Advanced Web Metrics with Google Analytics Book Review

One of the companies I met up with at Type-A Parent Conference  this year was Wiley Publishing. I LOVE their “For Dummies” line of books and I was happy to be asked to review several of their social media books. I’ll be honest, for me, doing book reviews is a daunting task and I have turned down more than I have accepted in the last few years. Book reviews are very time consuming because you actually have to read the book! I love to read and it’s a good thing because I currently have 7 book reviews lined up. YIKES! I chose to do the longest and most complicated book first.

I have been blogging for 4+ years but I had never delved deep into my Google Analytics. I don’t pay a lot of attention to my numbers and usually all PR companies and brands want to know are how many subscribers do you have and how many monthly unique visitors you have. I knew how to do that so what more did I need to know? When I was at Type-A I realized there was a lot I needed to know about my analytics so I was happy to read Advanced Web Metrics with Google Analytics by Brian Clifton. This book is not for the faint of heart, this is like reading a college text book…without the professor giving their spin on the material in their lectures. All kidding aside I learned a lot that I now need to put into practice as I move forward with my blog. I now know how to dig deeper into the layers of Google Analytics and see who is reading what on my blog and not just how many people stop by for a visit.

About the Book

From the back cover:

Covering the very latest version of Google Analytics (GA), the third edition of this bestseller features more ROI-building tips and techniques than ever. Want to become proficient using all of Google Analytics’ powerful capabilities and reports? Measure the performance of your campaigns in real time? Discover the best way to track social and mobile visitors? Evaluate the impact of multichannel marketing? You’ll find all this and more in this complete practitioner’s guide. Learn how to use GA’s new features, why to use them, and how to apply everything Google Analytics has to offer to improve your website, your brand, and your bottom line.

• Become quickly productive with the new user interface and exciting new tools such as Multi-Channel Funnels
• Discover new capabilities, such as how to track mobile and social media visitors to your site and track embedded video usage
• Learn super workarounds and advanced techniques and tactics you can put to use immediately
• Follow best practices and learn from compelling, real-world examples
• Optimize your search engine marketing, monetize a non-e-commerce site, and track offline marketing as well as online
• Integrate Google Analytics data with third-party systems and applications, including your CRM system

It would be a cliché to say Brian Clifton knows Google Analytics like the back of his hand. But he does. So if there is only one book you can buy on Google Analytics . . . buy this book and you’ll be on your way to being an analysis ninja!” —Avinash Kaushik, author of Web Analytics 2.0 and Digital Marketing Evangelist, Google

A must-read if you’re playing in the big leagues.”—Chris Sherman, Executive Editor, Search Engine Land

A great practitioners resource that not only covers the technical details for a best practice setup, but also ties it back to the business objectives.”—Sara Andersson, Founder of Search Integration AB and Chairperson, Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization (SEMP), Scandinavia

With a good mix of concepts, examples and how-to’s, the book structure and writing style will please both marketers and technically inclined analysts, and even help reconcile both universes.”—Stéphane Hamel, Director of Strategic Services, Cardinal Path

If you are serious about your online business this book is a must-have. It now lives on my desk so that I can reference it whenever I need it. I want to be better at what I do and this book has given me one more piece of the puzzle. What book has helped you the most in your business? Leave me a comment and let me know. Don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss any of my upcoming book reviews. I’ll be covering Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Social Media Metrics and more!