PR and Google Analytics

Nick Christensen, head of analytics and director of digital operations, and Rebecca Wharmby, account manager at Threepipe, joined Gorkana for a webinar to discuss PR and Google Analytics. They offered guidance for understanding and implementing Google Analytics as part of a PR strategy.

Threepipe’s Nick Christensen and Rebecca Wharmby

Christensen and Wharmby described the benefits of effective measurement and how it can increase the effectiveness of communications to help organisations meet their business goals.

There has been a shift towards online media consumption. According to the Office of National Statistics, 72% of 25 to 34-year-olds are likely to read or download news online, and 49% of 55 to 64-year-olds access their news online. Meanwhile, print media consumption is decreasing at a rate of 7 to 12% per year.

Wharmby said: “There are more opportunities for us to reach our target audiences in new ways. It’s really good news in terms of demonstrating return on investment (ROI) for the client.”

She argued that the sheer quantity of data created online can be harnessed by PR professionals to prove real business value and ROI on communications campaigns and strategies in a way which, historically, was difficult to do.

Christensen offered practical advice and a step-by-step guide for setting-up and using Google Analytics to help prove the value of PR. He said that the tool can be directly used for measuring referral traffic, for measuring impact upon brand search demand, measuring direct traffic and for measuring goal or action completion.

Christensen said: “In Google Analytics, you can match anything against a goal that’s been set. The goals aren’t just transactions. We can set up goals for the amount of time people spend on a website, whether they sign up to an email database, whether they browse a certain amount of pages, or whether they browse a specific page. It’s important not just to think of goals as transactions.”

He concluded: “It is important to understand the value that PR adds and create an appropriate measurement plan.”

The webinar took place on 22 March 2017. View the entire recording here: