If you want to learn more about Google Analytics to keep track of how much traffic your website is getting, and what that’s worth to you, we recommend Michael Miller’s Sam’s Teach Yourself Google Analytics in 10 Minutes.

We like the book because it starts out at the very most basic first steps — creating an account and installing the code on your website — through analyzing traffic sources and top content, to setting up goals and funnels, creating campaign codes, and even tracking ecommerce traffic.

We especially like this last chapter, because it explains how to find out where your ecommerce traffic is coming from, and what they bought. If you’ve got an ecommerce site, this is crucial, because you need to know which of your marketing channels you can ignore and which ones you should put more energy and time into.

The information is very easy to understand, and the language simple. The book is written for the beginning user who has never used Google Analytics before. It’s for the user who wants to start using Google Analytics, and grow in their knowledge and experience. The book keeps up with the user and grows with you, showing you new ideas and tricks along the way. The concepts become
more difficult, but they build on knowledge and information from previous chapters.

If there’s just one book that will help you understand Google Analytics — and there really only needs to be one; it’s not that hard — then Sam’s Teach Yourself Google Analytics in 10 Minutes by Michael Miller is it.

Experts say the difference between who you are now and who you will be in five years will depend on the books you read and >the people you know. We can actually give you some advice on both of those areas, starting with four great books on small business marketing and networking.

Crush It, Gary Vaynerchuk

If there was ever a book on helping people find their passion and pursuing it, it’s Crush It. Gary tells how he got started by following his passion, and turned a $1 million family liquor store into a $50 million wine business and media empire. It’s an exciting book, so don’t read it before you go to bed.

Corporate Blogging for Dummies, Douglas Karr and Chantelle Flannery

Blogging is the ideal way to show customers what you do and how well you do it. It also helps you improve your search engine ranking. This is the book when it comes to blogging. Anyone who’s ever wondered if they need a business blog (hint: you do), should read this comprehensive book.

No Bullshit Social Media, Jason Falls and Erik Deckers

Many companies are still afraid of of social media marketing, thinking it’s a fad or that it’s only for young people. This book makes a plain, no BS business case for why businesses should do it, and helps them figure out strategies and places to use it.

Never Eat Alone, Keith Ferrazzi

The definitive book on networking and meeting people face to face. It doesn’t matter how much effort you put into your online life, it’s an empty shell without personal connections. Get to know people in your industry, people in allied industries, potential clients, actual clients.

You’re at your very first networking group at your local Chamber of Commerce or business networking event. Your first thought is that it’s more like a high school dance than anything else.

Numerous couples are talking to each other, a few people are talking in groups, and you’re standing with several people on the sidelines look around for someone to talk to, hoping someone will make the first move so you don’t have to.

But don’t worry. Networking in a group can be easy. Here are five important steps to take to make your first group event a success:

1. You only have to meet a few people. You’re not there to meet everyone in the room, or even half of them. If you can meet four people during the entire event, you’re doing pretty well.
2. Ask basic questions: What’s your name? What do you do? What made you get into that? Do you still have all your fingers? (Just checking to see if you’re still reading.) Keep a few infrequently asked questions in your pocket, in case the conversation slows down, but otherwise stick with the standards.
3. Listen more than you talk. The key to being seen as a great conversationalist is to listen more, and talk less. Let them do most of the talking.
4. Give out business cards only when asked. The goal is not to see how many business cards you can get rid of. Rather, you want to see how many quality contacts — people you want to meet with again — you can make. Giving away business cards is not a measure of networking success.
5. Schedule a time to meet for coffee or lunch. You’re not going to strike up a lifelong friendship in 10 minutes, so don’t try. Rather, just get an idea about whether you want to meet this person later for an hour. If you like them, invite them for coffee, and get to know them better. That’s your time to develop that deeper relationship.

The great thing about social networking is that you can create significant relationships with people right from your computer. But make no mistake, an online relationship is no substitute for an offline one.

Meeting your online business connections face-to-face can greatly help your professional growth, as well as your company’s.

There’s an old saying that people buy from people they like. The same is true for referring opportunities and even clients to people — people will only do it for you if they like and trust you. (And the reverse is certainly true.) If you have trusted relationships with people, they’ll help you. If you don’t, they won’t.

To get to know these people, a coffee or lunch meeting is always the best. Find a coffee shop that’s conveniently located to both of you, and meet for an hour.

The point is not to sell to the other person (or let them sell to you). In fact, the best networkers rarely talk about themselves. They let the other person do the talking, and then see if they can find ways to help them. Ask them about how they got started in their business, where they worked in the past, what do they enjoy most about their job now.

But don’t limit it to just talk about work. Talk about your families and your hobbies. Talk about where you grew up, and what high school was like. Talk about that funny thing you both shared on Twitter. Just talk about the things people normally talk about.

We’ve talked about networking and mentoring this week, so it’s only fitting that our book of the week is every networker’s bible, Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi. We even discussed this book briefly in our Four Best Small Business Marketing Books post earlier this week.

The book, which was published in 2005, is considered by many to be one of the best books on networking and establishing relationships that can be very valuable to helping one grow professionally.

The three best networking lessons anyone can learn and apply from the book are:

1. Figure out who can help you professionally, both by name and job type. That is, do you want to meet an editor at a publishing house, or a professional speaker? Do you know of a particular person you would like to meet? Next, figure out a way you can meet them face to face. Do you know someone who can introduce you? Or are you bold enough to just reach out yourself?

2. Spend more time listening, rather than telling them all about yourself. People who listen more than talk are often thought of as being good conversationalists. (Go figure.)

3. Stay in touch with more ways to help. This is the key to successful networking: get help by helping others first. If you can connect people with resources, opportunities, and even other people who can help them achieve their goals, you’ll reap the benefits later.

While this is a good book to read, it’s even better to listen to, so check out the audiobook version, and listen to it in the car or on your MP3 player or iPhone.

One of the secrets of any successful businessperson is that they did not get to where they were on their own; they had mentors who helped guide them throughout their career path, whether they were climbing the corporate ladder or starting their own business.

As a business owner, you need to find mentors to help you reach your own potential, to guide you through the pitfalls and over the barriers, and to give you advice to avoid the problems they faced as they were in your position.

The best place to find mentors is at outside networking events, rather than looking online. We talk a lot on this blog about online networking as a way to find valuable connections, but it’s the offline events where you’ll make the best connections.

Look for someone who is older and more experienced, and either works in your industry, or used to. Meet with them at least once a month, if not every two weeks, to discuss the issues that arise in your business, and seek their advice in dealing with them.

Pay attention to the stories they tell, ask for introductions to the people they know, and read any of the books or blogs they suggest. These people were successful for a reason, and their reading habits is one of those reasons. You can benefit from the same knowledge by reading some of the same books and authors.