NEWS & INTERACTIVE DIVISION | GOOGLE ANALYTICS GUIDE PAGE 1

Google
Analytics Guide
STARTING ON SEPT. 1, 2009, all page traffic reports for GateHouse Media
Web sites will transition from Omniture to Google Analytics.
This guide explains how to access your Web statistics, and offers tips
for utilizing the information for both newsrooms and advertising staffs.
NEWS & INTERACTIVE DIVISION | GOOGLE ANALYTICS GUIDE
Accessing the data
How do I log into my account? You have received a Gmail
username and password. Go to http://www.google.com/ana-
lytics/ and click on the “access analytics” blue tab. Put your
username and password into the appropriate fields, and on the
next screen select “view report.”
PAGE 2
What if my newspaper already has a Google account? Fill out
a support ticket by going to this link —https://gatehouse.zen-
desk.com/tickets/new — and ask that your newspaper’s current
username and password override the one we have created.
}
How do I select the dates for my
report? In the upper right corner of
the page, click on the dates that are
featured. A calendar will pop up, and
you can select the dates you want
featured.
}
How do I see how many people
visited my site? In the middle of
the page, under “site usage,” click
on “visits.”
How can I see how many page
views we’re getting? Under “site
usage,” click on “page views.”
How can I get more information about who is
visiting my site? Under the “dashboard” area on
the upper left side of the site, click on overview,
which will provide you information on new visitors,
time spent on your site and more.
How can I search for the most viewed stories
}
on my site? The Top Content report in Google An-
alytics can tell you the number of page views for
each story in a selected date range. You can click
on that area in the bottom right corner of the site.
Can I see the most viewed stories by sections?
Under the Top Content area click on Event Tracking
and then click on Categories. Select the name of
your newspaper. There you can select by topic to
see the most viewed stories by section.
How far back can I search for results? You can
search for content back to Jan. 1, 2009.
Can I get automatic reports? Yes. At the top of
the page above the “dashboard” header, click on
“e-mail.” There you can enter e-mail addresses
where you want reports going to and dictate what
kind of content you want. You also can create re-
ports on a time schedule.
NEWS & INTERACTIVE DIVISION | GOOGLE ANALYTICS GUIDE PAGE 3

Analyzing the data

What key numbers will show how my site is doing overall? Tracking page views and daily unique visi-
tors is the best way to see how your site is trending. Steady growth in both is the goal, and comparing
these numbers month over month and year over year will show if your Web strategy is working.

While page views and daily uniques will tell you how your site is doing overall, you can dig a little deeper
for guidance on what action you can take to provide more content visitors want. [More on that below.]

What is the difference between page views and daily uniques? Average daily unique visitor measures
the average number of unique browsers accessing your site per 24 hours in the past 30 days. Using daily
vs. weekly or monthly unique visitors helps reduce the duplication caused by visitors deleting cookies or
accessing your site through different browsers.

Page views and uniques tell me what is happening to my site. What numbers can tell me what to
do to drive more traffic? Studying your analytics report regularly can help you decide what – and what
not – to publish. For example, you may find that because your readership area includes a military base,
military-related stories draw page views, but lifestyle content does not. Therefore, you may consider pub-
lishing more content related to the base and military issues, and less lifestyle content.

Study the categories of content in the top 10 list of a given week or month. Likewise, study the bottom 10.
Studying Top Content can help you adjust your newsroom Web strategy.

Remember A goal of GateHouse Web strategy is to focus newsroom resources on publishing content we
know drives traffic and holding back for our print readers content that works better in our newspapers.
NEWS & INTERACTIVE DIVISION | GOOGLE ANALYTICS GUIDE PAGE 4

Advertising analysis
RATE CARD
What should we consider when
setting up a rate card? There are
three things to focus on: local market
and competition, share of voice and
resources on the local level. Here are
some general guidelines:

■ Small sites (100,000 page views

per month): Are not guaranteed im-
pressions, but the ad positions avail-
able are based on a $35 CPM and
divide out the average impressions.
Price points for packages range from
$100 to $300. Some of the small
sites are creating bundles with print
to build the comfort level of the local
sales reps.

