Cookies and Death: An Atypical Afternoon of Google Analytics Training

Over the past month, Josh Chambers, Viget's marketing strategist, has been criss-crossing the nation, conducting Google Analytics training for various clients. Recently, Josh was in Raleigh, North Carolina, conducting training for the Institute for Advanced Analytics at North Carolina State University. The Institute offers a comprehensive curriculum, including instruction in web analytics tools.

In his session, Josh covered the basics of the application and delved into more advanced features. Topics included:

• A brief history of web analytics and how the practice has evolved in the past decade.
• The types of data Google Analytics provides.
• The purpose of web analytics and the value it provides.
• Common terms and concepts in Google Analytics.
• Cookies and how data is tracked and stored online.
• How to interpret the Google Analytics interface.
• The various reporting tools available: visitors, traffic, content, goals, e-commerce, site search.
• How to interpret data and the tools Google Analytics provides to do so.
• Advanced features, such as segments, profiles and filters, and data visualization.

The response to the training was very positive, though the Google Analytics data visualization tool was described as "a plate of hurl" - which I think meant Google was trying to put too much information at one time on an x/y axis.

Perhaps the hardest question of the afternoon was, "What will happen to my email address when I die?", which has actually been documented more than one might have thought.

Viget is glad to be associated with the Institute for Advanced Analytics, and we look forward to teaching many more students the ins and outs of Google Analytics.