Google Analytics is a free web analytics solution provided by Google, featuring several client-side APIs, as well as REST APIs for Data Export and for Management.
121
votes
16answers
12k views
Site too large to officially use Google Analytics?
We just got this email from the Google Analytics team:
We love that you love our product and use it as much as you do. We have observed however, that a website you are tracking with Google ...
36
votes
12answers
1k views
Is there a better analytics package than Google Analytics?
I've used Google Analytics for a while now, and it's pretty good for a high level view. But when I want to dig into the numbers a bit more, everything gets kind of vague. I also don't like that it ...
20
votes
7answers
416 views
Are there any downsides of including google-analytics on your website?
I am in particular concerned with legal implications due to strong privacy legislations. However, I was also thinking about performance and false results by users blocking it.
19
votes
1answer
739 views
Someone else is using our Google Analytics Tracking code number. What do we do?
After looking over our Analytics today, I realized that another website is also using our same tracking code #, which is cause quite a few incorrect hits to our Analytics.
Are there any ways to ...
16
votes
3answers
2k views
One multi-domain analytics profile, or one analytics profiles per domain?
I currently run a small web-app that connects local businesses with new customers in a very specific niche. In the past few months this model has worked very well and the growth is excellent, so much ...
16
votes
5answers
8k views
How do you exclude yourself from Google Analytics on your website using cookies?
I'm trying to set up an exclusion filter with a browser cookie, so that my own visits to my don't show up in my Google Analytics. I tried 3 different methods and none of them have worked so far. I ...
14
votes
2answers
224 views
How do you format SEM URLS to properly track results using analytics engines like Google analytics?
If I were to purchase some advertising space on a website- what should I add to the end of the URL to track the results of that campaign in a tool like Google Analytics?
Is capitalization ...
13
votes
5answers
2k views
Google Analytics and the EU cookie directive. Who will fall foul of the law? Google or the developer?
So Google uses cookies when performing its usual duties of tracking users on a website. That is just it though; Google are setting the cookies and not your website as such. This is by virtue of the ...
12
votes
6answers
2k views
Is there any way to improve the speed of Google Adsense/Analytics?
Whenever I run Google Page Speed or YSlow, many of the optimisations suggested stem from my use of Google Adsense and Google Analytics.
For example, YSlow says there are "9 external Javascript ...
12
votes
2answers
2k views
Is traffic coming from url shorteners treated as direct?
Traffic coming form shortened urls like bit.ly, do they show up in Google Analytics as direct or do they keep their real referrer?
Ex. If someone types in a bit.ly link it counts as direct, but if ...
12
votes
3answers
147 views
How to make sense of analytics data?
Are there any good resources out there for learning how to use analytics data?
I'd like to learn how to take the data and apply it practically to my site in order to make it a better experience for ...
11
votes
1answer
132 views
What is the benefit of using Google Analytics' asynchronous tracking code compared to the non-asynchronous code?
What, specifically, does the asynchronous code accomplish or allow that the older code does not?
10
votes
2answers
167 views
Is there a way to get browser info on one specific page with Google Analytics?
I have an Ajax-based page which has had a history of problems with Internet Explorer (IE). I spent some time working on the JavaScript to try to get it to work in IE. After this I was interested to ...
9
votes
1answer
2k views
How to excludes my visits from Google Analytics?
I have integrated Google Sites website with Google Analytics and I access the website frequently to add more content. I want Google Analytics to track visits from real visitors only. How can I ...
9
votes
2answers
134 views
Does Google use Google Analytics information in its search algorithms?
Does anyone know whether Google makes use of the information it obtains via Google analytics in ranking of search results?
Does it, for instance, make use of the bounce rate for a page given a ...
9
votes
1answer
616 views
Using one graph I want to see browser usage per browser over time in GA
When I view the Browser graph in Google Analytics I'm shown the total number of visits over time in the graph. Below I see the aggregate breakdown of browsers over the entire period.
What I want to ...
9
votes
3answers
522 views
Alternatives to Google Website Optimizer [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
What are some good resources for doing A/B testing of a website?