■ Midsize sites (100,000 to 1 million

page views per month): Are guaran-
teed impressions (over deliver by 25
percent) and targeted by sections.
Premium positions and targeted sec-
tions are generally $35 CPM. In mar-
kets with stronger competition, they
are including additional features
}
(SEO, IYP, etc.) instead of lowering
CPM. Price points range from $100
to $750.

■ Larger markets (1 million page

views and more per month): The
What kind of information is important to get in front of advertisers? In conjunction CPMs are lower because of the vol-
with the “new visitor” and “returning visitor” reports, you can provide realistic audience ume necessary to provide a signifi-
reach and loyalty reports to your customers. It’s recommended that you show advertisers cant Share of Voice.
these numbers as you experience growth. You can include a copy of the monthly site traf- CPMs range from $8 to $20 (de-
fic summary with the advertiser’s 30-day performance reports for individual campaigns. pending on markets). Price points
When pricing bundles with print and online, your extended reach including print circula- range from $150 to $1,500.
tion and daily unique visitors can be used to help determine your value proposition.
Should there be customization to
What numbers should local ad staffs look at? Each month, look for changes in page the rate cards? The pricing and
views, daily unique visitors and overall visits. Increases in any of these areas are positive CPM are more of a guide to help lo-
stories to tell advertisers. Traffic will have natural fluctuations daily, weekly and seasonally. cations capitalize on their extended
Watch for trends and mark milestones in site growth. reach.

How will page views impact my rate card? The total number of page views will deter- Who can help us with our online
mine the structure of your rate card, the available impressions and the CPM (cost per rate card? Additional training and
1,000 impressions). promotional materials for total audi-
ence and the value of the combined
What are impressions? They are the number of viewed ads you can deliver on your site. print and online reach are available.
Your average page has five ad positions, or five potential impressions per page view. Ads Contact your regional coordinator
can run throughout the entire site or be targeted to a specific content section relevant to for more information.
an advertiser’s desired audience.
The ratio of impressions guaranteed to the total impressions available determines the ad-
vertisers “Share of Voice” or the value of the impressions.
Sections or sites with fewer impressions can offer a higher Share of Voice ratio with fewer
page views and receive a higher CPM.
Higher trafficked sections or sites will need to deliver more impressions to achieve signifi-
cant Share of Voice and generally offer a lower CPM.
NEWS & INTERACTIVE DIVISION | GOOGLE ANALYTICS GUIDE PAGE 5

Newsroom analysis

What information should we share with our newsrooms? Editors should study Google Analytics weekly and prepare a
monthly report to share with the staff. The report should at least include month-over-month page views and unique visitors,

{
plus some notes on the content that is most popular and the content that is not. This will help you focus your resources.

■ Including a Top 10 list of stories for the month will help hone your Web strategy and could be a fun way to motivate your
newsroom to focus more on traffic-driving content.
■ You can pluck specific numbers from Google Analytics Overview sections, or you can build and save custom reports to
automatically generate data to share.
■ Google offers a ‘Quick Start Guide for Custom Reporting’ here:
http://www.google.com/support/analytics/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=98527
You can export your custom report into Excel or set up your own report.

}
What trends should we expect to see as we
implement Web Cube? We believe that when
you begin to post consistent updates throughout
the day and publish regular photo galleries and
polls to you homepage, you will see traffic growth
of at least 25 percent within six months.

