As an SEM Developer I frequently meet with clients to discuss their monthly reports. I use Google Analytics for all of my clients and while GA’s reports are usually self-explanatory there are occasions where the results can be somewhat confusing. Today I met with a client who works for a company that sells luxury homes ($1.5m+) in the Atlanta Georgia area. She was wondering why she was getting so many visits from Brooklyn, NY. I pulled up the report and give her an answer on the fly during the meeting. It turns out that AOL has a connectivity point in Brooklyn. This causes the reports to reflect a large number of visitors from Brooklyn but those visitors could be anywhere in the country. Brooklyn just happens to be where they’re connecting to the internet. Today I’ll show you how we figure out what cities are driving traffic and then how to find out more about why.

1. First, login to Google Analytics and click on View Reports for your web site

2. Click on the ‘Visitors’ button on the left

3. Click on ‘May Overlay’

4. Click on the United States (or your country)

5. Below the map you’ll see a line that says ‘Detail Level:’ next to that click ‘City’

Now your map will look like the above image, below that you will see a list of the top 10 cities by traffic. Now, let’s assume there’s a city on the map that you’re getting traffic from and you want to know a little more about where it’s coming from.

1. Click the name of the city on the list

2. Below the chart you’ll see a line that says ‘Segment: None’

3. Click ‘None’ and you’ll see an entire list of options – in this post we’re focusing on ‘Network Location’

By clicking on Network Location you’ll see a list of ISPs and Businesses where visitors have connected through to your site. This is also a great way to see if employees of a certain company are visiting your site.

Enjoy!

I needed something that was web-based so I could access it anywhere. I wanted something with a Web 2.0 look and feel, because I’m spoiled and I knew I could find it. I wanted something that would allow me to track the job codes that this client needed me to use. And finally, I needed something that could generate PDF invoices that I could send to the client in order to continue the same procedure we already had in place.

Enter FreshBooks. FreshBooks is one of the most well programmed, nicest looking web-based applications I’ve ever used. It’s super fast, super clean and you can tell that the people who wrote it actually use it. There are things that happen when you’re using it that make you say out loud “that’s what I was getting ready to look for” and FreshBooks has already taken you there.

If you bill your clients by the hour and managing it in a spreadsheet has gotten out of control, give this a try. You’ll love it, I promise.

FreshBooks.com