What (affordable) alternatives are there to Google Website Optimizer for A/B and multivariate tests?
...
9
votes
2answers
175 views
detecting when you are going to reach your hit limit for Google Analytics free account
I am a user of a free Google Analytics account and i'm slightly concerned that I may be approaching the 10,000,000 hit (Pageviews, Events etc) per month.
Google state in their documentation:
...
8
votes
5answers
982 views
Huge surge in direct traffic from one particular town
Last month I noticed that the direct visits on our site have increased by nearly 150% whilst bounce rate is also considerably up.
After drilling down further I can see that we have had nearly 2000 ...
8
votes
1answer
132 views
Is Google Analytics Part Of Google's Search Engine Algorithm
I was wondering if anyone knows if Google uses the data it receives from Google Analytics to help determine a websites SERP (Search Engine Rank Position). For example, if my website is getting 1000 ...
8
votes
2answers
192 views
Google Analytics: What to feed back to clients?
We have several successful websites all of which have Google Analytics. A few clients like to see some of the stats on the website and kind of like to have a "feedback" session.
I usually go through ...
8
votes
3answers
144 views
Using Google Webmaster & Analytics, what data to look at to improve website performance?
Using data from Google Analytics and Webmaster tools, what data should I be looking at to improve my websites performance?
I want to improve the SEO, usability and just general performance of my ...
8
votes
1answer
252 views
How can I identify unknown query string fragments that are coming to my site?
In the Google Analytics content overview for a site that I work on, the home page is getting many pageviews with some unfamiliar query string fragments, example:
...
8
votes
1answer
324 views
(How) Could I import twitter posts as annotations in Google Analytics?
A site I maintain tweets every time a blog post is published.
Since the editors of the site have gone a bit mad with the ability to change the apparent date a blog post was published (back-dating as ...
8
votes
2answers
142 views
Reporting on Specific Event Label in Google Analytics
I am tracking the pageviews that each of my authors' articles generates on a Wordpress site with Google Analytics Event Tracking:
var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-xxxxxxx-x");
...
7
votes
3answers
8k views
What's an acceptable “Avg. Page Load Time”?
Is there any industry rule of thumb for what's considered an unacceptable load time v. an OK one v. a blistering fast one?
We're just reviewing some Google Analytics data and getting 0.74 Avg. Page ...
7
votes
2answers
2k views
Google Analytics: Why is Avg Time on Site lower than Avg time on Page?
I have the following Custom Report set up in Google Analytics:
Metrics:
Avg Time on Page
Avg Time on Site
Dimensions:
Page
So a report looks like this:
Page Avg Time on ...
7
votes
2answers
240 views
Google Analytics - how to track clicks on a screen?
Can I track the click of every link, button, dropdown select, etc. on a screen and have it be tracked in Google Analytics?
I want to create a page and collect data on which widget the users use most.
...
7
votes
4answers
3k views
Will Google Analytics track urls that just redirect?
I have a link on my site. That links goes to another URL on my site. The code on the server sees that resource being requested and redirects the browser to another website. Will Google Analytics be ...
7
votes
1answer
247 views
Is Google Analytics safe for websites that deal with sensitive information?
I work for a company that writes several webapps that deal with a lot of sensitive information, such as full name, date of birth, address, and SSNs. Currently we don't have anything to measure site ...
7
votes
1answer
140 views
How to track a site-search with lots of options?
Our website has two search forms. One of them includes no text input, but a lot of checkboxes, dropdown boxes and radio buttons for narrowing down our product catalogue.
Is there a good way to track ...
7
votes
1answer
490 views
Google Analytics multiple domains under one account while excluding one domain?
Cross-post from Stackoverflow
Here's the problem I am having:
Currently, we need to track across www.chess.com and secure.chess.com. However, I cannot set the domain to .chess.com because the cookie ...
6
votes
3answers
190 views
Is there a way to filter out your own company's IP in Google Analytics?
Can you exclude your own public IP? And if there is a way to do that, can you do that via the reports, or just as an ongoing setting (i.e. will only affect future reports).
6
votes
4answers
2k views
Is it possible to use Google Analytics to track file downloads?
