One-time Setup
Do this before your first review to ensure accurate data collection
Set data retention to 14 months
Navigate to: Admin → Data settings → Data retention
⚠️ Default is only 2 months - you'll lose historical data without this change!
Mark key actions as conversions
Navigate to: Admin → Events → (toggle)
Link Google products
Navigate to: Admin → Product links
- Search Console (for SEO reports)
- Google Ads (if used)
Filter internal traffic
Navigate to: Admin → Data streams → More tagging settings → Define internal traffic
💡 Exclude your office IP and team browsing from skewing your data
UTM hygiene
Always tag campaigns with these parameters:
utm_source e.g., google, facebook, email
utm_medium e.g., cpc, social, email
utm_campaign e.g., spring_sale, brand_awareness
utm_content for A/B testing
Traffic Overview
Are we up or down?
Navigate to: Reports → Acquisition → Traffic acquisition
Key Metrics to Track
What to Watch For
If "Direct" traffic is huge, your UTM tagging is missing. Tighten your campaign tags to see true traffic sources.
Channel Quality
What's worth our time?
Navigate to: Reports → Acquisition → Traffic acquisition
Change primary dimension to: Default channel group
Channel Performance Overview
Owner's Rule
Focus on 1–2 channels with the best combination of volume and conversion rate. Pause channels with traffic but no conversions.
The Owner's Scorecard
Copy this template each month to track your progress
Monthly Tracking Template
| Metric | This Month | Prev. Month | YoY | Notes / Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sessions | ||||
| Users | ||||
| Engagement Rate | ||||
| Avg Engagement Time | ||||
| Conversions (total) | ||||
| Session Conversion Rate |
Benchmarks & Context
Don't obsess over absolutes - focus on trends
Engagement Rate
For informative pages and content sites
Conversion Rate
For lead generation websites
Remember: Trends > Snapshots
Always compare to previous month and same month last year. A 3% conversion rate that's growing is better than a 5% rate that's declining.