing

Website migration

Content management training

Wordpress post/page generation training

Custom post generation training

Update protocol training

2. PAYMENT. Payment shall be made to The Fox Company, in the amount of $5,000 upon

completion of the services described above.

a. The hourly rate for ongoing service is $85.00 per hour as needed, and is fixed by this

contract.

b. With no additional fees, there is a 30 day grace period for additional changes and

alterations, post project completion. Project completion is described as the client’s

acquisition and sign-off of all deliverables for Services.

3. WORK PRODUCT OWNERSHIP. Any copyrightable works, ideas, discoveries, inventions, patents,

products, or other information (collectively the “Work Product”) developed in whole or in part

by The Fox Company in connection with the Services will be the exclusive property of Faribault

Area Chamber of Commerce & Tourism. Upon request, The Fox Company will execute, within a

reasonable period of time, all documents necessary to confirm or perfect the exclusive

ownership of Faribault Area Chamber of Commerce & Tourism to the Work Product.

4. CONFIDENTIALITY. The Fox Company will not at any time or in any manner, either directly or

indirectly, use for the personal benefit of The Fox Company, or divulge, disclose, or

communicate in any manner, any information that is proprietary to Faribault Area Chamber of

Commerce & Tourism. The Fox Company will protect such information and treat it as strictly

confidential. This provision will continue to be effective after project completion.

5. WARRANTY. The Fox Company shall provide its services and meet its obligations under this

contract in a timely and workmanlike manner, using knowledge and recommendations for

performing the services which meet acceptable standards in The Fox Company’s community and

industry, and will provide a standard of care equal to, or superior to, care used by services

providers similar to The Fox Company on similar projects. The standard timeframe for this

project is 8-12 weeks and shall not extend beyond this timeframe, given all client-side materials

including copywriting, media, and outbound links are provided in a reasonably timely manner.

6. AMENDMENT. This contract may be modified or amended in writing by mutual agreement

between the parties, if the writing is signed by the party obligated under the amendment.

7. GOVERNING LAW. This contract shall be construed in accordance with the laws of the State of

Minnesota.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be executed by their duly

authorized representatives as of the date written below. Nort Johnson, Community Marketing Director

for Faribault Area Chamber of Commerce & Tourism, and Josh Elwood, Owner for The Fox Company,

effective as of the date written below.

Service Recipient: Faribault Area Chamber of Commerce & Tourism

By: ___________________________________________

Nort Johnson

Service Provider: The Fox Company

By: ___________________________________________

Josh Elwood

Date: ________________

3:26 PM 05/18/16 Accrual Basis

Faribault Area Chamber of Commerce Inc. Tourism Profit & Loss Budget vs. Actual

January through April 2016 Notes

Jan - Apr 16 Budget % of Budget Forecast

Income

Tourism Income

Carryover 12,434.00 12,434.00 12,434.00 Final 2015 Carryover

Tourism Lodging Tax 15,315.01 92,000.00 16.65% 94,514.00 Reflects increase 1st quarter of $2514

