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Google Analytics: How to Add a User
Google Analytics can be a confusing frontier. You know you should be using it, but you have no idea how. There is no shame in asking for help!
But, did you know you can give access to your Google Analytics without giving access to your entire Google World? You can. Here’s how.
Head over to Google Analytics and click on Admin. You’ll see three columns- Account, Property and View.
When you added your website to GA, you had to set up an Account and then a property. Think of the account as the cookie jar and the property as the cookie. You can give access to only a cookie or the entire cookie jar. (Nope, not craving a chocolate chip cookie at all.)
How you organize your Property and Account is entirely up to you. Personally, I have an Account for each client and then their websites under that.
Decide whether you want to give access to only a Property or an Account and click on User Management in the appropriate column. I suggest Account level access.
Account Level Access – a user can add other users, add additional websites, links Adwords an Adsense.
Property Level Access – a user can access the tracking code for your website, adjust retargeting data and adjust settings on the specific website only.
View Level Access – a user can only add and view goals.
Now you see a list of users and a box to Add permissions.
Insert your user’s gmail (or gmail managed, like Google Apps for email) email address. Go ahead and tick the box to notify user by email.
Now you need to select the level of permission. Your choices are:
- Manage Users: This user can add/delete other users, including assigning their permissions
- Edit: This user can add/edit/delete accounts, properties, views, filters, goals, etc and see report data
- Collaborate: This user can create and share personal assets, collaborate on shared assets such as editing a dashboard or annotation. This includes Read & Analyze.
- Read & Analyze: This user can report and configure data, and manipulate data within reports, create and share personal assets, see shared assets, but can not collaborate.
My suggestion: tick them all except maybe Manage Users.
Click Add and you are DONE. That was easy, right?
Friday Five: Anti-Spam Plugins
Comment spam sucks! It just does.
It slows your site down, takes up space in your database, takes a ton of time to remove and just plain sucks.
The best way to fight it is to prevent it from happening. There are several anti-spam plugins for WordPress. Over the years I used many of them. Some work, some don’t. Some work for awhile and need replaced.
Here are five plugins that you can install to improve your blog, because who has time to remove all those prescription drug comments?! These plugins do not add an ugly captcha to your site.
- Stop Spammers Spam Control
This one is a bit complex with several pages of configuration settings. I like that I can see a summary of the spam it has stopped and there’s a simple link to report spam that made it through. I have it installed on one site and it’s doing a great job, but if you don’t have the patience to go through and tweak the settings I don’t recommend it. - Growmap Anti Spambot Plugin
G.A.S.P. is pretty easy to set up. It uses javascript to place a checkbox on your comment form asking users to confirm they are legit. While easy to use, this one does still let a few comments through. It does integrate nicely, much better than an ugly captcha. - WordPress Zero Spam
This one is easy to use. Install and activate. Can it get any easier? This one works well with Gravity Forms, Ninja Forms and Contact Form 7. - Anti-spam by CleanTalk
Integrates nicely with almost everything, that’s a big plus. This one also blocks spam registrations, contact emails and more. You can set this one to auto-delete comments marked as spam. Yay! While I haven’t used it yet, this is the next one I’m installing. - Anti-Spam
I use this one quite a bit. It does just the invisible fields by javascript method. It has worked quite well for the sites that I have it installed on. I have not seen any spam comments get through. It does not work on forms, so that is something to keep in mind (and why I will likely switch to Anti-spam by CleanTalk).
There are many, many options for controlling spam. Please use one. Don’t make me groan when I log into your site and see 4583 comments that need approved.
If it’s too late and you do have a ton of unapproved comments let’s get them cleared. I’ll remove straight from the database which is much faster than doing it via your admin area. I guarantee you will notice a difference.
Friday Five: 5 Reasons I Don’t Do Phone Calls
It’s Friday Five time!
I often get emails asking when it would be a good time to have a phone chat. I always reply that my preference is email only. I just don’t do phone calls, for several reasons. This is my work flow, it works for me.
I did this one countdown style because I like to be different!
5. I Have Kids
And I homeschool them. I work around my kids for the most part and I can guarantee if I’m on the phone, they need something important.
4. No Office Door
That’s been on my “home wish list” for quite some time – an office with a door. My office is out in the open so find quiet time for a phone just doesn’t happen (see above). Maybe someday I will have a real office, but for now I’m quite successfully balancing work and family all in one.
3. Odd Hours
I do not have set office hours. I do not have set office days. I work when I can, and sometimes where I can. That may mean early morning, late at night or weekends. Aligning our schedules can be rather difficult.
2. Time is Important
I squeeze my work in when I can, sometimes in small spurts of time. A phone call during that precious time can disrupt my work flow and cause a setback. I want to get my projects done quickly and efficiently, interruptions (of any sort) kind of throw that off.
1. My Brain
I guarantee when we hang up the phone everything you say will be forgotten. Even if I take notes. I love having everything in email. I love being able to search my gmail inbox to find the things I need. I love the record of our exchanges that email provides.
I can decipher emails, I can’t remember phone calls. If words don’t work for you, we can do visual. Grab a screenshot, head to favorite editing program and draw notes. Is handwritten better for you? Grab a piece of paper and draw it out, snap a photo and send to me.
Written word keeps us from skipping the details which leads to a faster project completion.
What about you? If you had the option, I know some businesses require phone calls, phone calls or no?
Friday Five: Valentine’s Fonts
I know, I know, it’s January, not February. What’s with the Valentine’s fonts already? Well, we have to do these things early you know. I have searched for 5 fonts that scream Valentine’s day to me. Use these in your marketing, or your Valentine’s cards, photo templates, etc, etc.
Do you hand out Valentine’s Day cards? Do you make them for your kids or buy them? If we do hand out cards, which doesn’t happen often as homeschoolers, I tend to buy a box as I never have time to do these things myself. Oh, how I wish I did though. I’ve seen some really great ones on Pinterest to spark my creativity. Doesn’t really matter as my kids tend to rarely look at them past February 14th anyway.
As always, they are free for personal use, check the licensing before you use them commercially though.
You can download the fonts at the following locations. Be sure to check the usage license for each font before you put it to use.
Where to find these Valentine’s Fonts:
Xiamara @ dafont.com
Jules Love @ dafont.com
I Love What You Do @ 1001freefonts.com
Clicker Script @ Google Fonts
DJ Candy Heart @ dafont.com
Adult Coloring Book on the go!
Have you joined the adult coloring book craze? Not that kind of adult coloring book, this kind:
(You won’t be able to see this image if you have AdBlock enabled.)
I haven’t quite yet, but I’m about to. Why? Coloring is a great way to deal with stress, anxiety and it’s just plain relaxing. I actually carried around crayons and a coloring book in high school. It was something to do between classes, it was relaxing.
Think about it, it’s just you, a few black lines and a whole bunch of colors. What better way to tune the world out for a bit and reset your brain?!
Now, you can color on the go. I just ran across this great app and immediately downloaded it and colored my first picture. There are tons of images to choose from and it’s as easy as tapping the color you want and then tapping the area you want to color. When you finish you can easily share your image in many ways.
The app is free and available on Google Play, the Itunes App Store and even Amazon Apps. It looks like only the basic colors are free, but you can purchase more if you really want. Basic works for me.
Take a break from life. Go color something.
