How To Be Ready For The Next Google Algorithm Update on April 21, 2015?

Many website owners now started to receive warnings on their GWMT accounts telling them that their websites have issues on being friendly on mobile devices, and most of these issues are speed related.

Then Last Month Google has announced it will release an update on April 21st, which will have a significant impact on websites that are NOT mobile friendly. According to Google Webmaster Trends Analyst Zineb Ait Bahajji the coming Mobile Update will have a much stronger impact then any Panda update!


As a marketer, I now have to know how big this difference will be on my domain and where there is specific room for optimization. Because if the traffic from mobile devices continues to rise, and the wheat separates from the chaff, then I have only a few possibilities to find out the following points:

1. What is the status of my mobile performance?
2. What do I ideally have to do to improve it?
3. What does my competition look like?

It is therefore even more important to have a basis of comparison in which the specific difference between my Desktop and Mobile Visibility can be recognized.

Search Metrics have already collected & analyzed data last year for providing facts about differences of the Mobile SEO Ranking Factors. The split between mobile and desktop search results is measurable. At their last Mobile Ranking Factor study in 2014 the difference of URLs between Desktop and Mobile index was already 36%.

Here is an excerpt of their findings:

"It’s for this reason that we have been tracking the same keywords for months in the mobile area as we have for desktop searches. This is, firstly, to see how the results keep differentiating more and more (which they definitely do) and, secondly, with the intention of giving our users the opportunity to have more evidence for their optimization.

And so, the time has come: the Mobile SEO Visibility (Beta) is now available as a KPI in the Searchmetrics Suite for all users, providing first indications for figuring out main differences between Desktop and Mobile SEO Visibility.

Comparability of Desktop and Mobile Visibility

The starting problem is: Desktop and Mobile cannot really be compared and analyzed to one another under real conditions. In the mobile area, there are different click-through-rates, search volumes, user intentions and the influence of local parameters on the search results is different.

Nevertheless, we want to make a comparison between Desktop and Mobile index possible and have converted our calculation of the normal SEO Visibility – which is based on a dynamic CTR calculation by machine learning algorithms – 1:1 to mobile. Why? Because we consider it to be intrinsic to prepare a mutual basis as a KPI in the form of this comparison. Especially to see how the performance is now and how it will change at April 21st.

The Mobile SEO Visibility will be updated weekly.

We have decided on an Android smartphone as a user agent. Differences between iOS and Android can occur, but in my opinion they are irrelevant, as the only differences that I have previously witnessed occur in queries for apps. For example, if you search for ‘netflix’, the Apple App Store ranks on an iPhone, whereas the Google Play Store ranks on an Android. This is also the reason why apple.com and google.com show such great deviations in Mobile SEO Visibility. Other than this, there have not been any further relevant differences between these domains so far.

Mobile SEO Visibility with desktop comparison at a glance

From now on, there are new KPIs for the evaluation of Mobile SEO Visibility (Beta) in the research area. The new search result page of the Searchmetrics Suite in the research area looks like this:

The rank overview, which was previously displayed across the entire page width, has moved to a closed circular graphic on the left side – in favor of the new ‘Desktop vs Mobile’ KPI. By the way, we have dubbed this circular graphic ‘mojo’, as in Austin Powers, as it shows at a glance how much mojo a domain has in a respective country and which channel works best!

We have also pre-calculated the Mobile SEO Visibility on all subdomains so that you can see how a mobile subdomain, such as en.m.wikipedia.org or m.imdb.com, performs.

The new KPIs and possibilities at a glance:

• Desktop vs Mobile Visibility – comparison of visibility on the same database
  • Difference been Desktop and Mobile Visibility (circular graphic with percentage overlap of the respective Visibility)
  • Trend desktop/trend mobile – to previous week
• Mobile SEO Visibility (SEO research)
• Mobile Paid Visibility (SEO research)
• Mojo with the ranks for SEO, paid, social and links
• Toplist domains (top 10/ top 100) comparison of SEO visibility desktop vs mobile

1. Recognize problem: same database for desktop and mobile

This ‘Desktop vs Mobile’ KPI offers the simplest way to create comparability between Desktop and Mobile Visibility performance. In order to ensure this comparability, we work with identical CTR calculation and search volume on the basis of desktop values.