FDN Partnership 0.00 1,000.00 0.0% 1,000.00

CO-OP Income 0.00 2,800.00 0.0% 2,800.00

Tourism Sales 300.00 1.00 30,000.0% 1.00

Total Tourism Income 28,049.01 108,235.00 25.92% 110,749.00

Total Income 28,049.01 108,235.00 25.92% 110,749.00

Gross Profit 28,049.01 108,235.00 25.92% 110,749.00

Expense

Tourism Expense

Tourism Overhead

Tourism Dues and Subscriptions 350.00 700.00 50.0% 700.00

Overhead 6,000.00 18,000.00 33.33% 18,000.00

Total Tourism Overhead 6,350.00 18,700.00 33.96% 18,700.00

Tourism Marketing Services

Development/Training 1,436.53 1,700.00 84.5% 1,700.00

Marketing Services 11,000.00 33,000.00 33.33% 33,000.00

Tourism Marketing Services - Other 0.00 0.00 0.0% 0.00

Total Tourism Marketing Services 12,436.53 34,700.00 35.84% 34,700.00

Tourism- Marketing

Tourism Website 420.00 5,000.00 8.4% 5,000.00

Tourism Ad Production 1,580.53 2,500.00 63.22% 2,500.00

Tourism Promotional Items 30.05 500.00 6.01% 500.00

Tourism Highway Signs 0.00 3,055.00 0.0% 3,055.00

Tourism Postage 151.17 1,400.00 10.8% 1,400.00

Tourism Travel Shows 575.00 1,300.00 44.23% 1,300.00

Brochure Display/Distribution 0.00 2,775.00 0.0% 2,775.00

Display Piece 0.00 830.00 0.0% 830.00

EMT Sports Show Dist 0.00 160.00 0.0% 160.00

Other Expense- Tourism 0.00 0.00 0.0% 0.00

Page 1 of 2 2015 Carry-Over: $12,434.04

3:26 PM 05/18/16 Accrual Basis

Faribault Area Chamber of Commerce Inc. Tourism Profit & Loss Budget vs. Actual

January through April 2016 Notes

Jan - Apr 16 Budget % of Budget Forecast

Tourism- Marketing - Other 506.99 1,000.00 50.7% 1,000.00

Total Tourism- Marketing 3,263.74 18,520.00 17.62% 18,520.00

Tourism Advertising

EMT Grant AAA 255.00 1,117.00 22.83% 1,117.00

EMT Grant IA Sportsman 150.00 975.00 15.39% 975.00

EMT Grant Billboard 0.00 1,688.00 0.0% 1,688.00

Explore Minnesota Travel Guide 7,030.00 7,030.00 100.0% 7,030.00

SMTA Guide 4,800.00 4,800.00 100.0% 4,800.00

AAA MN Bike Co-op Page 0.00 1,922.00 0.0% 1,922.00

MNMO Travel 0.00 350.00 0.0% 350.00

MNMO Weekend Best Bets 0.00 350.00 0.0% 350.00

MNMO Online Contest 0.00 500.00 0.0% 500.00

MNMO Blog Sponsorship 0.00 750.00 0.0% 750.00

MNTrails The works online 0.00 750.00 0.0% 750.00

Minne Road Trip 3,000.00 3,000.00 100.0% 3,000.00

Billboards 4,119.00 4,969.00 82.89% 4,969.00

EXP MN Group Tour Planner 0.00 510.00 0.0% 510.00

Unallocated Opportunity Buys 1,424.20 2,169.00 65.66% 2,169.00

Tourism Advertising - Other 0.00 0.00 0.0% 0.00

Total Tourism Advertising 20,778.20 30,880.00 67.29% 30,880.00

Total Tourism Expense 42,828.47 102,800.00 41.66% 102,800.00

Total Expense 42,828.47 102,800.00 41.66% 102,800.00

Net Income -14,779.46 5,435.00 -271.93% 7,949.00 Forecasted Unallocated Surplus

Page 2 of 2 2015 Carry-Over: $12,434.04

5/19/2016

1

SUMMARY OF 2015

UPDATE FOR 2016

Faribault Tourism ReportMay 10, 2016

2015 Highlights

Year 1 of Tourism Contract – Compliance Letter

Visitor Guide Makeover

Website Updates

Social Media Expansion

Commission Working Sessions

Survey for Branding Conducted

Developed 2016 Marketing Plan

Revenues Exceeded Budget

U of M Study Conducted

3 Town Branding Coop Initiative

5/19/2016

2

Year 1 of Contract/Compliance Letter

Visitor Guide Makeover

Highly Image Driven

Reshaping of Major Ads for Visitor Appeal

Distribution Number Indicate Better “Pickupability”

Positive Feedback from Industry Pros as well

5/19/2016

3

Website Updates

Image Content Reflects Visitor Guide

Added Events Carousel

Facebook Feed Automatically Updates

Began “Housekeeping”

Social Media Expansion

Increased Page Likes from 305 to 671 during 2015

789 as of 5/5/2016

5/19/2016

4

Agenda for Commission Working Session

Agency’s Expected Outcomes

Stats, Studies, Surveys and Trends

Brief overview of our current tactics

Other Offerings/Options for Marketing

Focusing our Investments

Priorities – Marketing and Product Development

Survey

Top 4;1) Woolen Mills2) Shattuck3) Downtown4) Viaduct

Top 4;1) Woolen Mills2) Cheese Cave3) River Bend4) Downtown

Top 3;1) Sight Seeing2) Cuisine3) Trails & Parks4) Entertainment/

Music

5/19/2016

5

2015/16 Plan

2015 By the Numbers

Jan - Dec 15 Budget % of Budget

Income

Tourism Income

Tourism Lodging Tax 101,575.90 92,000.00 110.41%

5/19/2016

6

U of M Study

Advanced “Custom” Study/Assessment

Draws Comparisons with Vision 2040

Commission Report Included Interactive Priority-setting Exercises

Identified Priorities Include; Enhance Signage

Minne-Roadtrip

Owatonna, Northfield and Faribault Partnership

Equal Funding per Town

Single “Upfront” Identity

Stronger Group Tour Product

Evolving Nicely!

