Google Analytics
Migrating to Google Analytics Async Tracking Code
Customized Tracking Code
Customizations to tracking code can be as simple as modifying your code to track visitors across domains, or as complicated as setting custom variables or sending event tracking requests within the “tag”. Here is a text file displaying the migration of Google Analytics tracking code from the old version to the async version, using the code from this site as the example. In a nutshell, any function that previously was called with the “pageTracker.” prefix, is now wrapped in _gaqPush[] . The code on this site has been modified to trigger an event for every post viewed, to track who the author was. Read this post on tracking authors in WordPress with Google Analytics if you need clarification on the intended functionality. In the example script, you can see that I had to take the code that identifies and records the author, and modify it to use _gaqPush['_trackEvent'] instead of pageTracker._trackEvent(). You’ll also notice that the rest of the code is updated to the new async standards.
Downloads & Off-Site Links
Downloads and off-site links are typically tracked by using an onclick event to call pageTracker._trackPageview. Here is an example of how this has now changed. The following HTML/JavaScript:
<a target=”_blank” href=”http://www.linkedin.com/in/adamware” onClick=”pageTracker._trackPageview(‘http://www.linkedin.com/in/adamware’);”>connect with me on LinkedIn</a>
Would need to be modified to:
<a target=”_blank” href=”http://www.linkedin.com/in/adamware” onClick=”_gaq.push(['_trackPageview', 'http://www.linkedin.com/in/adamware’]);”>connect with me on LinkedIn</a>
Notice again the the pageTracker code is ditched, and the attributes are now tucked into the gaqPush function with trackPageview.
Flash & AJAX
For requests made in Flash and AJAX, the change is essentially the same. Wrap any function calls (_trackPageview, _trackEvent, _setCustomVar) in the gaqPush function.
Events & Custom Variables
This is probably starting to sound like a broken record: take the existing function call and wrap it in the new gaqPush[] function. Here is an example of code that would be used to designate a visitor as registered using custom variables. It would have been:
trackPageview._setCustomVar(2, ‘RegisteredUser’, ’True’, 1);
but is now:
_gaq.push([‘_setCustomVar’, 2, ‘RegisteredUser’, ’True’, 1]);
Pretty basic modifications here.The important thing is just remembering where all the locations on your site are where you are using custom modifications. Most of our clients are at least using download tracking and off-site link tracking in some way, and many are using events and custom variables. The migration process won’t be immediate for some of them, but hopefully everyone will be using the async code within a couple months. I’d love to hear thoughts on any ways to make this process easier, and certainly on any details I may have left out. Here is Google Analytics’ official Google Code page on migration.
Tracking Authors in WordPress with Google Analytics Event Tracking
Here is a script for tracking authors in WordPress using Google Analytics Event Tracking. I threw this together in response to a blog post by Douglas Karr on tracking authors in WordPress. Doug presents a way to do this using spoofed pageviews and a separate profile. I could see a use case for that method also.
If you aren’t familiar with Doug’s blog, I highly recommend it. A great resource for digital marketers, with frequent posts on SEO, analytics, social media and a variety of other subjects.
How to Create a Custom Advanced Segment in Google Analytics
I put this together for a SwellPath client the other day, so I thought I would share it here, since it is a bit too 101 for the SwellPath blog.
Overview of Advanced Segments in GA
Creating a Custom Segment
Once you’ve had some time to get accustomed to using advanced segments, you should walk through creating one. An easy “beginner” segment is one created to view only visitor in a specific geographic area. Let’s say North America. Here are the steps to create it.
1. Click the Advanced Segments dropdown, and look for the link on the left side that says “Create a new advanced segment”.
3. Name your segment something appropriate like “North American Visitors” and click the Create Segment button. You should be taken back into the reporting.
4. Dropdown the Advanced Segments, check your new segment, it will be in the Custom Segments section. Then peruse your reporting and look at them metrics of your North American visitors compared to your visitors as a whole.
Viewing Custom Advanced Segment Data
Now viewing these segments might not be that meaningful to you; you might want to go create a segment for your European visitors and compare that to your North American visitors. But just follow these steps. As far as I know there isn’t a limit to the number of custom segments you can have, at least I haven’t hit that limit. Custom segments are now organized at the profile and user level, so you will only see your own segments in your account, and those segments will be profile specific. You can hide certain segments from profiles. You can share segments with other users by sending them a link; it is accessible from the custom segment management interface.
Happy Holidays: from Google, but for Facebook
Biggest takeaway from the 2009 holiday season? For me it is the fact that according to Hitwise, Facebook was the number one most visited site on the web on Christmas day. Phenomenal when you take into account the incident in Detroit, which presumably drove loads of traffic to Google and the major news sites.
Just some food for thought; I’d gladly write a longer post but we’re scrambling to finish up year-end activities at SwellPath before the first monthly reporting session of the new year hits. Enjoy the rest of 2009 everyone and best wishes for a wonderfully successful 2010.
Analytics App for iPhone – Mobile Google Analytics
The interface itself is simple but highly effective. You have access to all your accounts and profiles from the introscreen. Switching between profiles that belong to multiple account is actually easier than it is in the GA interface. Once you are in a profile you see a menu of options. The first is Today which is really handy for just quickly checking in on account to get a read on traffic. Below that are the rest of the reports you’re used to seeing in the Google Analytics interface. You can navigate quickly between sections to see the data that’s important to you.
Without a doubt, you’ll quickly get to a point where you want to dig deeper into the data, and you’ll be unable to in Analytics App. However, the application isn’t for hardcore analysis, but rather for exactly what it does: offering you a very quick and easy way to monitor your basic analytics data from anywhere.
The one thing that would make this application way more effective is if GA had real-time data: but that is obviously in the hands of Google, and not Michael D. Jensen (@mdjensen) the creator of Analytics App. Pulling in data from an application like Clicky or Woopra that has real-time data would be really cool.
Overall, pretty impressive and well worth the $5 it costs. Thanks to Michael for creating such a great app.
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