Web analytics is a big subject to tackle. While it’s a major skill that all marketers need, the reality is that most online courses and formal education alike don’t focus heavily on web analytics. You may know there are tools you can use and that you should track KPIs, but for many, that’s about the extent of their knowledge.
Self-education, therefore, is a critical part of learning how to use analytics data to assess marketing campaigns, prioritize referral sources, optimize on-platform traffic patterns, and strengthen the user experience on your website.
Fortunately, there are some outstanding resources available on web analytics. In this post, we’re going to look at four web analytics books every marketer should own, all of which can teach you how to understand and get the most out of your data.
What to Consider When Choosing Web Analytics Books
When choosing web analytics books, there are a few things you want to keep in mind:
- Reliability. It’s more common online than in book-form, but there is still some generally not-so-great advice out there. Look for books with positive reviews online that stress accuracy.
- Actionability. We all know that we should be tracking KPIs to improve performance in theory. Actually putting that theoretical “should do” into action and generating results is another thing. Web analytics books should contain actionable information that give you real skills you can apply to multiple analytics platforms.
- Relevance. Web analytics is not a static field; factors like the deprecation of third-party cookies, for example, directly impact attribution and tracking, and most books about old versions of Google Analytics are now moot after the fade-out of Universal Analytics. Some of the books on our list aren’t brand new, but make sure that their information still applies despite changing online landscapes.
- Details. This ties into actionability, but you want to learn specific tactics that will help you step up your analytics game. Learn how to use UTM builders, factor in attribution, and map customer journeys.
As a note: Each of the web analytics books below can provide essential knowledge for marketers. For updated guides about specific platforms or new changes to analytics or attribution, check out reputable blogs with regularly updated content (i.e. ours 🙂).
1. Lean Analytics
Alistair Croll and Benjamin Yoskovitz’s “Lean Analytics: Use Data to Build a Better Startup Faster” is the best web analytics book for startup founders and marketers who want to gain real skills fast.
This book will help you leverage data to build products that people actually want by validating whether the problem you’re solving is real, how to find the right customers, and how to monetize what you build while marketing it effectively.
It’s packed with over 30 different case studies based on extensive interviews from over a hundred founders and investors.
If you want actionable analytics skills for startups, add this book to your Amazon cart right now.
2. Web Analytics 2.0
Written by Avinash Kaushik, “Web Analytics 2.0: The Art of Online Accountability & The Science of Customer Centricity” is a well-regarded analytics book.
Kaushik is a web analytics thought leader, and this version of Web Analytics comes with an analytics framework that includes creating an actionable strategy, applying analytical techniques to get accurate data, and solve challenges.
You can learn how to measure multichannel campaigns, run effective experiments, and set up measures to get insights from your customers.
3. Web Analytics: An Hour a Day
Another great read from Avinash Kaushik, “Web Analytics: An Hour a Day” is written as a step-by-step guide.
This book provides detailed steps to take in order to create a strong web analytics strategy beyond basic clickstream analysis. It incorporates considerations like how to use qualitative data, and how to develop a customer-centric mindset while maintaining profitability.
4. Web Analytics for Dummies
If you’re starting from near-scratch, and with extremely limited knowledge about web analytics overall, Pedro Sostre and Jennifer LeClaire’s “Web Analytics for Dummies” should be your go-to choice.
This books covers the essentials, including the following:
- Definitions of key web analytics terms.
- How to collect key data and choose the right analytics strategy.
- Tips for tracking human users compared to bot users.
- Suggestions for using analytics tools.
- What to expect from web analytics.
- How to leverage insights into site or marketing campaign optimization.
Final Thoughts
Web analytics is a big topic, and to really get it right, you need to know more than “just the basics.”
The four web analytic books for marketers we’ve discussed here are full of actionable, relevant data that can give you the skills you need to learn what data to track, how to interpret it, and how to leverage it to get results.
A combination of web analytics books and constantly-updated resources like trusted blogs can give you the solid foundations and continued education that you need.