Insight | 04.30.19

Google Analytics & The Appeal of Solving Mysteries

Whether it’s music, art, sports, movies or TV, our tribe loves it all, and we like to share our thoughts with a unique perspective and a little twist. This time it’s about crime and detective shows. Millions of Americans are addicted to shows that tell a great story, provide mystery and suspense and often explain how the crime was solved. The popularity of these types of shows are obvious when you look at the pure number of them on TV, their longevity and not to mention the number of spinoffs. CSI Toledo anyone?

Somehow Google Analytics didn’t make our top 10 favorites. That’s hard to believe when you think of all the mysteries GA solves on a daily basis. Who’s coming to your website? What content are they interested in consuming when they visit? How are people finding your site? What do people search for when they’re on your site? Do they stick around or do they just stop by and bounce? Google Analytics has all the information you need to help answer these questions and more. And like a crime story, you just have to find the clues (in easy-to-read dashboards) to help tell the full story.

All this data then allows you to build more relevant content that will draw visitors in and keep them engaged. You can customize your acquisition strategy if you know visitors who find you through particular channels convert (fill contact forms, download whitepapers, etc.) more than others those from other channels. On top of all these benefits, Google Analytics is free to use and easy to implement. All you need to do is set up a Google Analytics account, take the tracking code Google provides and insert it on your website. You can be up and running with GA and start unraveling the mysteries of your website just like that. It may not be as addicting as the first season of True Detective, but it can be fun to solve a different type of mystery. Yalo can help.

In the meantime, we polled our team for their favorite mysteries and found quite a variety. Some were stand-by, old-school shows, but we have a pretty good representation of newer shows, too. Here are our top 10 picks for current/recent crime and detective shows:

Justified: Raylan Givens is a bad-ass Marshall empowered to eradicate the scourge of drug trade in the hollers of Kentucky. Boyd Crowder was a devious bad guy!
The Wire: The greatest cast of bad guys vs cops ever. And greatest names ever . . . Omar Little, Stringer Bell, Snoop and Avon Barksdale! The BAD crew from land of Hamsterdam.
True Detective (Season 1): Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey are amazing in the first season. It has an incredibly well-written story and characters.
The Night Of: This is one of HBO’s best pieces of work. John Turturro is amazing. The story is gripping, and compelling. Unlike most crime dramas, this one isn’t trying to trick you or take you down the wrong path. It’s a great story with a talented cast.
Law & Order: It’s the longest running crime series in history of television (20 seasons). It will only take you 19 days if you watch all 458 episodes consecutively. Another benefit is it’s always on!
Dark: This German series (yes, you’ll need subtitles) on Netflix is a bit of a slow burner to start but has major David Fincher vibes. Here’s the formula: Stranger Things + True Detective ÷ Back to the Future + Twin Peaks x Germany = Dark.
Mindhunter: Binge-worthy crime drama on Netflix that gives a glimpse into the early days of criminal psychology and profiling. Season 2 will reportedly follow the Atlanta murders of 1979-1981. This one also has major David Fincher vibes, because he executive produced it and also directed a few of the episodes as well. Good stuff!
The Staircase: Some have called this the Godfather of true crime documentaries.
Making a Murderer: Whether you believe Steven Avery is innocent or guilty of murder, the story proves that truth can be stranger than fiction. Guilty pleasure for sure.
Killing Eve: A bored security agent gets involved and obsessed with a case involving a quirky assassin and they begin to have a complicated relationship. It’s both funny and horrifying at times. Season one is on Hulu and season two just started.