5/19/2016

7

2016 Updates

Billboard Placement on I35 Southbound

Sign Updated on I35 Northbound

Website Upgrades Planned

Visitor Guide Cover Shoot

I35 Southbound

5/19/2016

8

I35 Northbound

Website Upgrades and Displays

Hovering Dropdowns

Integrated Google Calendar

“Test-running” Display Stands for use in High Traffic Visitor Locations

5/19/2016

9

‘16 Visitor Guide

“Faribault Product” Cover Shoot Theme

Upgraded Maps

More Enhanced Listings

Increased Press Run

‘16 Ads

Full Page State Guide Ads Explore Minnesota Guide

Southern Minnesota Tourism Association Guide

All Ads Mirror Billboard and Magazine Design Elements for Consistent Messaging

5/19/2016

10

Questions?

Thanks for your time!

Nort Johnson

By Kristi Hines (http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/author/kristi­hines/) June 24, 2014

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How to Use Google Analytics: GettingStarted

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Do you know what data each section of Google Analyticsoffers?

A few important details and settings can improve your GoogleAnalytics reporting.

In this article I’ll share the basics of navigating Google Analytics and what you needto set up now to make the most of its data.

Note: This post assumes that Google Analytics is already set up for at least one of yourwebsites. If you have not set up Google Analytics, you can find a thorough walk­through ofthe setup process (https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/1086338?hl=en&ref_topic=1726910) in the Google Analytics Help Center.

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Find out how to get started with Google Analytics right now.

Google Analytics Quick Glossary

Before we begin, there a few terms you should know. You’ll see them often in your GoogleAnalytics data, and I’ll use them throughout this post.

Dimensions—A dimension is a descriptive attribute or characteristic of an object thatcan be given different values. Browser, Exit Page, Screens and Session Duration areall examples of dimensions that appear by default in Google Analytics.

Metrics—Metrics are individual elements of a dimension that can be measured as asum or a ratio. Screenviews, Pages/Session and Average Session Duration areexamples of metrics in Google Analytics.

Sessions—A session is the period of time a user is actively engaged with yourwebsite, app, etc., within a date range. All usage data (Screenviews, Events,Ecommerce, etc.) is associated with a session.

Users—Users who have had at least one session within the selected date range.Includes both new and returning users.

Pageviews—Pageviews means the total number of pages viewed. Repeated views ofa single page are counted.

Pages/Session—Pages/session (Average Page Depth) is the average number ofpages viewed during a session. Repeated views of a single page are counted.

Avg. Session Duration—The average length of a session.

Bounce Rate—Bounce rate is the percentage of single­page visits (i.e., visits inwhich the person left your site from the entrance page without interacting with thepage).

New Sessions—An estimate of the percentage of first­time visits.

Goals—Goals let you measure how often users take or complete specific actions onyour website.

Conversions—Conversions are the number of times goals have been completed onyour website.

Campaigns—Campaigns (also known as custom campaigns) allow you to addparameters to any URL from your website to collect more information about yourreferral traffic.

Acquisition—Acquisition is how you acquire users.

Behavior—Behavior data helps you improve your content.

Google Analytics Home

When you log into Google Analytics, you end up on the Home page where you can seea list of all of the websites you have set up in your account. This list shows you somebasic data right off the bat such as your number of sessions, average session duration,

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The Google Analytics home screen.

If you have a lot of websites like I do, you can use the search box under the date rangeto search for a particular domain. If you only want to view the domains that are mostcritical to your business, you can mark them with a star and change the Show settings tolist only the starred websites.

You can use the date range to see your data over any specified time period. You canalso use it to compare the current time period to a previous time period to see thechange in sessions, average session duration, bounce rate and goal conversion rate.

The Google Analytics date range selector lets you compare data.

Since the data for each website changes to reflect the compared timeframes, it’s easy tosee which of your websites are getting more or less traffic and conversions.

Comparing basic data across your top websites.

To view more data about a particular website, just click on the corresponding linkand you’ll see the Google Analytics Reporting page.

Google Analytics Reporting

The Google Analytics Reporting page shows your Audience Overview data.

At the top of the screen, you’ll see the basic Google Analytics menu bar that allows youto go back and forth between the Home page, Reporting, Customization (reports)and Admin section. Further to the right, you can switch to another website within yourGoogle Analytics account.

