How communicators can use Google Analytics to target audiences, measure and more

The pressure to measure PR campaigns in hard numbers has never been higher.

Though the true value of PR efforts will never be fully captured in a spreadsheet, you can use analytics to make smarter PR decisions—from defining your target audience to how you measure your results.

Here are several ways you can use Google Analytics to show your ROI and determine the direction of future campaigns:

Defining your target audience

Years ago, when PR pros were their planning PR strategies and tactics, they had to make educated guesses about their audiences.

One of the most important things you can do when you’re planning a campaign is figure out who your target audience is. To do that, look at who’s already engaging with you the most. All you need to do is link your website to Google Analytics to get a world of information about your visitors.

Under “All Website Data,” click the “Audience” tab on the left. You can see which countries your visitors come from. Under the “Demographics” tab, you can find out the gender breakdown of your visitors is and their age profiles.

How valuable is that information when deciding your messages?