It's always bothered me that Google Analytics (and similar embedded web traffic monitoring services) can only see a reflection of the traffic going to my server and can only see page visits since it ...
6
votes
3answers
295 views
LinkedIn Advert stats not matching with my Google Analytics data
I received a voucher from LinkedIn which gives me $50 worth of Advertising, and as I've started out on my own as a web designer/developer I thought this would be a good opportunity to get some extra ...
6
votes
5answers
403 views
Realtime HTTP notifications using Google Analytics when user views my page?
(I copied this question from stackoverflow.com, maybe someone here has the answer?)
I was wondering if its possible with Google Analytics to send real-time HTTP notifications to say PHP when a user ...
6
votes
3answers
2k views
What is the best browser usage statistics source?
I wonder about what source of browser usage statistics is most reliable and updated.
I've been using
Google Analytics (with use of my analytics enabled pages)
W3 Counter
Stat Counter
but they ...
6
votes
2answers
917 views
Is there any benefit of Google Analytics asynchronous tracking code if it isn't placed in the <head>?
I'd like to go to the asynchronous Google Analytics script, but I'd rather not have it in the head (even though I know this is best practice).
So, is there any benefit of using the async code if it ...
6
votes
2answers
766 views
Adding a calculated metric to a custom report in Google Analytics
Is there a way to display a calculated field in a custom report, for example I want to display the value of (event X / event Y) over time?
(including average event value, total events, etc.)
6
votes
3answers
7k views
Why would you use document.location.protocol instead of plain // prefixed urls?
For instance Google Analytics uses document.location.protocol in the boilerplate for tracking:
<script type="text/javascript">
var _gaq = _gaq || [];
_gaq.push(['_setAccount', ...
6
votes
3answers
672 views
Multiple google analytics instances on a page?
My company creates (and hosts) sites for many different clients. We allow clients to send us tracking code, including Google Analytics, and we put them on the page.
We would also like to include our ...
6
votes
4answers
91 views
Google Experiments & dynamic URLs
I want to set up a Google Analytic's Experiment to test variations of product page. Parts of the URL changes depending on what product you are viewing - here are some examples...
...
6
votes
1answer
100 views
How to use Google Analytics Site Search when the search term is not a query parameter?
My site search works as follows:
client types query into form and presses submit
it GETs the search page /search?q=keyword
that page redirecs the client to /products/keyword, which shows the search ...
6
votes
1answer
141 views
How do I get social engagement data in Google Analytics?
There's a Social Report under the Audience section. However it shows that none of our visitors are socially engaged. Searching the Google Analytics Help Centre for "social" or "engagement" doesn't ...
6
votes
2answers
850 views
Huge difference in visits/hits between IIS logs and google analytics
I use google analytics to monitor visitors access, and I am very happy with it, easy to use blabla, you name it :)
Few days ago I copied IIS logs from website and used free/evaluation commercial log ...
6
votes
3answers
360 views
Google Analytics - tracking across sites
We have two websites, A and B. A is tracked with Google Analytics.
Users arrive at site A and log in to site B from there. We have teasers for content on site A on the log out page of site B. So:
A ...
6
votes
1answer
149 views
Display only visits referred from a Google Adwords campain
I want to only display visits to my site which were sent by my Google Adwords campain preferably in the Visitors overview page.
I've tried filtering with 'Advanced Segments' but when I select "Paid ...
6
votes
3answers
1k views
Recording custom variables to identify individual users with Google Analytics
I have been asked by our marketing department to add Google Analytics custom variable tracking to my company's website. As the website uses server side includes, modifications to the tracking tag roll ...
6
votes
1answer
233 views
Add to vistor data in google analytics?
How can i add data to google analytics? i'd like to attach data to users such as if silverlight is installed, if i suspect the user of using an adblock etc (i would say if javascript is enabled but i ...
6
votes
2answers
1k views
How to track iframe and parent window as one pageview in Google Analytics
I have a site that contains the following characteristics:
Header is defined by code my team controls on subdomain B and is loaded via iframe
Body is defined by third-party code and platform on ...