2. Solve problem: individual data for mobile

We know that both CTR and search volume differ in the mobile area. We have already been working with mobile data for years and have even offered mobile rankings in the project area of our Suite since June 2013. Therefore, we recommend this new Mobile SEO Visibility (Beta) only be used as an indicator in order to understand how the performance between mobile and desktop differs.

Specific analyses in the project area

For an optimum mobile measurement of performance, individual, local rankings for mobile with individual mobile search volume are necessary. We offer this data and functionality within the project area in the Searchmetrics Suite using more than 800 search machine/country/device combinations.

Conclusion: From data comparison to deep analysis

The new ‘Desktop vs Mobile’ KPI can been seen as the starting point for recognizing how big the overlap between my Desktop and my Mobile Visibility is. Furthermore, the trend shows at a glance how my performance has recently developed. Due to the fact that this KPI is part of the research area, all users of the Suite benefit from this update, which spans not only the SEO but also the PPC area.

In order to be prepared for April 21 – Google’s mobile update – and thereafter, the tracking of concrete mobile rankings is required. This is already available in the project area of the Suite, taking into account also historical developments and individual data.

Check out the current status of your Desktop vs Mobile Visibility and start projects in order to track your individual performance.

suite.searchmetrics.com/en/research.

20 Reasons Localization Is Essential To Website Conversions

Thanks to the global reach of the internet, website localisation is one of the best things you can do to increase website conversions. By creating a culture- and language-specific version of your website for each demographic market you target, you become a truly international business. All businesses, even small online retailers, can benefit from localization. In fact, you can’t afford not to have localized websites, and here are 20 reasons why.

1. It offers global expansion and increased reach.

Although English is still the predominant language online, other languages, most notably Chinese, Spanish, French, and Arabic, are quickly closing the distance. Offering web content in additional languages and cultures helps you increase your reach and become a respected international business.

2. Localization helps you appeal to multicultural audiences.

Translation helps international visitors find and buy from you, but it doesn’t consider cultural differences and sometimes doesn’t convey your message or brand very well. Localization includes both cultural and linguistic concerns, helping you reach audiences in different cultures much better.

3. It increases web traffic.

Search engines rank websites with localized versions or pages higher than non-localized websites and return your website as a result more often. On top of that, local sites are more likely to link to you when you provide information in the local language. Increasing traffic is one of the three most important things you can do to boost revenue, and more traffic means more sales.

4. You get more traffic from regional and language-specific search engines.

These smaller search engines have much less competition because they’re small and most businesses don’t have localized websites to appear in results. This means it’s much easier for your localized websites to rank higher than your English website. The higher you rank and the more often your website appears in search results, the more traffic and sales you get.

5. Localization increases brand recognition.

When you translate your website into the language and culture of your target market, you show that you respect and value your audience. They in turn are more aware of your business than your English-only competitors because they see your website more often and more easily understand your message.

6. Localization increases website stickiness and sales.

Having a strong localization plan boosts your presence and sales in a targeted area, such as localizing in French and German to increase sales in Europe. Multiple studies have found that when users are presented with a website in their native language, they stay on the site twice as long and are four times more likely to make a purchase from it.

7. It increases overall ROI.

Increased traffic, conversions, and brand awareness also leads to increased trust, credibility, customer loyalty, and satisfaction, in turn leading to more conversions. Localization is also scalable for both your audience and your budget, delivering huge benefits for only a marginal additional cost.

8. Localization maintains low printing and content distribution costs.

Localizing your website increases reach without raising these costs a few ways. First, you can reuse much of the same content across multiple languages; second, translating your website into a new language and culture is scalable; finally, having a web presence costs the same no matter what language or culture. Having a localized website may also eliminate the need for direct mail such as catalogs and brochures in various languages.

9. It is a cost-effective virtual branch office or satellite location.

Instead of building a brick-and-mortar store or renting an office in an international location, your localized websites become those virtual stores by offering information, products, contacts, and everything else you can deliver digitally.

10. Localization lowers customer support costs.

By answering questions and providing information in a target market’s native language and culture, you give customers what they need online in the best format for them, which reduces the need for multilingual phone and chat support.

11. It allows you to target minorities in your own area.

Many countries have large subgroups with their own languages, cultures, and skyrocketing purchasing power, such as the Latino market in the USA. Creating localized websites for these groups helps you solidify your presence and boost sales in your own area.

