1.
@adrianvender • adrianvender.com • #IDSD
smart data with google’s
universal analytics
IDSD 2014

2.
@adrianvender • adrianvender.com • #IDSD
part one
the problem with
web analytics

3.
@adrianvender • adrianvender.com • #IDSD
ONE PERSON, ONE DEVICE
if people just used one device,
tracking users would be easy.

4.
@adrianvender • adrianvender.com • #IDSD
ONE PERSON, MANY DEVICES
people interact with your business
using multiple devices.

5.
@adrianvender • adrianvender.com • #IDSD
ONE PERSON, MANY INTERACTIONS
actually, it’s a bit more complicated.
online and offline interactions have to be considered.

6.
@adrianvender • adrianvender.com • #IDSD
GOOGLE ANALYTICS EVOLVED A BIT
multi-channel funnels shifted us away from last-click attribution.
other GA improvements helped push us to smarter analysis.

7.
@adrianvender • adrianvender.com • #IDSD
UNIVERSAL ANALYTICS
universal analytics allows us to connect and
measure users across the online and offline world.
- tracking across any device
- 3rd party system integrations
- improved, flexible tracking code
- more admin-based configurations
- custom dimensions & metrics
- import cost data from other ad networks

8.
@adrianvender • adrianvender.com • #IDSD
“Not so fast, my friend”

9.
@adrianvender • adrianvender.com • #IDSD
YOU NEED CORRECT DATA
you can’t get smart data out of bad data.

10.
@adrianvender • adrianvender.com • #IDSD
part two
correct data is
good data

11.
@adrianvender • adrianvender.com • #IDSD
WASP
WASP will automatically scan analytics tags, visualize script and
tag info, & highlight potential problems.
http://webanalyticssolutionprofiler.com/

12.
@adrianvender • adrianvender.com • #IDSD
GOOGLE TAG MANAGER
use GTM to organize your tags and mitigate data errors.
http://www.google.com/tagmanager/

13.
@adrianvender • adrianvender.com • #IDSD
CAMPAIGN (UTM) TAGGING
if you want ANY form of correct multi-channel attribution,
you MUST be tagging your campaign links.

14.
@adrianvender • adrianvender.com • #IDSD
HOW GA ATTRIBUTION WORKS
order of attribution in GA:
1. custom UTM tags
2. browser referral string
3. if neither is found, session channel marked as “direct”
“direct” really just means “we don’t know!”

15.
@adrianvender • adrianvender.com • #IDSD
WHAT HAPPENS WITHOUT UTM TAGGING
desktop and mobile apps don’t pass referral string, and browser
referrals aren’t always insightful, leading to mass confusion.
- email marketing will be marked as “direct” or “mail.*” referrals.
- twitter traffic either marked as “direct” or “t.co” referrals.
- banner ad referrals aren’t specific and insightful.
- Bing Ads will appear as “bing/organic”
* for AdWords, enable autotagging!
https://support.google.com/adwords/answer/1752125?hl=en

16.
@adrianvender • adrianvender.com • #IDSD
UTM TAGGING RESOURCES
check out @AnnieCushing and her guide to UTM tagging.
http://www.annielytics.com/guides/definitive-guide-campaign-tagging-google-analytics/

17.
@adrianvender • adrianvender.com • #IDSD
GET A NERD
other potential issues that you need a nerd to fix:
- self-referral traffic
- cross-domain tracking
- ecommerce tracking implementation
- event firing and troubleshooting
- JavaScript errors
http://www.google.com/analytics/partners/

18.
@adrianvender • adrianvender.com • #IDSD
part three
let’s talk
universal
analytics

19.
@adrianvender • adrianvender.com • #IDSD
TIME TO UPGRADE
universal analytics is out of beta! all features available.
existing GA properties can be upgraded to UA. (no data loss)

20.
@adrianvender • adrianvender.com • #IDSD
SAFE TIME WINDOW FOR UPGRADING
UA properties will allows hits from ga.js for at least a few years.
this let’s you safely plan your code migration.
classic
analytics
ga.js
universal
analytics
analytics.js
learn more at the “Universal Analytics Upgrade Center”
https://developers.google.com/analytics/devguides/collection/upgrade/?hl=en_US

21.
@adrianvender • adrianvender.com • #IDSD
CUSTOMIZE ORGANIC SEARCH SOURCES
customize the list of organic search sources to clean up your
referral and search reports.
great list of organic search sources to add:
http://antezeta.com/news/universal-analytics-search-engines
@SeanCarlos

22.
@adrianvender • adrianvender.com • #IDSD
CAMPAIGN AND SESSION TIMEOUT HANDLING
use cases:
- reduce the campaign timeout when a micro
social-media campaign lasts only a few days
- extend the session timeout when a user is
placed in an online ‘waiting room’ (i.e. ticket
purchases)
- reduce the session timeout when you expect
users to quickly read content and leave (i.e.
online news portal)

23.
@adrianvender • adrianvender.com • #IDSD
REFERRAL EXCLUSIONS
- very important for cross-domain tracking. must exclude origin and destination
domains.
- also useful when you are sending traffic from Facebook Page Apps (using iframes) to
your website.

