Key takeaways
- Web analytics explained for beginners: what to track, how events work, and how to avoid the most common reporting mistakes
Table of Contents
TL;DR: Web analytics is the practice of measuring how people find you, what they do, and what actions create value. Start with a small set of events tied to decisions. Trust fewer metrics, but make them consistent. If you can’t answer “what should we do next?”, your analytics is just reporting.
What is web analytics (in plain English)?
Web analytics means collecting and interpreting data about what happens on your website:
- where people come from (channels)
- what they do (behavior)
- whether they convert (outcomes)
The goal is not dashboards. The goal is better decisions.
The 4 things beginners should track first
- Acquisition: how users arrive (organic, direct, referral, paid, social)
- Behavior: what pages they view and what actions they take
- Conversion: key actions (signup, purchase, lead form)
- Retention: do they come back and keep using/buying?
The core concepts you need (and nothing else)
Users vs sessions
- User: a person/device identity (approximate).
- Session: a visit window.
For decision-making, you usually want both.
Events
An event is a tracked action (e.g., signup, purchase, cta_click, pricing_view).
Events are the building blocks of funnels.
UTMs
UTMs are tags you add to URLs so analytics can attribute clicks to campaigns.
Minimal UTM hygiene:
utm_source(where)utm_medium(type)utm_campaign(what)
A minimal event plan (example)
If your business is a blog that sells services, your starter event plan can be:
page_view(baseline)newsletter_subscribecontact_click(email/Telegram)lead_submit(form)
If it is SaaS:
signupactivation_event(first value)upgrade_paid
Common beginner mistakes (and the fix)
- Tracking everything → track only what maps to a decision.
- Comparing channels without intent → organic informational traffic will convert differently than brand traffic.
- Using vanity metrics → impressions and pageviews can grow while revenue stays flat.
- No naming conventions → events become unusable.
Quick example: how to answer a real question
Question: “Is SEO working?”
Beginner-friendly answer (without lying):
- Are impressions rising for your target topics?
- Are clicks rising for the same queries/pages?
- Are conversions from organic (newsletter/leads) increasing over time?
If you see impressions but no clicks, you likely have a CTR / intent / snippet problem, not “SEO is dead”.
FAQ
is GA4 enough for web analytics?
For starters, yes. For serious measurement, you’ll eventually want first-party events in your database/warehouse.
what should i track weekly?
Pick 5–10 numbers: sessions, engaged sessions, key conversions, conversion rates, top landing pages, top queries (from GSC).
why do analytics numbers never match between tools?
Different definitions, attribution models, and sampling/privacy limits. Pick one “source of truth” per metric.
what is the fastest way to improve my analytics setup?
Define 1–2 funnels, standardize event names, and make sure money events are validated against your backend.
Next steps (internal links)
Next in Analytics & Data
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