Google Analytics top menu bar options.

On the left sidebar, there is a search box to help you find specific reports and a list oflinks to important areas of your Google Analytics.

Google Analytics left menu options.

I discuss each option below.

Dashboards

Dashboards allow you to create customized views of your Google Analytics data usingwidgets. It’s a great way to see specific subsets of data without having to navigatethrough your standard reports.

Sample Google Analytics customized dashboard.

You can add widgets to your dashboards using the +Add Widget button or by addingwidgets as you browse your standard reports using the Add to Dashboard link. You canalso download ready­to­go dashboards in the Google Analytics Solutions Gallery(https://www.google.com/analytics/gallery/#posts/search/%3F_.type%3DDASHBOARD%26_.start%3D0/).

Shortcuts

Shortcuts are simply that—links to your favorite Google Analytics reports.

Use Google Analytics shortcuts to quickly find data.

Whenever you’re viewing a specific piece of data in Google Analytics that you want orneed to revisit often, click on the Shortcut link above it. This places it in your Shortcutsmenu for future reference.

Intelligence Events

Intelligence Events are alerts you can set up within Google Analytics that email you whena specific event occurs.

Google Analytics Intelligence Events examples.

You can set up alerts for events like a dramatic change in number of sessions, goalconversions or other metrics within a daily, weekly or monthly timeframe.

Real­Time

Want to know who’s on your website right now? Real­Time data gives you access to thatdata instantly.

Google Analytics Real­Time Overview data.

You can see current visitors’ pageviews, active pages, locations and more.

Audience Through Conversions Reports

The meat of your Google Analytics data is found in the Audience, Acquisition, Behaviorand Conversions sections. These are the in­depth reports on your users, traffic sources,content and goal completions.

Chances are, you’ve toured most of these reports in the past. I’ll be writing about the dataand benefits of each of these sections in upcoming posts here at Social Media Examiner.

Google Analytics Standard Reporting Views

Each subsection of the main sidebar options offers a standard report. When you’re viewinga standard report, you will likely see the following: the report name (e.g., Language), thedate selector and a standard toolbar with options that allow you to customize the view,email the report, export the report data to various spreadsheet formats or PDF, add thereport to your dashboard or create a shortcut to the report.

Google Analytics standard report menu options.

When you see the graduate hat beneath the date selector in the toolbar, you can clickon it to learn more about the data within that specific report (as shown below).

Google Analytics Education within your standard reports.

Under the toolbar menu, there are two options. All Sessions shows you your datathroughout Google Analytics as a whole, and +Add Segment allows you to see your databased on certain criteria, such as direct traffic, search traffic, mobile traffic and soforth.

On the +Add Segment page, you can use the +Create New Segment option to createyour own criteria, such as traffic from the US or traffic that entered your website on aspecific landing page.

Google Analytics segments for specific traffic data.

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Looking at All Sessions, you’ll see the data specific to the report you’re viewing. Mostreports start with an Explorer timeline view.

The Explorer section shows you an overview of your report data.

At the top of the Explorer view is the option to switch between Summary, Site Usage,Goal Sets, Ecommerce and AdSense.

The Summary view is the default and shows the Acquisition, Behavior and Conversionsdata for the data being reported. In the example below, this would be the data for visitorswho speak a particular language.

Summary view of report data in Google Analytics.

If you have several goals set up for your website, use the Conversions drop­downmenu to change the data to a different goal.

Use the Conversions drop­down to show a particular goal.

The Site Usage view shows you just the number of sessions, pages/session, averagesession duration, percent of new sessions and bounce rate for the data reported. Basically,the Site Usage view is everything from the Acquisition and Behavior portions of the tableexcept new users.

The Goal Sets view shows you the overall goal conversion rate for goals within a set (youcan have four goals per set), per­session goal value and individual goal conversion ratesfor each goal in a set. (We’ll talk about setting up goals toward the end of this post.)

The Ecommerce view shows you revenue, transactions, order value, ecommerceconversion rates and per­session value for the data reported. In order to receive this data,you need to have set your website up with ecommerce tracking(https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/1009612?hl=en), which you can learnabout in the Google Analytics Help Center.

The AdSense view is for publishers who have Google AdSense set up on their website.This shows you data for AdSense revenue, ads clicked, page impressions, CTR andeCPM for the data reported. To receive this data, you must have your AdSense accountlinked to your Analytics account(https://support.google.com/adsense/answer/2495976?hl=en).

