Category Archives: Marketing Tools

Maybe you want a quick access snapshot of your referral or organic traffic. Maybe you want a custom KPI dashboard to send to your clients. Whatever the reason, pulling custom reports from Google Analytics just got easier.

Using Google Apps scripts, Google spreadsheets and Google Analytics API you can easily create automated reports and turn those reports into visualizations using charts, graphs, and gauges. Below are the steps:

Open a New Google Spreadsheet

First, you will need to navigate to Google docs and open a new spreadsheet. In the top navigation select tools and then click scripts gallery. A popup will then appear displaying all of the scripts in the Google’s library.

Next, use the search function to search the term ‘magic’ and install the first option titled ‘Google Analytics Report Automation’.  The script will then prompt you for authorization. Once you accept, the script will then be installed on the spreadsheet.

Add Your Analytics Account

After you exit out of the scripts gallery, refresh your spreadsheet. After 10 seconds or so a Google Analytics menu item should appear in the horizontal navigation. 

If you are a small business owner wondering whether you should get onto the Pinterest bandwagon, then the first question you should ask yourself is whether your business lends itself to visual representation. Pinterest is a hugely visual medium – you have photos and videos that can be used to create boards which can then be commented on, liked or repined by other users. You can also follow users or boards and in turn be followed as well. However, unlike a Facebook page which lends itself to be used as a powerful marketing tool by most small businesses, Pinterest is best used by small businesses focused on design, fashion, food or travel which are all great businesses which can be promoted visually. On the other hand, if you are a content writer, then Pinterest may not be the right platform for you. Of course, you can pin your blog images but that’s pretty boring, but you are better off spending your time and effort elsewhere.

Now, assuming that you run a small business that lends itself to visual promotion, here is a list of things to keep in mind to generate the maximum benefit from your Pinterest account.

One of the first things that a person that you have a meeting with is going to do after talking with you is search your name online. You may not think that you have very much control over the search results, but you actually can control a lot of what people see when searching for your name. Below are some quick tips and tools to take control of your name online.

Take Control of Facebook

If you are in the midst of a job search or are out in the field trying to make a sale, you definitely want to make sure that your Facebook is under control. You want to ensure that you completely understand your current privacy settings and know exactly who has access to your photos, news feed, and other personal info.

Keeping up with all of your social media networks can be a burdensome process, especially if you are a small business or run a web based company. Sometimes there simply is not enough time in the day to stay engaged on all of your networks and be relevant to your customers.

IFTTT helps you to solve this problem. It stands for If This Than That and is an extremely easy way to automate you social networks. On the website you set up cues that trigger other functions. Almost every relevant social media network is available on the site including Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, WordPress, Reddit, Gmail and many more. Below are some the ‘recipes’ that I have used which have helped me to free up some time throughout the day.