WEBINAR: October series will help you measure the success of your site

University Communications is underwriting the three-part webinar, which will inform participants on Using Google Analytics to Support Evaluating Measurements and Goals in our Products. The webinars have a strategic focus and are aimed for the lay person.

• site managers who want to understand whether their identified outcomes are being met
• marketing and communications professionals who want to learn how analytics can inform their online strategies
• senior communications professionals, directors and vice presidents who want to strengthen their understanding of Google Analytics

• how to put the data you're collecting to good use.
• how to align this data with institutional objectives.
• greater insight from analytics data by understanding tracking mechanisms such as event clicks, goals, funnels and dashboards.
• how to explore the latest social media monitoring tools and how to make informed content decisions for your social networks.
• how to make informed decisions for your product based on analytic data.

Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2 p.m., 120 Clemens (60-75 minutes)

Determining digital success takes more than counting clicks and likes. Communications professionals can employ a wide array of tools to collect and analyze important data about digital activity. The challenge is determining the most meaningful metrics for higher education and acting upon them in order to achieve your goals.
The first webinar in our series tackles basic terminology, provides an overview of Google Analytics, and explores measurement tools from the top social networks.

What you will learn:

• Understand the metrics your peers are using for Web and social media success.
• Set smart, reasonable and specific goals for your institution.
• Use Google Analytics to start measuring your website’s effectiveness.

Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2 p.m.,
280 Park Hall North Campus, North Campus (NOTE: NEW LOCATION)

Perusing your Google Analytics dashboard is a good way to see the big picture of how your audience interacts with your institution’s website and social media. But what if you want to dig deeper? In order to examine specific traffic patterns and align them with established objectives, you need to set up goals and funnels.

The second webinar in our series takes you beyond the basics and examines how advanced features in Google Analytics help you to measure data and mine information for insights into prospective student recruitment, alumni engagement and donor activity.

What you will learn:

• Gain greater insight from analytics data by understanding tracking mechanisms such as event clicks, goals, funnels and dashboards.
• Tie these metrics to institutional goals with custom reporting and analysis.

Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2 p.m.
280 Park Hall North Campus, North Campus (NOTE: NEW LOCATION) (60-75 minutes)

In the third and final webinar of our series Nick DeNardis, associate director of Web communications at Wayne State University, will talk about how to make smart decisions using Web analytics. Nick has 10 years of experience optimizing university websites for a forward moving user experience.

He reduced bounce rates by 20 percent, decreased page load times by 35 percent and increased goal completion by optimizing forms on recruitment and retention websites. He is a nationally recognized speaker, blogger and scientist in discovering and analyzing Web behavior. We’ll build on the knowledge and skills learned from the first two webinars and review case studies that showcase how analytics were used to make smart design and web decisions.

What you will learn:

• Utilize user tracking on your website.
• Understand sample size and A/B testing, what to do with inconclusive results, and identify pitfalls to avoid.
• Explore the latest social media monitoring tools and learn how to make informed content decisions for your social networks.
• Make informed decisions for your institution’s website based on analytic data.