(http://bit.ly/1TeTs99)

Beneath the Explorer view options is a drop­down for Sessions vs. [Select a Metric]. Usethese drop­downs to see different data comparisons within your report, such asSessions vs. Bounce Rate.

Using the Explorer metric drop­down to compare metrics.

To the right of these drop­downs, you can change your data view to daily, weekly ormonthly and change the timeline to a more detailed chart or graph view.

Additional Explorer graph and chart views.

In the table below your Explorer, there are a few more viewing options. At the top left, you’llsee drop­downs to add a secondary dimension.

For example, let’s assume you’re viewing the en­us Language report (Audience > Geo >Language > en­us) and want more detailed information about the top sources of traffic forEnglish – United States users.

Click on Secondary Dimension, choose Acquisition from the menu and then chooseSource. The table data now shows you the data you want.

Use a secondary dimension to find specific information.

At the top right of the table, you can change the view to different charts and graphs. Forexample, you can change to the pie chart view and see that most users come to the sitevia direct means (no referring website, search engine or social network) and speak English– United States.

Pie chart view of the Language report with traffic source as a secondary dimension.

You can also click on the Advanced link next to the search box to filter specificdimensions and languages within the table. For instance, you can show only users whohave a Bounce Rate less than a certain percentage to find out which languages andrelated traffic sources have the lowest bounce rates.

Use the Advanced Filter to show sessions with a low bounce rate.

At the bottom right of the table is a drop­down to show more rows. This allows you to seemore than the default top ten reported data types within your table.

Last but not least, within the table view, be sure to click on links within your table. Theseallow you to drill down to particular subsets of data.

For example, if you are in the Location Report (under Audience in the left sidebar), thetable shows which countries the majority of your sessions are happening in. If you click onUnited States, you’ll see the States breakdown of your traffic. If you click on a state, you’llget the top cities.

The same happens if you click on links within the table under the All Referrals report.Instead of just seeing the domain that is sending you traffic, you can see the pages withinthe domain sending you traffic.

This is great if you contribute to other blogs, for example, as it shows you which of yourposts are sending the most traffic your way.

Drill down in your reports by clicking on links.

Google Analytics Customization

The next main item in the top menu bar is Customization. The benefit of using a CustomGoogle Analytics report is that you can see an exact portion of your Google Analyticsdata and have it emailed regularly to contacts you choose.

Example of a custom report in Google Analytics.

You can create new reports on your own, organize them by category and importreports from the Google Analytics Solutions Gallery(https://www.google.com/analytics/gallery/#posts/search/%3F_.type%3DCUSTOM_REPORT%26_.start%3D0/).

Google Analytics Admin

The last main menu item in the top menu bar is the Admin menu. This is where youmanage all of the settings for your website within Google Analytics. You can find afull breakdown of everything you can manage—from accounts to data filters—in theGoogle Analytics Help Center (https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/1102154?hl=en).

Two Features You Need to Start Using Now

Before we conclude your tour of the what’s what in Google Analytics, there are two thingsyou should start using right now (if you aren’t already) to truly get value from your GoogleAnalytics: Goals and Custom Campaigns.

#1: Google Analytics Goals

In the Google Analytics Admin menu under View, you have the option to set up goals foryour website.

Google Analytics Admin options.

Google Analytics Goals, as mentioned earlier, help you track the data related to a usercompleting a specific action on your website.

The simplest goal type is the Destination goal. This type of goal allows you to say thatwhen a user reaches a specific page on your website, a specific goal has been completed.Here are a couple of easy examples.

Example 1: If you have a mailing list, create a custom page on your website that thanksusers for subscribing after they submit their information. Then set up that page as adestination goal called Mailing List (or something you will easily recognize as a mailing listconversion).

Example 2: If you have a contact form on your website that you use to capture leads foryour business, create a custom page on your website that thanks users for submitting theircontact information. Then set up that page as a destination goal called Contact Form (orsomething you will easily recognize as a contact form conversion).

Example 3: If you have a shopping cart on your website to sell products, you likely havean order confirmation or thank­you page that users land on once they’ve successfullycompleted an order. Set up this page as a destination called Shopping Cart (or somethingyou will easily recognize as a shopping cart conversion).

If there are specific pages that shoppers land on throughout the shopping cart process,you can turn on the Funnel option and include those pages as well. This allows you totrack which pages in your funnel get the most abandons so you can optimize yourshopping cart for more sales.

To set up a destination goal, click on Goals from the Admin panel, then click on the+New Goal button.