12. Localization maintains brand image and voice across cultures.

The problem with straight translation is that it doesn’t consider cultural differences and doesn’t always maintain your branding message. Localization is better than translation because it considers communication, sales incentive, design, layout, and programming specific to each culture and area, so you don’t lose the integrity of your brand across languages.

13. You become a local business.

Localizing your website turns you into a local business, which boosts conversions because many people want to buy locally, you get more traffic from local keywords, and you have an easier time building brand awareness.

14. Localization makes your local marketing stronger.

When you have a website specific to a certain area’s language and culture, your local internet marketing efforts (including search engine optimization, directory listings, and social media) benefit from having a local resource to point visitors to.

15. It makes you more trustworthy and credible.

By using the area’s local slang, idioms, metaphors, and figures of speech, you can communicate with your target customers more easily and directly, reducing confusion and boosting your own reputation.

16. Localization appeals to more customers.

Most web users don’t buy products online in a language other than their own. By offering them that option, you attract more prospects and close more sales.

17. It means fewer abandoned carts.

Programming can be as much a barrier as language or culture. Localization includes proper programming to prevent backend problems such as forms that make it difficult to input personal and payment info. Fewer problems means more closed sales and higher average order value.

18. Localization makes payment easier.

When you enable local credit cards, shipping and tax codes, and buying practices, your localized websites attract customers that would shop elsewhere otherwise, boosting your ROI, conversions, and revenue.

19. It increases local sales.

Offering products, support, FAQs, and other information in your customers’ native languages makes them more likely to buy from you because they have all the information they need in a format they understand to make an informed purchase.

20. Localization increases revenue.

Most consumers care more about language than price. So even if they know they can find a product cheaper somewhere else, they are more likely to buy from you at full price if you have a localized website for them.

Differences Between Responsive Design, Dynamic Serving, and a Separate Mobile Site

There are many ways to configure a website for all screens. Factors to think about include the cost, time to build, your available human resources and infrastructure, and the needs of your customers.

Whatever configuration you choose, as an underlying principle we strongly recommend that you serve all your sites from a single domain, like example.com. In particular, if your desktop site is hosted on example.com, don’t put your mobile site on a separate domain, like a.com/example.

Stay with a single domain and you’ll build brand and URL equity with your users. With that principle in mind, let’s look at the three basic ways you can build a mobile-friendly website: responsive design, dynamic serving, and a fully separate mobile site.

Responsive Design

Responsive web design (RWD for short) is a clever design technique that uses a single HTML code base for all platforms. That is, all viewing devices read from the same code on the same URL.  The content resizes itself to fit the screen being used, based on pre-defined breakpoints and fluid grids.

RWD requires solid up-front planning. Costs can be high at first, but once the device-specific strategy is set, maintenance can be less resource-intensive.

Pros:

·        One URL for all content. Using a single URL for a piece of content makes it easier for your users to interact with, share, and link to your content. It’s also easier for search engines to discover and index your content.

·        A streamlined user experience. Presentation of all content is customized, and device-specific features can still be used.

·        Flexible orientation. RWD naturally allows for landscape or portrait device orientation changes by users.

·        No redirects. Load time is reduced and performance increased.

Cons:

·        Careful planning required. Since all HTML is shared here, careful planning is a must to develop a truly custom and robust experience with optimal performance for each device and user.

Common mistakes to avoid:

·        Data bloat. Don’t let mobile users download full-size images meant for big screens and fast speeds. Try to reduce HTTP requests and minimize CSS and JavaScript. Load visible content first and defer everything else.

Who it’s for:

Businesses that are focused on offering a consistent experience and can plan holistically for all devices with a single web team. (Starbucks.com, BostonGlobe.com and Time.com all use this approach.) RWD can be expanded to fit new devices as they emerge, and the single URL is good for linking and sharing articles without confusion or redirects.

Dynamic Serving

In this method, the web server detects the type of device a visitor is using, then presents a custom page designed just for that device. Custom pages can be designed for any device type, from mobile phones and tablets to smart TVs.

Pros:

·        A custom user experience. Each user gets content and layout created just for their device.

·        Easier changes. Adjust content or layout for one screen size without having to touch other versions.

·        Faster loading. Your team can streamline content for optimal load times on each device.

·        Single URL. As with Responsive Design, Dynamic Serving keeps all your users on a single URL.

Cons:

·        Content forking. Multiple custom pages mean multiple sets of the same content. Unless you have a sophisticated CMS in place, keeping content up to date on all device-specific pages can be challenging.

