Daniel Holliday

The last Google Analytics post focused on visitors who utilized the site search function. Analytics not only allows us to analyze user behavior on site but also helps us determine how users find the site. Analyzing your site’s traffic sources can help you determine how to allocate your marketing budget. In addition to the traffic sources we will review how to locate your top referring sites and the keywords visitors use to find your site.

Traffic Sources
Go to the Acquisition section then the All Traffic Report.

By default, the report is listed by Sessions. Notice in the example above that the email list generates only 12.99% of sessions but it is the biggest source of revenue equaling 43%! Other useful ways to sort the report are by transactions and eCommerce conversion rate.

Top Referring Sites
Under the Acquisition section find the All Referrals report to see which 3rd part sites send the most traffic your way.

Referring sites can be a source of brand advocates to find those that share a passion for your brand and products! You could work with them to increase exposure and entice users to visit by sharing a coupon code.

Organic Keywords
Under the Acquisition section find the Keywords report then select Organic.

I recommend using the advanced filters to exclude certain keywords such as the company and brand names. Removing these keywords will filter the results to those search queries that drive traffic to your site but come from the more generic non-brand related searches. Identifying these organic keywords can influence your paid keywords to increase awareness and traffic for keywords you know already bring traffic to your site!