Today I am sharing more about Google Analytics and the difference between Google Analytics and Google Search Console which was discussed in a previous blog pos— Google Search What? Both are free tools offered by Google that every website owner should be aware of and using on some level.

Google Analytics:

Understanding website performance and user behavior.

For clarity, Google Search Console tells you how your website is ranked on Google and can help website owners identify pages that have not been crawled and indexed by Google. Google Analytics shows website owners which pages are getting views, how long a site visitor interacts with your site AKA the “Bounce Rate”, and past and real time site visits. It is pretty cool to see where in the world your website has been viewed which is something you can easily view when you connect with Google Analytics. It is also a great tool to compare month over month traffic and the behavior of site visitors to better understand where you should spend your time when it comes to keeping your website up to par to drive more clients your way.

Here is a high level overview of what each tool measures:

Google Search Console:

Internal and external links
Top keyword queries
User clicks and impressions
Mobile usability

Google Analytics:

Audience demographic data
Website bounce rate
Customer Acquisition (organic vs. paid)
User time spent on your website
Number of website visitors

Again both are free tools for those with a Google account with paid versions available. I find that most small business owners really only need the free versions to get a better idea of how their website is performing with both search engines and site visitors. If your site is built on Squarespace, there is an analytics page that captures similar data. However, Google Analytics is more accurate for a true look at visitor data. It is also important to note that you do need to have a privacy policy and cookie notification on your website to disclose that you are using analytics. Read more about Privacy Policies here. Termageddon offers both a privacy policy and cookie policy generator and/or consult a legal professional to ensure you have the proper disclosures in place. If you want to check out Termageddon, I have an affiliate link where you can get 10% off your first year.

Hopefully this provides clarity around the differences between these two free tools and how you could be using them to improve your return on investment from your website. Stay tuned for more tips and ideas to further improve your visibility in search engines, and in the meantime, please feel free to reach out via email with any questions: jlwatrob@north8designs.com.

Google Analytics