Common mistakes:

·        Faulty device detection. Your servers will need to run scripts to recognize all available devices. This step prevents problems like the server sending a mobile-optimized site to tablet users. Your webmaster will need to keep the directory up-to-date and running smoothly to avoid bad detection or gaps in service. Another common mistake is that the server assumes a device orientation, most commonly portrait, but the user may be holding the device in a different orientation (ie landscape).

·        Changing experiences: Users will be confused if you have multiple sites and they appear radically different. While it’s important to customize for each screen size, your brand look and feel should be recognizable in all formats.

Who it’s for:

Dynamic serving is a resource-intensive solution for companies that make frequent changes to their website, and who often need to adjust display for one device, such as tweaking only their mobile site. A capable IT staff (or vendor) is a must to manage the different and possibly complex sets of website code required.

A Separate Mobile Site

A third option is to simply create a mobile site that’s separate from your original desktop site. Your system detects mobile visitors and redirects them to your mobile-optimized site (often using a sub-domain like m.yourname.com).

Only mobile users will see the separate mobile site. Users of tablets, Web-enabled TVs or other devices will still see your original desktop site.

Pros:

·        A custom user experience. This gives you the most freedom to create a separate mobile site that is designed only for mobile users.

·        Easier changes. Content or design changes can be limited to the mobile version of the site, with no effect on other devices.

Cons:

·        Multiple URLs. Sharing a web page requires careful redirects and integration between your mobile and non-mobile sites. Redirects also lead to longer page load times.

·        Content forking. Keeping two different sets of content can make data management more complex.

Common mistakes:

·        Faulty redirects. When a mobile user lands on a deep desktop page, make sure they aren’t redirected to your generic mobile homepage. Also important: avoid smartphone-only errors, where a desktop URL redirects to a non-existent mobile URL.

·        Missing annotations. The two-way (“bidirectional”) annotation helps Googlebot discover your content and helps our algorithms understand the relationship between your desktop and mobile pages and treat them correctly.

·        Inconsistent user experience: People who look at your smartphone site should recognize it as the same business they see on your desktop site. This prevents confusion and a bad overall user experience.

Who it’s for:

Businesses that for any reason need to manage their mobile site independently. For instance, some businesses may want to use a different vendor for mobile, or may want a mobile structure that simply wouldn’t be possible with RWD. Since setup is relatively easy and can be quite cost-effective, a separate mobile site can be good for small businesses with more basic site needs.

References:

1. http://www.google.com/think/multiscreen/start.html
2. http://www.feedthebot.com/mobile/ 
3. https://developers.google.com/webmasters/mobile-sites/
4. http://www.foraker.com/choosing-between-responsive-web-design-and-a-separate-mobile-site-to-improve-mobile-visitors%E2%80%99-experience/ 
5. http://mob.is.it/blog/why-separate-mobile-site-is-usually-better-than-responsive-design 

301 Redirect Old Domain Without Passing Link Juice or Referral Signals

If you're hit by Google algorithm's Penguin and tried your best to disavow all the "Bad" links coming to your site, but your site has not been recovered yet, then you might be thinking of starting a new website with clean backlinks portfolio and White Hat SEO.

Of course you do not want your visitors to go to the old abandoned site, and of course you cannot 301 redirect the old domain to the new one, or else you will be transferring all the harmful link signals with you.

So, the best technique to do (after you've decided to start a fresh site) is do this simple yet very effective technique:

1- get a new domain name to use as intermediary  (Example: www.oldsite2.com)
2- Add a Robots.txt file and make the root domain (of the intermediary site) Disallowed

User-agent:*
Disallow: / 

3- Redirect (301) the old domain to the intermediary.
4- Permananetly redirect (301) the intermediary to the brand new domain

More to do:

You can also:
1- Add a robots.txt file to the old site to deindex it from search engines (follow step 2)
2- Use Google's URL removal tool and remove all the URLS of the old site.

A Fresh Beginning:

Now it is a new opportunity to start fresh with a new domain, new content, and better strategy.

Short Story Long:

http://searchenginewatch.com/sew/how-to/2355513/youve-been-hit-by-penguin-should-you-start-over-or-try-to-recover
http://searchenginewatch.com/sew/how-to/2384644/can-you-safely-redirect-users-from-a-penguin-hit-site-to-a-new-domain

20 Reasons why Localization is Important to Website Conversion

Thanks to the global reach of the internet, website localization is one of the best things you can do to increase website conversions. By creating a culture- and language-specific version of your website for each demographic market you target, you become a truly international business. All businesses, even small online retailers, can benefit from localization. In fact, you can’t afford not to have localized websites, and here are 20 reasons why.

1. It offers global expansion and increased reach.

Although English is still the predominant language online, other languages, most notably Chinese, Spanish, French, and Arabic, are quickly closing the distance. Offering web content in additional languages and cultures helps you increase your reach and become a respected international business.

2. Localization helps you appeal to multicultural audiences.

Translation helps international visitors find and buy from you, but it doesn’t consider cultural differences and sometimes doesn’t convey your message or brand very well. Localization includes both cultural and linguistic concerns, helping you reach audiences in different cultures much better.

3. It increases web traffic.

Search engines rank websites with localized versions or pages higher than non-localized websites and return your website as a result more often. On top of that, local sites are more likely to link to you when you provide information in the local language. Increasing traffic is one of the three most important things you can do to boost revenue, and more traffic means more sales.

4. You get more traffic from regional and language-specific search engines.

These smaller search engines have much less competition because they’re small and most businesses don’t have localized websites to appear in results. This means it’s much easier for your localized websites to rank higher than your English website. The higher you rank and the more often your website appears in search results, the more traffic and sales you get.

5. Localization increases brand recognition.

When you translate your website into the language and culture of your target market, you show that you respect and value your audience. They in turn are more aware of your business than your English-only competitors because they see your website more often and more easily understand your message.

6. Localization increases website stickiness and sales.

Having a strong localization plan boosts your presence and sales in a targeted area, such as localizing in French and German to increase sales in Europe. Multiple studies have found that when users are presented with a website in their native language, they stay on the site twice as long and are four times more likely to make a purchase from it.

7. It increases overall ROI.

Increased traffic, conversions, and brand awareness also leads to increased trust, credibility, customer loyalty, and satisfaction, in turn leading to more conversions. Localization is also scalable for both your audience and your budget, delivering huge benefits for only a marginal additional cost.

8. Localization maintains low printing and content distribution costs.

Localizing your website increases reach without raising these costs a few ways. First, you can reuse much of the same content across multiple languages; second, translating your website into a new language and culture is scalable; finally, having a web presence costs the same no matter what language or culture. Having a localized website may also eliminate the need for direct mail such as catalogs and brochures in various languages.

9. It is a cost-effective virtual branch office or satellite location.

Instead of building a brick-and-mortar store or renting an office in an international location, your localized websites become those virtual stores by offering information, products, contacts, and everything else you can deliver digitally.

10. Localization lowers customer support costs.

By answering questions and providing information in a target market’s native language and culture, you give customers what they need online in the best format for them, which reduces the need for multilingual phone and chat support.

11. It allows you to target minorities in your own area.

Many countries have large subgroups with their own languages, cultures, and skyrocketing purchasing power, such as the Latino market in the USA. Creating localized websites for these groups helps you solidify your presence and boost sales in your own area.

12. Localization maintains brand image and voice across cultures.

The problem with straight translation is that it doesn’t consider cultural differences and doesn’t always maintain your branding message. Localization is better than translation because it considers communication, sales incentive, design, layout, and programming specific to each culture and area, so you don’t lose the integrity of your brand across languages.

13. You become a local business.

Localizing your website turns you into a local business, which boosts conversions because many people want to buy locally, you get more traffic from local keywords, and you have an easier time building brand awareness.

14. Localization makes your local marketing stronger.

When you have a website specific to a certain area’s language and culture, your local internet marketing efforts (including search engine optimization, directory listings, and social media) benefit from having a local resource to point visitors to.

15. It makes you more trustworthy and credible.

By using the area’s local slang, idioms, metaphors, and figures of speech, you can communicate with your target customers more easily and directly, reducing confusion and boosting your own reputation.

16. Localization appeals to more customers.

Most web users don’t buy products online in a language other than their own. By offering them that option, you attract more prospects and close more sales.

17. It means fewer abandoned carts.

Programming can be as much a barrier as language or culture. Localization includes proper programming to prevent backend problems such as forms that make it difficult to input personal and payment info. Fewer problems means more closed sales and higher average order value.

