If you want to learn about analytics then it’s important to find some good resources to follow. You want to read them on a regular basis, and even put into action some of their suggestions. Start with the Google Analytics website; read everything they tell you there. Reading the Google Analytics blog is a great start. It’s really the go-to place for the best information about how to make your business successful.
Outside of Google there are movers and shakers who write about web analytics and are experts in the area. Some really top-notch resources are listed below.
Advanced Web Metrics
Advanced Web Metrics is a website based on the book written by Brian Clifton. The blog is full of information to help you learn about the ins and outs of Google Analytics and how to best use the system to get real results from your data. This website leads to another site called Measuring Success. This is devoted mostly to non-profits, but it has a lot of great information for anyone who wants to learn more about tracking metrics online.
Occam’s Razor
Another fabulous source that talks about many aspects of business but also metrics and analytics is Occam’s Razor by Avinash Kaushik. He is very focused on digital marketing and has a lot of interesting and deep things to say about analytics and offers new ways to view your numbers. His books are also great resources – Web Analytics 2.0 and Web Analytics: An Hour A Day which you can find on Amazon.com.
Analytics Talk
If you like guides then Analytics Talk at cutroni.com/blog is a great place to read up. Mr. Cutroni like Mr. Kaushik works with Google and has a lot of very interesting things to say and creates guides for you to follow. He’s also published several books. What makes him a good resource is the clear way he writes his guides. Anyone can follow and anyone can understand and put to work his ideas.
TechPad
Another amazing source about analytics and website development is at TechPad.co.uk. The author offers up hacks and other information to help you make the most of Google Analytics. Here you can generate QR codes, calculate the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns and more. It is geared toward the UK but it has such great information that you cannot miss out on it. Matt Clarke offers serious help for in-depth analytics.
KISSMetrics
Finally, a really good resource is at KISSMetrics. They offer a really interesting mash-up of 50 resources to help you get the most out of Google Analytics. This is for beginners to advanced level. There isn’t much you can’t learn with this resource if you have the time to read it all, such as critical plug-ins that will help you if you have a WordPress website. On their blog you’ll learn about up-to-date information that is important for any business owner to know if they want to be a success.
By choosing a few trusted resources to visit a few times a week, you’ll stay up to date on all things analytics. It’s important to read a lot about anything that you want to perfect. They say it takes 10,000 hours of reading to become an expert in anything. This should get you started.