At MaassMedia, Google Analytics is an invaluable tool for gathering data and providing actionable insights to help our clients optimize their digital media. Not only is MaassMedia a Google Analytics Certified Partner, but all members of our team are required to take and pass the Google Analytics Individual Qualification test.

Getting certified as an individual is advantageous for anyone in digital analytics and related fields. Besides the fancy certificate and warm fuzzy feeling of accomplishment, you'll find the test most rewarding because it provides the opportunity to learn the ins and outs of Google Analytics while gaining an edge in the industry.

The world of web analytics is an exciting field that will continue to see tremendous growth with the coming years as the demand for in-depth analysis of web trafficking data increases.  More companies are realizing the importance of using web analytics to their advantage.  Whether the website is based on e-commerce, lead generation, or simply delivering content, all companies can use web tracking to more efficiently accomplish their specific goals.

Gathering the data is the first step, and although it is not the easiest it is indeed the most straightforward part of the analysis process.  After tracking tools such as Google Analytics or Adobe Site Catalyst are implemented in the source code on your website, data will begin pouring in.  You can access the data by logging into your GA or SC account, and, within the web interface, you can generate countless reports implementing various segments and filters for more customized results.  These results can be exported to file formats like Excel workbooks, CSV, and PDF files for immediate use or future reference.  You can certainly use Microsoft Excel to create a multitude of charts and graphs from this data, but the real challenge comes when there is interest for deeper statistical analysis and multi-faceted dashboards.

In today’s world of ever-growing data, many people find that the amount of data captured can be overwhelming. There are many reasons why too much data can be a daunting task, but one of them should not be the presentation of it. Too much time in meetings is wasted on understanding charts instead of what types of actions can be taken to capitalize on the data.

Follow these 6 tips to create charts that will allow your audience to understand what they are looking at and have the ability to make good business decisions based off the data represented in charts.

1) Know your Audience and KPIs

Having an understanding of the people who will view or consume your charts and their overall goals is a critical factor in the development of meaningful charts. KPI’s can be anything from Unique Visitors to a website to Calls Handled in a call center, anything that lets an organization measure performance. Knowing the audience and what their KPI’S are will allow you to present the most useful information and not waste your time and your audience’s looking at meaningless charts. 

As the social atmosphere grows, clients become more and more eager to leverage these channels. However, I have found most are very cynical towards the idea of social media being able to drive dollars to their business. Those of us who use social media sites (facebook, twitter, google+ or even LinkedIn) know better. Social media is about the conversation; it's a vast world that can grant the opportunity to better your brand, interact with customers (or users), and find out what people outside the company brain trust think about your business. Once this has been realized, then we can move on to the more important question - how do you track your social outreach?

According to a presentation given at the 2011 SocialMediaPlus Summit in Philadelphia, about 60% of B2B companies do not know how to track social media. Let's get started on changing that. If you are a coding expert, then Google Code offers a great resource and explanation on implementing social analytics. If you feel like (Insert Jersey Shore cast member here) in math class, then hopefully you find my explanation a bit more helpful. Keep in mind this solution is for the interactive buttons that allow you to tweet, like, or share on your website.