Google Analytics is an almost universally used tool to capture and understand data generated from online sources.
Our programs are designed to create visibility and ultimately drive action. It's important to not just measure and track the initial visibility or attention generated, but have mechanisms in place so that we can understand the broader impact. Although not all of our media coverage will include backlinks due to publication requirements, some of it will — and we're always looking for ways to make it happen.
Google still pays attention to mentions in reputable outlets, regardless of if they have backlinks. Google Analytics allows us to better understand the second part of the goal I mentioned above, the "driving action" part. It allows us to do things like:
- Track the impact of our visibility efforts on website traffic: For example, Business Wire distributions tend to drive a healthy amount of traffic.
- Track time on site: Among those who visited the website from PR activity, we can also see if they spent more or less time on the site compared to visitors from other sources. That might tell us if PR is driving more qualified/engaged visitors. As we're educating the market, we'd ideally want to see visibility and action with higher-quality audiences.
- Track branded search over time: After someone hears about the brand, they'll eventually google it to find the website — we ideally want to see correlation as their media presence grows. We can point to the connection between media relations & branded search sessions on Esker, for example.
Check out the deck on Google Slides.
Check out this article on how to find metrics in Google Analytics.
Check out a recording of the original presentation here.