18. Localization makes payment easier.

When you enable local credit cards, shipping and tax codes, and buying practices, your localized websites attract customers that would shop elsewhere otherwise, boosting your ROI, conversions, and revenue.

19. It increases local sales.

Offering products, support, FAQs, and other information in your customers’ native languages makes them more likely to buy from you because they have all the information they need in a format they understand to make an informed purchase.

20. Localization increases revenue.

Most consumers care more about language than price. So even if they know they can find a product cheaper somewhere else, they are more likely to buy from you at full price if you have a localized website for them.

How to know where your visitors go when they leave your website?

How can I see which specific pages/URLs people visit after leaving my site? In other words, I can see the percentage of people that EXIT on a certain page, but I want to be able to see which links on an exit page they follow (i.e. what percent of the visitors to a certain page of our site click on each outbound link on our page)? Or are they just leaving our site without necessarily visiting an outside site we've linked to?

Short Answer: You add this code to your link so it looks like:

<a href="http://www.example.com/" onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/example');">Co name or link info</a>

Will show up in Google Analytics as a page view.

Detailed Answer: (From Google Support) 

You can customize your Google Analytics tracking code to find out when users click outbound links, or links that take users to a website other than your own.

This article gives you an example of how to set up outbound link tracking. This is a two-step process, and you need to follow both steps complete the process.

You must have Google Analytics account and the web tracking code set up before you can track outbound links. You should have a basic knowledge of HTML and JavaScript or work with a developer to complete the set up.

Step 1: Set up an Event to track outbound links

Event tracking is a way you can track user interactions that aren’t automatically collected by the Google Analytics tracking code snippet, including clicks to outbound links. Learn more about Event tracking.

You can copy and paste the example below into your own pages to set up Event tracking for outbound links. We recommend you put this script in your page headers, but not within the basic Google Analytics tracking code snippet.

When you set up an Event, you must define values for the Event components. The Event components define how the data appears in your reports. In this example, the Category, Action, and Label are defined (in bold). You can use these values, or change them and define your own values. Learn more about Event components or refer to our Developer Guides for more technical information on the Event tracking.

The changes you need to make to your web pages depend on which tracking code you’re using. See if you have Classic Analytics (ga.js) or Universal Analytics (analytics.js).

This example uses Event tracking for Universal Analytics. If you’re using Classic Analytics, refer to our Developer Guides for more information on how to track outbound links with Events using the ga.js JavaScript library.

<script>
/**
* Function that tracks a click on an outbound link in Google Analytics.
* This function takes a valid URL string as an argument, and uses that URL string
* as the event label.
*/
var trackOutboundLink = function(url) {
   ga('send', 'event', 'outbound', 'click', url, {'hitCallback':
     function () {
     document.location = url;
     }
   });
}
</script>

Step 2: Add the onclick attribute to your outbound links

After you have Event tracking set up (Step 1), you must also add (or modify) the onclick attribute to your links. This is how data from a specific link gets sent to Google Analytics.

Use this example as a model for your own links:

<a href="http://www.example.com" onclick=”trackOutboundLink(‘http://www.example.com’); return false;">Check out example.com</a>

Additional resources (for developers)

This example includes the hitCallback field, which tells Google Analytics when the user interaction is complete., and uses the trackOutboundLink() as the JavaScript function. This makes sure that you collect the interaction data before the user leaves your site.

For more information on how this works, refer to the hitCallback reference in our Developer Guides.

This tutorial describes how to track outgoing links using the NEW Google Universal Analytics.js code, commonly called Analytics.js or UA. If you are using the OLD ga.js code click here.

This guide describes how to track outgoing links using Google Universal Analytics or commonly known as Analytics.js - the NEW (since late 2013) tracking that Google provides it's webmasters.

If the tracking code you use on your website starts with

(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){i['GoogleAnalyticsObject']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function()

... then you are using the NEW Analytics.js code and you can continue reading below.

If however your tracking code starts with

var _gaq=_gaq||[];

... then you are using the OLD Google Analytics code, and you should refer to the other guide: Track outbound links with Google Analytics (ga.js)

The issue tracking outbound links

Since Google introduced the Asynchronous Tracking method, one of the most common questions is: "how do I track outgoing links"? The solution is quite simple, one has to track outgoing links as events (found in Google Analytics under Behavior - Events). The problem however is that it does not always work for everyone, the reason being that events are only recorded once a link is clicked. If that link takes you away from a page (such as an outgoing link in the same window), that tracking event often does not have time to register with the analytics server before the new page starts to load and the tracking request cancelled.

