Comments on: Contest Winners: The Best Web Analytics Report

By: The Best Web Analytics Report | Serengeti Communications

The Best Web Analytics Report | Serengeti Communications — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 17:20:30 +0000

[...] Avinash Kaushik recently ran an informal contest to find out what report people would choose if they could only have one Web analytics report. The winner of “the best Web analytics report” was a report showing “sources by state, compared to last month.” Based on her business, a locally owned company that competes solely in her geographic service area, it is a great report. For other businesses, it may not make sense. This makes picking one “best” report difficult since it can vary depending on the business and the focus that the particular analyst has. [...]

By: Emily Fazio

Emily Fazio — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 13:30:03 +0000

Stephan, that would definitely work. You’ll have to forgive me for not already setting that up, I’ve been slack! Its a good thing this isn’t my day job!

By: Stefan Seiz

Stefan Seiz — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 12:56:53 +0000

@Emily: now i gotcha!
Did you ever consider setting up a second GA Profile (use Add a Profile for an existing domain - so it uses the same tracking code) for your site with an “Include Filter” set to e.g.:

Filter Type: Custom Filter
• Include
Filter Field: Visitor Region
Filter Pattern: California

That way, all the GA reports will automagically show only metrics from the one state you are interested in and i bet this is much easier to work with for you.

By: Emily Fazio

Emily Fazio — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 12:41:37 +0000

Stefan, thanks for checking out my report! What is cool about my report is that I am only concerned with info from one state. Everything else is outside my company’s service area. We’re a local dealer for a national company, which has the US divided into territories, and its a breech of contract for us to sell outside our territory. This makes all traffic from other states irrelevant to us, b.c they are not potential customers. That’s why I only look at information at the state level. GA titles this report “This state sent xx visitors from yy sources” rather than actually naming the specific state. Sorry for the confusion. And you’re right, you do loose the map feature at this level too. Maybe in the the next update :)

I know my situation is very specific, and perhaps unique to everyone out there with really cool analytics jobs for companies large enough to afford web analysts. Again what i think is cool, is how well this software works for both large and small businesses. :)

Thanks again for checking out my report, that made my day!

By: Stefan Seiz

Stefan Seiz — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 05:55:46 +0000

Thanks a lot for the explanation Avinash!
So it really is more a “Sources By Country (USA)” than “Sources by State” (as the map display will go away as soon as you start segmenting).
No wonder i wasn’t finding it as i was assuming Emily has some super secret way of getting a real source by state report which lists all States and respective sources on one report.

By: Making Data Meaningful: Our Favorite AdWords and Analytics Reports! | Own Page One: Search Engine Visibility Blog - Online Marketing Strategy and Tips

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 22:31:01 +0000

[...] Admittedly, the Pure Visibility team often geeks out about tech tools and trends. But one of the really satisfying things that we do is to emerge from the depths of geekdom and share information with clients that shows what’s happening with their online presence, stuff that can help inform decisions about web marketing efforts. Inspired by Google Analytics Evangelist Avinash Kaushik’s “best web analytics report”, we’d like to share a couple of reports that we like, ones that can make your Google Analytics and AdWords talk to you. [...]

By: Avinash Kaushik

Avinash Kaushik — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 20:13:45 +0000

Stefan:

Go to Visitors, then Map Overlay, click on US, now you are looking at Region, in the Segment choose Source, and viola!

If you want for a particular State then Visitors, then Map Overlay, click on US, now you are looking at Region, now click on a Region you want (say California), now in the Segment choose Source, and you are home.

Hope this helps.

Avinash.

By: Stefan Seiz

Stefan Seiz — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 14:28:39 +0000

How do you get “Sources by State” in GA?
If i go to “Map Overlay” in GA, then Select USA to see the states, and then segment by “Source”, i loose the States Context alltogether and instead only see the various referrers.
Could Emily maybe post a screenshot of the report she refers to as “Sources by State”?

By: Web Analytics Bloglinks der Woche (KW 24 / 2008) | Web Analytics News

Web Analytics Bloglinks der Woche (KW 24 / 2008) | Web Analytics News — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 16:03:38 +0000

[...] Contest Winners: The Best Web Analytics Report (Avinash Kaushik) [...]

By: David

David — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 07:59:37 +0000

You said it was a “non-teaching” post, I believe otherwise…

By: Nick

Nick — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 06:38:09 +0000

Congratulations to all the winners! And to you Avinash for thinking of such a great idea to involve your readers. It is generous of you to hand out the additional prizes as well.

Nick.

By: pere rovira

pere rovira — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 16:47:53 +0000

many thanks avinash, it’s my pleasure to contribute to your blog. you have had a great influence over the way i think about the web, and for that i will always thank you.

By: Joe Teixeira

Joe Teixeira — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 12:22:17 +0000

Can we still get stranded on a desert island with Angelina Jolie for participating in this contest? :)

Seriously, this is a good contest b/c it really forces you to pick what is absolutely most important, and cut the rest of the “fat”. I’m going to substitute desert island with “team meeting” and see how it works.

Thanks AK!

By: Daniel Waisberg

Daniel Waisberg — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 10:11:00 +0000

Very interesting post Avinash. As usual, very actionable; your posts are like good KPIs, they always drive you to action!

And thanks for the championship mention. We are hoping to learn a lot from all the entries we get, and maybe also publish some of the winners (only if we have their consent, of course).

Thanks a lot.