Create a new goal via the +New Goal button.

Name your goal and choose Destination as the type, then click Next Step.

Name your goal something intuitive.

Enter your goal details. If your thank­you page is always http://domain.com/thank­you/,enter /thank­you/ as the web page URL and leave the drop­down set to Equals To.

If your thank­you page URL has appended tracking information added to it, then changethe drop­down to Begins With and enter /thank­you/ as the web page URL.

Determine your destination URL.

To find out if your new goal is working, you need to submit your opt­in form, contactform or make a purchase in your shopping cart.

The two optional items in your goal details are Value and Funnel. If you know a specificvalue for each goal completion (e.g., the average order through your shopping cart is $10),then you can add that as a value. Otherwise, leave it blank.

If you have a shopping cart with specific pages that a user will visit throughout the processof purchasing a product, you can add them under Funnel.

Value and Funnel are optional steps in Google Analytics goal setup.

You can view your sales funnel(s) in the standard Funnel Visualization report.

Funnel Visualization report in Google Analytics.

Once you’re finished filling out the form, you can click the Verify this Goal link beforesaving your goal. If any users have completed the goal in the past seven days, youshould get confirmation that your goal is set up correctly.

By setting up a Destination goal, you can measure ROI using your Google Analytics.You’ll be able to see which traffic sources and social networks send the most users to yourwebsite who complete a goal. You’ll be able to see which countries users who convert livein, and much more.

Aside from Destination goals, there are three other types. The Destination type is generallythe easiest to set up and the most useful. You can learn about setting up the othertypes and their advantages (https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/3046660?hl=en&ref_topic=1007030) in the Google Analytics Help Center.

#2: Google Analytics Custom Campaigns

Custom campaigns track visitors from specific traffic sources. Campaigns are set upusing UTM parameters appended to the end of a URL a visitor would click on.

Google Analytics requires three parameters to track campaigns: the campaign medium(utm_medium), the campaign/traffic source (utm_source) and campaign name(utm_campaign).

For example, you can create a campaign to track traffic from a link shared through theBuffer app on Twitter.com, which is social media. In this case, social is your medium;twitter.com is your source; and buffer is your campaign name.

When someone clicks on a link shared by the Buffer app, they’ll see the following URL intheir browser address bar:

http://iqtell.com/2014/02/are­we­managing­our­to­do­lists­all­wrong/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

That link tells Google Analytics that someone completed your campaign parameters. Youcan see the results in the first entry in the Campaigns report below.

Campaign tracking within Google Analytics.

When you click on buffer (the campaign name) in the above example, you can see thesource and medium.

Campaign source and medium details within Google Analytics.

Using campaigns, you can track visitors who come from just about anywhere, right down tothose who clicked the third link in an email you sent to your mailing list on May 15.

The best part about setting up these links is that you can do it easily using thecampaigns URL Builder tool (https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/1033867?hl=en) from Google. You just enter your URL, the campaign source, campaignmedium and campaign name.

Creating a custom campaign with the Google Analytics URL Builder.

The key to accurately tracking campaigns is to keep your parameters consistent.Capitalization, spelling, spacing and punctuation must be exactly the same to always countas the same campaign within Google Analytics.

If you want to use buffer as a campaign name, be sure that you always use buffer, notBuffer or Buffer App, as those will be considered new campaigns. Or, if you’re going to usetwitter.com as a source, always use twitter.com, not Twitter or Twitter.com, as GoogleAnalytics considers each of those new sources.

Wrapping Up

I hope this has given you a good feel for navigating around your Google Analytics data, aswell as a few to­dos to make that data worthwhile. In my next posts, I’ll be diving deeperinto your Audience, Acquisition, Behavior and Conversions reports to show you how toanalyze and utilize the data to improve your blog or business!

What do you think? Have you used all of your Google Analytics options? Do youhave goals and campaigns set up? Share your comments and questions below!

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Tags: analytics tip (http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/tag/analytics­tip/), google analytics(http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/tag/google­analytics/), google analytics alerts(http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/tag/google­analytics­alerts/), google analytics features(http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/tag/google­analytics­features/), google analytics goal(http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/tag/google­analytics­goal/), google analytics real time(http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/tag/google­analytics­real­time/), google analytics report(http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/tag/google­analytics­report/), google analytics segmentation(http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/tag/google­analytics­segmentation/), kristi hines(http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/tag/kristi­hines/)

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Kristi H ines is a contributing ed i tor for Socia l Media

Examiner, free lance wri ter, and HubSpot Inbound Certi fied

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media top ics.

