1) Managing multiple websites requires setting up tracking and analytics properly across websites using Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager best practices. 2) GTM allows for flexible and fast tracking of everything across websites using one master GTM container exported and imported to other containers. 3) Custom alerts and dashboards in GA help monitor website performance daily and weekly. 4) Automating reporting with spreadsheet reports connected to GA via APIs and scheduled sending reduces work and ensures timely insights. 5) Coordinating websites takes some project management, communication, and keeping the overall picture in view.

1. 5 Life Hacks:
How to coordinate
a pack of websites
Presentation + Discussion
Michaela Linhart, Data Analyst
MeasureCamp #11: 23th September 2017

2. A pack of websites….
X equally but technically different webshops for
different countries and currencies
several brands in a multinational concern several verticals or projects
→ ONE COMPANY, ONE WEBANALYST, ONE GOOGLE ANALYTICS SETUP

3. Planning, Preparation and
an excellent concept
Life Hack #1

4. Tracking Concept
Documentation of your
Requirements
Documentation how to
implement Tracking Codes
Documentation of Google
Analytics Setup
GA
Requirements
GA Tracking
Codes
GA Analytics
Setup

5. … don’t forget an appropriate
Google Analytics Account Concept!

6. GA Account Concept: Best Practice

7. Disadvantage
You can’t analyse website 1 and
website 2 together.
No pig picture about your business.
GA Account Concept: Best Practice

8. GA Account Concept: 1
Like GA360 Rollup Property

9. GA Account Concept: 1
Limits
Only 25 dataviews per property.
Only 50.000 unique requests per day
e.g. URLS (cardinality issue)
Only 75.000 unique entries for several
days

10. GA Account Concept: 2

11. GA Account Concept: 3

12. Fall in love with GTM
Life Hack #2

13. Fall in love with GTM
You can track EVERYTHING with GTM (except Enhanced Ecommerce)
Events
Custom Dimensions, Metrics
Content Grouping
You are: Extremely flexible and super fast!
The only thing you need: Some HTML / Javascript knowlege!

14. GTM Account Setup for websites
which are roughly the same

15. GTM Account Setup: Best Practice

16. Disadvantage
X container for X websites - even they
are roughly the same.
A lot of setup work.
A lot of maintenance work.
GTM Account Setup: Best Practice

17. Advantage
One setup instead of 13 → less work.
Easy maintenance.
→ GTM Account Concept: 1

18. Differentiate different properties
Via Hostname
in a GTM Custom JS variable
if(location.hostname == "www.yourcompany1.com") {
return "UA-12345678-1";
} else if(host == "www.yourcompany2.com") {
return "UA-12345678-2";
} else {
return "UA-12345678-3"; //default
}

19. Differentiate different dataviews
Via data view filter directly in GA

20. GA Account Concept: 3
Remember?

21. → GTM Account Setup

22. GTM Account Setup
How to do:
Finish setup of master GTM (All Websites)
Export Master GTM
Import Master GTM to Rollup GTM
Any small changes afterwards? → Do it in
both GTM containers.

23. Lifehack #3 for Tekkis
DON’T CHANGE THE DATALAYER-NAME
to e.g. dataLayer_1 and dataLayer_2
→ not necessary anymore
→ just leads to crazy errors

24. Lifehack #3 for Tekkis
Instead: Use dataLayer for both container → simply works fine!

25. Use the power of GA
Life Hack #4

26. Custom Alerts
Use daily and weekly alerts for monitoring
if your websites work well
Depends on business goals which alerts
are useful: ecommerce, goals, traffic,
channels, ...
Most important: No Data Alert
For example:

27. Dashboards
Use daily and weekly dashboards for
monitoring if your websites work well
Have a look on this data
daily e.g.: at 11am
weekly e.g.: Monday, 11am
For another example:

28. Reporting?
Definitly not without automation!
Life Hack #5

29. Spreadsheet Reports
Example Data Only

30. Spreadsheet Reports
Advantages
Simple, beautiful, customized
Direct GA connection via Core
Reporting API (find details in the blog
from Johannes Mehlem)
Automation via Send & Schedule
Spreadsheet Plugin
Example Data Only

31. Send & Schedule Spreadsheet Plugin
Advantages
Schedules & Sends Spreadsheet data via
email to one or several recipients - hourly,
daily, monthly, yearly via PDF
Reduces work, overhead work and errors
Saves time
Available for free in Spreadsheets (simply
search for it!)

32. Send & Schedule Spreadsheet Plugin

33. The Secrets of coordinating
a pack of websites
Some wisdom at the end...

34. Secrets of coordinating a pack of websites
You need
some project management
Daily 10-minutes Jourfix with core-team
Weekly 1-hour Jourfix with bosses
a project manager who always keep the overall picture
a well working, motivated team
Nothing new but always to add: Web Analysis is a matter of bosses! You

35. Conclusion
Managing a pack of websites is challenging but works fine with
GA
GTM
a bit project management
Now, I am very interested in your experiences!

36. Happy analyzing!
Michaela Linhart @MimiiiEinsteiiin