I check my Google Analytics multiple times a day. Recently I discovered that Google+ refers 2 times as many readers as Facebook and more than 10 times as many as Twitter to my blog.
I’ve read quite a few blog post in the past few weeks where the blogger writes that they did not check their Google Analytics until after a year of blogging. What!!! Why!!!
Typically it boils down to knowing that readership is low in the first year so why check. Here’s why.
Google Analytics is a real-time tool. Why wait a year to discover what you’re doing correct or wrong when you can find out now.
The number of visitors a social media platform sends to your site is only part of the story (in my mind the least important part)
Engagement is the big ticket item. Notice that Google+ referrals are 1.4x more engaged than Facebook and 3x more engaged than Twitter referrals
Google+ vs Facebook my results
Click chart to enlarge
Here’s the thing. Almost all my effort has been in Twitter and Facebook. I rarely post to Google +. In fact my effort on Google+, as compared to Facebook and Twitter, has been so ridiculously low that I don’t even understand how this is possible. But the numbers tell the story.
What if I’d waited a year to find this out. I would have wasted my best efforts on the platforms delivering the least results.
Check your Google Analytics every day!