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• Reply •

Eugene Than • 2 years agoGood one, thanks for sharing : )The data helps to us to plan for marketing strategies.

• Reply •

Kristi Hines • 2 years ago> Eugene Than

Thanks Eugene! :)

• Reply •

Louis Boyce • 2 years agoBrilliant blog, just the info I needed right now, thanks!!

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• Reply •

Kristi Hines • 2 years ago> Louis Boyce

You're welcome Louis! :)

• Reply •

Zarah Stephanie • 2 years agoThis is very helpful. Thank you for sharing!

• Reply •

Kristi Hines • 2 years ago> Zarah Stephanie

You're welcome Zarah. :)

• Reply •

DevDigital • 2 years agoExcellent post, this is the kind of info that every webmaster and site owner must know while checkingstats in Google analytics. Cheers..!!

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• Reply •

Cindy King • 2 years ago> DevDigital

Thanks for sharing!

• Reply •

Kristi Hines • 2 years ago> DevDigital

Thanks Mitch! :)

• Reply •

7eye Technologies • 2 years agoKristi, I am already using Google Analytics but it is complex for new users like me. Your Google Analyticstutorial much helped me to understand each term associated with it. Thanks

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• Reply •

Cindy King • 2 years ago> 7eye Technologies

Kristina, I'm glad you found this useful!

• Reply •

Kristi Hines • 2 years ago> 7eye Technologies

Glad to hear that Kristina! I'm planning to go through each section of data in future posts too! :)

• Reply •

vintagebyrachel • 2 years agovery informative !!! and well explained!! Thank you Kristi.

• Reply •

Kristi Hines • 2 years ago> vintagebyrachel

Thanks Rachel! :)

• Reply •

AB • 2 years agoThank you! It is a good selection of "must­know" from the huge amount of options available in GA.

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• Reply •

Kristi Hines • 2 years ago> AB

You're welcome! :)

sandy • 2 years agoso much helpful. thanks for sharing.

Recommend 87

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• Reply •

• Reply •

Kristi Hines • 2 years ago> sandy

You're welcome Sandy! :)

• Reply •

Stephen Lahey • 2 years agoWow, such a helpful overview of Google Analytics. Excellent!

• Reply •

Kristi Hines • 2 years ago> Stephen Lahey

Thanks Stephen! :)

• Reply •

Ron Medlin • 2 years agoNice work Kristi! Especially useful for us folks who rely a little too heavily on HubSpot. It's nice to get arefresher course on this stuff every now and then. Well, off to setup some new analytics goals for myclients, Thanks again!

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• Reply •

Kristi Hines • 2 years ago> Ron Medlin

Thanks Ron! HubSpot does have a lot of great data to offer, but I tend to believe that if yourbusiness wants to do well in Google search, it's important to see what data Google tracks. It'ssafe to assume if they track it, it's important for your website. :)

• Reply •

harish • 2 years agohii kristi hines,

thanks for sharing such a valuable information , google analytics is used to analyse the web site by thatwe will come to know what type of posts we should post on our blog and how we can improve traffic toour site .google analytics are used to show complete taffic to out site time to time and at which place ofthe blog users spending their most time,by this we can improve our blog taffic by posting useful and mostwanted posts to the viewers.

• Reply •

Hugh Culver • 2 years agoGreat timing! This is just what I needed this week. Thanks Kristi!

• Reply •

Kiera Stein • 2 years agoA really great guide! I've been looking for something like this for awhile.

• Reply •

Matt • 2 years agoI am adding goals and one of the goals I wanted to setup is when someone subscribes to my blog. I don'tsee a page that my visitors are routed to after subscribing. Is there a plugin that will send them to a thankyou page that I can then add the url to my goals?

• Reply •

Kristi Hines • 2 years ago> Matt

It depends on what email service you're using. Most will allow you to set a thank you page whensomeone submits a form. It's usually done on their end though.

• Reply •

Madeline Yau • 2 years agoThank you for taking it step by step it really helps. I've been focusing on Google Analytics myself for myclients also I have been trying to get traffic to my site once that's up and running it will be easier toanalyze the results.

• Reply •

Crystal Davenport • 2 years agoKristi, to see the path from our homepage to the next page, should I use behavior flow or contentdrilldown. I'm trying to pull a report that is very visual and clear.

