The Digital Marketing Podcast

Episode: 5 Google Analytics Reports You Should Probably Ignore
Hosts: Ciaran Rogers (A), Daniel Rowles (B)
Date: March 13, 2018

Overview

In this episode, Daniel and Ciaran discuss five commonly viewed Google Analytics reports that marketers often misinterpret or misuse. Their goal is to highlight the limitations of these reports and prevent marketers from making misguided decisions based on misleading data. With practical anecdotes, humor, and expert tips, they encourage a contextual and iterative approach to analytics, urging listeners to complement quantitative data with qualitative insights.

Key Discussion Points

1. The Pitfalls of Bounce Rate

• Definition & Misconceptions:
  • Bounce rate is the percentage of visitors who enter and exit on the same page.
  • High bounce rate is not inherently bad—it depends on context.
    • Example: People find a postcode, read an article for a long time, then leave—still counts as a bounce.
    • Content shared via social or email often gets high bounce rates due to quick, single-page visits.
• Quote:

  "What it's really telling you is you've annoyed your customers for 10 seconds." — Daniel (01:18)

• Relevant Timestamps:
  • [00:24] — Introduces the episode's caveat on report interpretation
  • [01:18] — High street bank anecdote highlights flawed bounce rate conclusions
  • [02:41] — Ciaran discusses bounce rate in relation to social and email traffic
• Actionable Insight:
  • Always consider the type of page and user journey before viewing high bounce rate as negative.

2. Limitations of Time on Site/Page

• Why It's Flawed:
  • Time on site is calculated only when another page loads; last page's time is often untracked.
  • Bounces typically record zero time, underestimating engagement.
• Consistency Matters:
  • Despite being "consistently wrong," it can be useful for month-over-month comparisons.
• Quotes:

  "There is a fundamental problem with how analytics calculates time on site." — Daniel (03:32)
  "It's wrong, but it's fairly consistently wrong...consistent inconsistencies." — Ciaran (05:46)

• Relevant Timestamps:
  • [03:32] — Daniel introduces the flaw in time on site
  • [05:46] — Ciaran explains the relativity and consistency of data
• Tip:
  • Use time on site for relative comparisons, not as an absolute measure of engagement.

3. User Flow Visualization – More Confusing Than Insightful

• What Is It?
  • Shows how users progress from one page to another, starting with segments like country or landing page.
• Why It's Hard to Act On:
  • Overwhelming data, hard to interpret at scale, rarely produces actionable insights out of the box.
• Ciaran’s Take:
  • Segmenting (e.g., mobile users) can sometimes surface user issues, but otherwise, the report is "spider-web" like.
• Quotes:

  "It looks brilliant...but I've never really found anything that actionable in it." — Daniel (06:54)
  "There's too much data in it." — Ciaran (07:43)

• Relevant Timestamps:
  • [06:54] — Daniel introduces user flow report
  • [07:43] — Ciaran critiques its usability
• Tip:
  • Use with specific segmentation for targeted investigations; avoid relying on aggregate user flow.

4. Search Console Reports – Beware What’s Missing

• Key Issues:
  • Connected Search Console gives data on queries, but omits significant segments of keyword data.
  • Can't see what you're missing; could be overlooking top sources or long-tail queries.
• Daniel’s Warning:

  "We don't know what's missing from that report...it might actually be the phrase you're getting the most traffic from is missing from it." (09:01)

• Commercial Bias:
  • Google withholds data to prevent marketers from reverse-engineering algorithms.
• Quote:

  "If you get too good at getting free traffic, you don't pay for traffic." — Ciaran (10:10)

• Relevant Timestamps:
  • [08:49] — Daniel raises issues with Search Console data
  • [09:28] — Discussion on missing long-tail and high-converting keywords
  • [11:09] — Ciaran previews upcoming Search Console updates with more historical data
• Advice:
  • Supplement with external keyword rank tools; use Search Console for broad indicators, not absolute strategy.

5. Goal Reports – The Dangers of Last Click Attribution

• Core Issue:
  • Goal source shows only the last channel before conversion (last click), missing the multichannel journey.
• Why It's Dangerous:
  • Misleads marketers to overvalue or undervalue certain channels based on incomplete attribution.
  • Example: Direct traffic appears to dominate, but often it’s the last step after other brand interactions.
• Quotes:

  "This is probably the single most dangerous report in Google Analytics." — Daniel (12:18)
  "Unless you understand it fully, you're going to come to completely the wrong conclusion." — Daniel (13:50)

• Relevant Timestamps:
  • [12:18] — Daniel introduces issues in goal reporting
  • [13:50] — Discussion about attribution and overlapping channels
• Tip:
  • Use multi-channel funnels to understand the true complexity of user journeys.

Memorable Moments & Notable Quotes

• On Report Limitations:

  "It's like measuring the least wrong thing." — Daniel re: flawed metrics consistency (06:42)

• On Learning from User Behavior:

  "Just because the user journey is not as linear as we would expect it to be...think how complicated our lives are." — Daniel (15:33)

• On Context and Hypothesis-Driven Analytics:

  "You can't look at one piece of data...there needs to be a dashboarding approach." — Daniel (14:43) "The clarity that we'd kind of expect from having all this data isn't really there." — Daniel (15:33)

• On Understanding the “Space” Between Customer and Click:

  "We are missing that space between the customer and the click. The click is the canvas that we can see..." — Ciaran (18:46)

• On the Value of Qualitative Research:

  "All these qualitative sources of data are hugely useful...ignore it at your peril." — Ciaran (20:37)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [00:24] — Introduction and dangers of misused analytics reports
• [01:18] - [03:32] — Bounce rate pitfalls and usage context
• [03:32] - [06:16] — Flaws in time on site reporting and consistent comparison
• [06:54] - [08:17] — User flow report: visualization vs. practicality
• [08:49] - [11:58] — Search Console data limitations and upcoming changes
• [12:18] - [13:50] — Goal reports and last click attribution
• [14:43] - [18:00] — Dashboarding, iterative analysis, and cross-channel complexity
• [18:00] - [20:37] — The gap between data and user intent: the “space between the customer and the click”
• [20:37] - [21:22] — Importance of qualitative insight and user testing

Final Advice and Tone

Daniel and Ciaran urge listeners to view analytics as an iterative, context-driven process. They recommend developing dashboards that surface key performance indicators across channels, analyzing journeys with caution, and seeking qualitative feedback through user testing. Their tone is conversational, candid, and occasionally witty—emphasizing humility and curiosity over dogmatic interpretation of analytics data.

Useful References (as mentioned)

• Multi-channel funnels in Google Analytics — to see the real conversion journey
• Tools for qualitative insight: Hotjar, WhatUsersDo, user interviews, AB testing

This episode is essential listening for digital marketers eager to avoid analytics traps and maximize actionable insights from both numbers and real user experiences.