What then? Will traffic level off? After six months, refining
your Web strategy to publish the specific content visitors want
will help maintain steady growth. Growth will vary depending
on how much your newsroom has been focused on the Web
prior to Web Cube and your market’s potential.
Those newsrooms fully up to speed with consistent posts, photo
galleries and polls can continue to drive growth with video, social
networking (Facebook and Twitter) and building on reader involve-
ment through features such as interactive maps.
When are the best times of the day to post fresh content?
Analysis shows that key Web traffic is highest between 8 and 9
a.m., again around noon and then between 5 and 6 p.m.
You can study the hourly habits of your visitors in Google Analytics
under: Visitors: Visitor Trending: Visits and selecting a date range.
Then click the Clock icon in the upper right to see an hourly break-
down. Publish fresh content during those times when visitors are
most likely to be checking in. Doing so will build reader expecta-
tions and, ultimately, traffic.
NEWS & INTERACTIVE DIVISION | GOOGLE ANALYTICS GUIDE PAGE 6

Newsroom resources
What other analysis can I use for our
strategy? Google Insights for Search
can tell you what Web users in your city
or region are searching for in Google
within selected time ranges. Study the
results and see if there is any way you
can offer logical local content to satisfy
those searches.

For example, ‘Swine Flu’ was a popular

news search in many regions in the past
90 days. Were there news stories and
hospital-related press releases you could
have offered during that news period to
satisfy the demand?

Here’s a link to Insights:

}
http://www.google.com/insights/search
/#

Also consider:
http://www.google.com/trends for real
time searches terms.
New vs. Returning data in the Visitors
section is also helpful. If you are drawing
new visitors, your traffic-driving efforts
are paying off. Engaging new visitors with
a steady flow of content will turn them
into returning visitors.
Average Page views in the Visitors sec-
tion under Visitor Trending can show you
how engaged visitors are once they land
on your site. Are they looking at one page
and moving on, or is there other content
to generate several page views for each
visit?
Content by Title analytics can tell you
how specific sections of your Web site
are performing. Will regular scores and
updates drive more traffic to Sports? Will
recipe callouts or restaurant photo gal-
leries drive more traffic to Food?
Searching for specific stories in
Google Analytics and how they per-
formed online can also help educate you
and the newsroom about what plays well
with you Web audience.
NEWS & INTERACTIVE DIVISION | GOOGLE ANALYTICS GUIDE PAGE 7

Glossary terms
Here are some terms to know that will help you navigate and use Google Analytics:

Average page views: The average number of pages viewed per visit. A high average page views number sug-
gests that visitors interact extensively with your site.

Bounce Rate: Bounce rate is the percentage of single-page visits (i.e. visits in which the person left your site
from the entrance page). Bounce rate is a measure of relevance and quality of content to your audience.

CPM: CPM cost per 1,000 impressions. Ad campaigns are priced and sold based on the number of times the
ad will be delivered. Package prices can be customized by setting a standard price for number of ads deliv-
ered in units of 1,000 and adjusting impressions guaranteed based on advertiser budget or goals.

Depth of Visit (Visitor Behavior): A large number of high page views per visit suggests easy navigation and
relevant content to your visitors.

Length of Visit (Visitor Behavior): A large number of lengthy visits suggests that visitors interact more ex-
tensively with your site.

Loyalty (Visitor Behavior): Loyal visitors are frequently highly engaged with your brand, and a high number
of multiple visits indicate good customer/visitor retention.

New vs. Returning: A high number of new visitors suggests that you are successful at driving traffic to your
site, while a high number of return visitors suggests that the site content is engaging enough to keep visitors
coming back.

New visitor: Google Analytics records a visitor as “new’” when any page on your site has been accessed for
the first time by a Web browser.

Page view: An instance of a page being loaded by a browser. Google Analytics logs a page view each time
the tracking code is executed.

Returning visitor: Google Analytics records a visitor as ‘returning’ when the cookie for your domain exists
on the browser accessing your site.

Time on Site: Time on site is one way of measuring visit quality. If visitors spend a long time visiting your
site, they may be interacting extensively with it.

Unique Visitors (or Absolute Unique Visitors): Represents the number of unduplicated (counted only
once) visitors to your Web site over the course of a specified time period. Our standard time period for
measure is daily unique visitors. This provides easier comparison to print circulation as well as setting realis-
tic expectations for advertisers regarding your reach.

Visit or Session: The number of visits your site receives is the most basic measure of how effectively you
promote your site.