Learn Google Analytics

Join Boston PHP and Jay Murphy (https://www.meetup.com/bostonphp/members/10710695/) as we will teach you how to add and use Google Analytics with your site. We will cover all the basics as well as how to interpret the results and make solid business decisions from the data. We will explore advanced topics like how to setup features like AdWords, Goals, and Segments.

Google Analytics is free, and it gives you great insights into your website traffic and marketing effectiveness. Powerful, flexible and easy-to-use features let you see and analyze your traffic data in an entirely new way.

With Google Analytics, you're more prepared to write better-targeted ads, strengthen your marketing initiatives and create higher converting websites.

Here is what we will cover:
Overview of Google Analytics
How to install
Review of reporting capabilities
Custom reporting capabilities
Making business decision from the reporting results
Using Adwords, Goals, and Segments

If you've been wanting to better understand who is using your site, and how to make sound business decisions from analytic data - then this is for you.

*Note: We will be doing a live broadcast of this event at https://live.bostonphp.org

BoothCamp (6-7pm):
In addition to the main topic, you can join us during the Social Hour from 6-7 for BoothCamp and a quick 30 minute intro presentation on:

Apache mod_rewrite - quick intro for the non sysadmin...
Join Matt Murphy (https://www.meetup.com/bostonphp/members/4790321/) as he will provide a quick intro to using Apache mod_rewrite in your web applications.

This was suggested on our ideas section (https://www.meetup.com/bostonphp/ideas/431243/)!

mod_rewrite is a great Apache module that is used for rewriting URLs at the server level. For example, a user may ask for http://www.somesite.com/widgets/blue/, but will really be given http://www.somesite.com/widgets.php?colour=blue by the server.

This technique give you many benefits:
Hide the inner workings of your application so people can't hack your URLs
Makes your site search-engine friendly, because many search engines don't parse URLs with named parameters
Shorter, more human readable, and memorable URLs
Fix changes to your site structure while preserving users bookmarks

mod_rewrite can seem complicated to setup, but it's actually quite easy once you know what you're doing. In this intro presentation, we'll provide an overview of some of the key concepts. This intro presentation is intended as an overview of the module and will be presented by a non-sysadmin who has learned by trial and error (actually, lots of error). Matt will be editing Apache's httpd.conf configuration file via the unix shell on Mac but the overall concepts should apply in other environments.

Agenda:
6:00 - 7:00 : Doors open, socializing, BoothCamp
7:00 - 7:15 : Announcements
7:15 - 8:45 : Presentation
8:45 - 9:00 : Questions, Free O'Reilly Books
9:00 - ???? : Beers somewhere?