How to Set Up Google Analytics Annotations

Ever take a look at your Google Analytics traffic graph and wonder what the heck caused that huge spike in traffic 5 months ago? Because it would be lovely to replicate that…

Or maybe: Ahh! Why did my traffic suddenly drop off by half? How do I fix it??

The answer to this problem: Annotations

What is an annotation? It’s a nerdy word for a dated note on your account.

How to Set Up Annotations in Google Analytics

It’s super simple. (First, make sure you have Google Analytics installed)

1. Log in to your Google Analytics Account
2. In Standard Reporting, head to Audience – Overview
   (by default, you may already land here when you log in to your account)
3. Under the line graph, you’ll see a gray down arrow
   (pointed out by my orange arrow in the below graph)
4. Click +Create New Annotation
5. Type in the relevant date
6. Add your note
7. Mark it Shared or Private
   (I select shared 99% of the time – this means if I invite any contractors or employees into my GA account, they’ll be able to see the annotations I’ve created – important for understanding your data)
8. Click Save

The green asterisk shows you what the annotation looks like once you save it. You can click it any time to read the details of your note.

Using Annotations

So when would you want to add an annotation to your account?

Here are a few ideas for starters:

1. The day your big-site guest post goes live
2. The day you filtered out your internal traffic
3. The day you added a mobile theme
4. The day you started a large advertising campaign

Your Turn

Have you used annotations on your Google Analytics account? What sort of activities would you add as a note to your traffic data? Did you find this post useful? Let me know in the comments!

photo credit: Viernest via photo pin cc