"GA-thering Insights Like a Pro: A Product Manager's Guide to Google Analytics Wizardry"
As a product manager, mastering Google Analytics (GA) isn’t just about tracking numbers—it’s about proving to your team that your features do get more clicks than cat memes, and that you actually know what’s going on (sometimes).
Google Analytics is a treasure trove of data that’s basically a PM’s dream come true. Whether it’s understanding user behavior, tracking campaign success, or just validating that your latest product tweak didn’t scare away half your user base, GA is your go-to tool. Here are the top Google Analytics skills I’ve set up to make sure I’m the data hero (or, at the very least, not the villain) in every meeting.
1. The 'Where Are They Coming From?' Skill (Traffic Source Reports)
(aka “Who Are All These People and Why Are They Here?”)
When I first started digging into traffic sources, it was like finding out where your friends hang out after work without you. Google Analytics tells you exactly where your users are coming from—whether it’s social media, direct traffic, search engines, or that random blog post someone wrote about your app in 2012.
Why it matters: Understanding traffic sources gives you insight into what’s driving users to your product, so you know whether your marketing team deserves high-fives or if you need to rethink that expensive PPC campaign.
2. The 'Did They Like It, or Did They Bounce?' Skill (Bounce Rate)
(aka “I Promise This Is a Metric, Not an Emotional State”)
The bounce rate shows you the percentage of users who visit a page and then leave faster than I leave a meeting where someone says, "Let’s brainstorm." A high bounce rate usually means your page didn’t give people what they were looking for—or they had better things to do (like scroll through TikTok).
Why it matters: As a PM, you want to know if your shiny new landing page or feature is keeping people engaged or if they’re fleeing the scene. Adjust the page or experience accordingly so your users aren’t ghosting you after one click.
3. The 'User Adventure Time' Skill (User Flow Reports)
(aka “Watching Your Users Navigate Your Product Like a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Book”)
The User Flow report lets you follow the digital footprints of your users as they click through your site or app. It’s like watching a thrilling action movie—only in this case, the hero is your user, and the villain is your confusing navigation menu.
Why it matters: This report tells you what users are doing, what pages or screens they visit, and where they drop off. This is crucial for understanding where users get lost, what’s working, and what makes them close the app in frustration.
5. The 'Proof My Feature Is Amazing' Skill (Event Tracking)
aka “So Much Clicking, So Little Time”
Event tracking is where the magic happens. You can track specific actions users take—like button clicks, form submissions, video plays, or even rage clicks (if you’re feeling spicy). Essentially, event tracking lets you see how users are interacting with specific elements in your product.
Why it matters: As a PM, this is how you prove that adding that new button or feature was a stroke of genius—or that no one’s noticed it yet. Use this data to optimise and iterate based on actual user behaviour.
5. The 'Big Picture, Small Package' Skill (Dashboards)
(aka “Customizing Data So You Can Look Like You Have It All Together”)
GA dashboards let you pull all the key metrics you care about into one neat little package—perfect for when you’re pretending to have your life together on Monday morning. You can customize dashboards with traffic data, conversions, bounce rates, or whatever else you want to show off.
Why it matters: Instead of diving into multiple reports every time you need a quick update, dashboards put everything at your fingertips. Plus, they make you look super organized when presenting to stakeholders. You can even make them pretty with charts (for extra PM brownie points).