In order to ensure that tracking is done properly, we either have to ensure that the target window is a new window (eg: _blank), or delay the opening of the link by about half a second, giving your browser enough time to register the event and load the tracking url.

Automatically track outbound links

The best method of "auto-tracking" outgoing links is to automatically detect outbound links with JavaScript when they are clicked, and automatically track that event. That tracking event should first check to see whether that link is destined to open in a new window (target="_blank"), and:

• If yes, register the track, and open the link in the new window
• If no, register the track and delay opening the link by half a second, then proceed to open that link.

This method is by far the most robust, and simply means you need to include an external JavaScript file on your pages.

function _gaLt(event){
    var el = event.srcElement || event.target;

    /* Loop up the tree through parent elements if clicked element is not a link (eg: an image inside a link) */
    while(el && (typeof el.tagName == 'undefined' || el.tagName.toLowerCase() != 'a' || !el.href))
        el = el.parentNode;

    if(el && el.href){
        if(el.href.indexOf(location.host) == -1){ /* external link */
            ga("send", "event", "Outgoing Links", el.href, document.location.pathname + document.location.search);
            /* if target not set then delay opening of window by 0.5s to allow tracking */
            if(!el.target || el.target.match(/^_(self|parent|top)$/i)){
                setTimeout(function(){
                    document.location.href = el.href;
                }.bind(el),500);
                /* Prevent standard click */
                event.preventDefault ? event.preventDefault() : event.returnValue = !1;
            }
        }

    }
}

/* Attach the event to all clicks in the document after page has loaded */
var w = window;
w.addEventListener ? w.addEventListener("load",function(){document.body.addEventListener("click",_gaLt,!1)},!1)
  : w.attachEvent && w.attachEvent("onload",function(){document.body.attachEvent("onclick",_gaLt)});

Manually Track outbound links

If you are wanting to track links manually (ie: in the code), an outbound link on your website should look something like this:

<a href="http://outgoinglink.com"
   onclick="ga('send','event','Outgoing Links','outgoinglink.com')" target="_blank">Link Text</a>

What this will do (when clicked) is track an event called "outgoing_links" as "outgoinglink.com". This means that in your Google Analytics account, which has an "Event Tracking" section, you now get a category called "Outgoing Links" containing an action (and total recorded) of outgoing links. Please note the target="_blank" as this ensures your web browser is kept open and the event is able to register.

Tracking any other links

Using this new method, you can theoretically track anything on your website, including downloads, videos, etc. You just need to assign an "onclick" event with your own category and "description" (action), such as:

<a href="/myfiles/mypdf.pdf"
 onclick="ga('send','event','downloads','/myfiles/mypdf.pdf')" target="_blank">Link Text</a>

All about Google Analytics Chrome Extension

The Google Analytics team recently released a Chrome Extension that allows you to get detailed information about each page of your website while you browse it. Below I will go through some of the extension's features and how to use it to get a better idea of what is going on in your website.

In order to use the extension you will need any kind of Google Analytics permission to the website you are analyzing, a Chrome browser and the Extension (download here). Once you have those three, you can click on the Google Analytics icon on your browser while browsing your website (the icon is usually found on the top right corner of the page). 

Below is the extension's interface map with all its functionalities followed by an explanation of each.

The Page Analytics Chrome Extension allows you to see how customers interact with your web pages, including what they click and don’t click. 

Use these insights to optimize your website layout, improve user experience, and increase conversions. When you view a web page for which you have Google Analytics access, you’ll see: Google Analytics metrics: Pageviews, Unique Pageviews, Avg time on page, Bounce Rate, and %Exit Number of active visitors, in real time In-page click analysis: (where users click) You can use the Google Analytics date comparison and segmentation tools directly in the extension. 

Pages you are tracking with the Google Analytics code for an account your Google account login has access to will appear like this in your Chrome browse.

Notice that by installing this extension, you agree to the Google Terms of Service and Privacy Policy at https://www.google.com/intl/en/policies/.

Resources: 

1- https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/page-analytics-by-google/fnbdnhhicmebfgdgglcdacdapkcihcoh?hl=en

2- http://online-behavior.com/analytics/in-page