24.
@adrianvender • adrianvender.com • #IDSD
CUSTOM DIMENSIONS & METRICS
you can configure 20 custom dimensions
& 20 custom metrics!
- dimensions are your ‘row’ labels
- metrics are your ‘column’ labels
understand the difference between hit,
scope, and user scope levels:
http://cutroni.com/blog/2014/02/05/understanding-digital-analytics-data/ @JustinCutroni

25.
@adrianvender • adrianvender.com • #IDSD
MEASUREMENT PROTOCOL
new, improved measurement protocol is what
enables tracking from any programmable interface.
- web tracking (analytics.js) and mobile SDKs inc the measurement protocol.
- simple structure allows for easy incorporation into any digital device. arduinos, kiosks,
CRM, call tracking systems, coffee machines(?)
http://www.google-analytics.com/collect?v=1&tid=UA-123456-
2&cid=36009a59-2a05-49e7-b826-2b884d0f935b&uid=as8rlkjs&t=pageview&dp=%
2Fhome

26.
@adrianvender • adrianvender.com • #IDSD
USER ID - THE KEY TO CROSS-DEVICE TRACKING
assign a unique userID to a user. it may be a unique row id in your
CRM, member database, etc.
*** NOT a name, email address… anything with their identity ***
http://www.google-analytics.com/collect?v=1&tid=UA-123456-
2&cid=36009a59-2a05-49e7-b826-2b884d0f935b& uid=as8rlkjs&t=pageview&dp=%
2Fhome
ga('create', 'UA-123456-2', { ' userId': 'as8rlkjs' });
ga('send', 'pageview');
example with analytics.js:
example with measurement protocol:

27.
@adrianvender • adrianvender.com • #IDSD
part four
use cases

28.
@adrianvender • adrianvender.com • #IDSD
DIMENSION WIDENING
dimension widening is a feature that allows you to append
dimensions & metrics to GA hits based on a custom data set.
http://cutroni.com/blog/2013/10/30/dimension-widening-import-data-directly-into-google-analytics/
key
extra
values

29.
@adrianvender • adrianvender.com • #IDSD
LOGIN-BASED USER UNIFICATION
once you establish a user id for a registered user on your site,
always set the GA userId for subsequent visits.
user will always be identified as the same user no matter what
device they login with.

30.
@adrianvender • adrianvender.com • #IDSD
TRACKING ACROSS THE SALES CYCLE
websites allow you to track web-based conversions, but other
sales-cycle conversions occur outside of the website.
use system webhooks (and the GA user id) to track when leads
become sales accepted leads, opportunities, won contracts, etc.

31.
@adrianvender • adrianvender.com • #IDSD
TRIAL TO SIGNUP CONVERSION TRACKING
tracking a 30-day trial signup with GA is pretty easy.
but what about the signup at the end of the trial?
your applicationuserId
30 days later...
<UA signup>
<UAecomm>

32.
@adrianvender • adrianvender.com • #IDSD
MARKETING AUTOMATION + CRM INTEGRATION
store your userId in your CRM system. upon a change in sales
cycle, use a webhook and measurement protocol to send hit.
your CRMuserId
new contract!
<UA lead>
<UAcontract>

33.
@adrianvender • adrianvender.com • #IDSD
PHONE CALL TRACKING
some call tracking solutions send data to GA, but often identified
as a separate user and disconnected from attribution paths.
sync the user id with the assigned phone number so if a call
occurs, call tracking system sends user id along with GA hit.
call tracking
system
userId
<ua hits>
<ua hit>

34.
@adrianvender • adrianvender.com • #IDSD
IN-STORE TRACKING
great example of measuring:
- in-store entrances and exits
- cash register transactions
http://juliencoquet.com/en/2013/04/08/measuring-offline-store-activity-with-google-universal-analytics/
@JulienCoquet

35.
@adrianvender • adrianvender.com • #IDSD
UNIVERSAL ANALYTICS FOR SEARCH BOTS
PHP-based server side script that
tracks bots in GA.
http://www.adrianvender.com/universal-analytics-for-search-bots/
@This Guy?!!

36.
@adrianvender • adrianvender.com • #IDSD
TRACKING COFFEE CONSUMPTION W/ PRODUCTIVITY
using arduino boards and universal
analytics, LOVES DATA was able to track
coffee consumption by user & tie against
their productivity metrics.
http://youtu.be/C27yMQOS8n0

37.
@adrianvender • adrianvender.com • #IDSD
TRACK THE PLANET
if there is a programmable interface, it can be integrated with GA.

38.
@adrianvender • adrianvender.com • #IDSD
A NEW WORLD OF INSIGHTS
connect the users and all of their touchpoints.
gain intelligent and valuable insights.
make better business decisions.

39.
@adrianvender • adrianvender.com • #IDSD
thank you
@adrianvender