I was introduced to Google Analytics be my friend Jeremiah (web-strategist.com), while at a "Cinco De Mayo" party. Jeremiah always has the most up-to-date information concerning start-ups, web2.0, and social media. He advised me to look into Google Analytics to see how it would help track visitors to our websites. I did some searching around his blog, and found this good video:

Web Strategy Show: How to start a Web Analytics Program at your Company with Avinash Kaushik
Watch and learn

In the past I just used Webalizer, which comes with most hosting accounts. Webalizer is OK, it will get all the data for you, but analysis of the data takes time, So it's not really worth looking deeply at the data. It's good for a quick snapshot of your site. Since our websites are starting to get more and more traffic, I am more interested in the learning about how our sites are being used. I'm especially interested about setting up marketing goals, and keyword analysis

I was impressed with Google Analytics from the first day I started using it…3 days ago…I thought it was a tool for adwords so I never tried it before. I was reading the Google Analytic blog, and they have a new version released Today! They are moving all accounts over to the new system as we speak.
Here is a tour of the new system

Now, Let's talk about the magic of Wordpress and how to get Google Analytics on your site. If you have a normal website, for every page that you want to monitor, you have to add a small piece of javascript. If you have Wordpress website you just use a Google Analytics Plugin. There are a lot out there, but the one I use is from Boakes.org

Get the plugin here 

Simply activate it, and add your Google Analytics ID Number. The Plugin will add the javascript code to the footer, which is displayed on every page in a Wordpress blog. Within 24 hrs, you will start gathering data from your site.  

We added a Google Analytics plugin to our single property websites (Start one here). This is a great way to track activity for your listings. See what people are looking at, their location, set goals, and marketing strategies for your websites.

Plugin Troubleshooting:
If you enable the plugin, but Google.com cannot find it on your site, make sure you have this in your footer:
do_action('wp_footer') That is the hook the plugin attaches the javascript to display.

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