• Reply •

Kristi Hines • 2 years ago> Crystal Davenport

Behavior Flow is the most visual ­ you can click on the "box" for your homepage, and it will giveyou three options. Choose View only this segment to see the visitor paths from your homepagethroughout your website.

thomas • 2 years agoit's been over 3 days, still can't see the data in campaign page! and I am sure i have done everythingcorrect! my URL parameters are correct.

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• Reply •

correct! my URL parameters are correct.

Why no data in my campaign page? I am desperate to find out

• Reply •

Kristi Hines • 2 years ago> thomas

If you haven't already, try clicking on some of your own campaign URLs to make sure they aretracking correctly. When you do, the data should show up within 24 hours.

• Reply •

Tim Leighton­Boyce • 2 years ago> Kristi Hines

This is such a great guide to getting started. Thank you. I've now got something to pointpeople at.

But please can I point out that there's no need to wait 24 hours.

If you're trying to debug anything like Thomas' problem, the Real Time reports are great.No need to wait more than a few seconds. Those reports would be great for testing yourlink, Thomas.

Another way of using these reports for testing is to create a 'test' campaign for own use.Click through to the site using that link. Then find it in the Real Time reports and select it sothat from then onwards you will only see your own session as you move around the site totest whatever it is you're testing.

• Reply •

Shweta • 2 years agoThanks Kristi! How can I set up the metric/Dimension and Segment for Email Unsubscribes and Total Log Ins

• Reply •

Nataliya Goncharik • 2 years agoThanks for sharing this!

• Reply •

Krithika Rangarajan • a year agoWOWZA ­ thank you. I have never used Google Analytics, so this is very useful ­ bookmarked :D

• Reply •

Lydia • a year agoI learn a lot, thanks

• Reply •

Fredrik • a year agoI have just launched a basic website for starters and installed google analytics on it, and I dont reallyunderstand all parts of it yet. But what did strike me directly was the fact that I got 28 sessions from xrated sites from different countries!? Can anyone explain what happens when you paste the code into yousite? Why do I get hits from these kind of sites?

• Reply •

ANC • a year agoHow is it possible to get 2.76 Pages/Session?

• Reply •

Keely Worth • a year agoLightbulb moments for me thanks to this article ­ great post!

• Reply •

Flora Bui Quang Da • a year agoI'm wondering... while using Buffer (without Google Analytics integration), does it show up in the socialmedia report as "buffer" as opposed to getting sorted into the right platforms? (Just like what happens withbit.ly) And when integrated with Google Analytics, is it possible to measure direct/assisted conversionvalue?

• Reply •

Stephen Ray Bessey • a year agoI've been looking for something like this to explain what exactly all of these things mean. great article!#profpg

Ali Kamali • 9 months agoGreetings ­

I am a bit confused on the the impact of ratio between different traffic

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• Reply •

sources on SERP. Can you please let me know if you agree with this logic:

If you want to improve on SERP, then:

1. your daily repeat visitors needs to be higher than new visitors

2. your direct visits needs to be higher than search visits

3. your search type visits need be mostly from new visitors and not repeatvisitors

4. referral and social visits need to be lower than direct and search visits

Is there a standard ratio that you try to aim for in orderto make google happy?

thanks in advance

• Reply •

Daniel Garneau • 8 months ago> Ali Kamali

Hello,

I have been using GoogleAnalytics ever since I went on line in May 2013, but guessed my waythrough its functionalities. A recent problem with ghost referrers gave me the impression my sitewas reaching new hights in the past months. This situation led me to invest more time intounderstanding GoogleAnalytics.

This post was very helpful to me in this process. Thank you very much!

I meant this to be a comment to main post not a response to Joseph Jones.

This comment is awaiting moderation. Show comment.

• Reply •

Kristi Hines • 2 years ago> Jeff Rutherford

Hi Jeff! The Google Analytics Help Center (https://support.google.com/ana... and anywhere withinGoogle Analytics that you see the graduation cap are great places to start. We're going to divedeeper into each section of analytics here as well. :)

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• Reply •

Bojan Živković • 2 years ago> Jeff Rutherford

There are free online self paced classes organized by Google ­ Google Analytics Academy. Ihave completed 2 of them.

• Reply •

Madeline Yau • 2 years ago> Bojan Živković

Bojan Zivkovic­ Where are the free classes, I've taken the course for Google Analytics butI need to dive in more myself.

• Reply •

Bojan Živković • 2 years ago> Madeline Yau

Here is landing page if you have missed it https://analyticsacademy.withg...

• Reply •

Kerstin • 2 years ago> Bojan Živković

Bojan, how long does it take to do them?

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