2. I’m Just A Gold Miner
I think I know
where the gold is.
It costs me dearly.
Follow along for
some spectacular
failures!
3. The 4 Stages of Google Analytics Failures
First digging in…
Then this…
And then I sleep on it
and reason kicks in and
I wake up...
Then I think that I
struck gold and I
report it
immediately to
the VP…
15. (not set) and (not provided) Cont’d
• (not set)
• for traffic that didn’t come from a keyword
• (not provided)
• started in 2011
• protects the keywords of logged-in
visitors
• is, however, made visible for paid ads
(i.e. AdWords)
16. An Awkward Google Analytics Moment
A few years back, someone…
• Googled my girlfriend’s name and arrived on my blog
• Behind a state military facility network domain
• Read all the posts about her on my blog for more than 30
minutes
• Left no comments
I kinda wish I didn’t know this
Google And “PII”
18. In Review…
• Google’s policies on blocking keywords
1. Annoy me
2. But might have helped me avoid some
awkwardness in my life
3. Baffle me because if I pay for Adwords,
keyword “privacy protections” …. *poof* gone.
PII Restrictions In Review
19. Event Example
ga('send', 'event', 'Videos', 'play', 'Fall Campaign',
{nonInteraction: true });
• Visitors trigger GA event tracking by click on a video
• Visitors then leave after 1 page visit (a bounce).
• Noninteraction setting in event tracking set to true
• This is not being recorded as a bounce.
• Changed noninteraction to false...
ga('send', 'event', 'Videos', 'play', 'Fall Campaign',
{nonInteraction: false });
• The bounce rate became similar to all site pages
Bounce Rate Mystery
22. Custom Events Export Fail
Custom events example.
ga('send', 'event', 'Videos', 'play', 'Fall Campaign’);
What you can do
• Add custom events
• Export custom events
What you cannot do
• Export anything not a custom
event along with those custom
events.
• User-scoped custom dimensions
can’t be tied to visitor’s future
custom dimensions once the
visitor falls outside of a 30-minute
session (see “The Schema
Consipracy” by Simo Ahava)
24. Failure to Search Github First
Code to achieve the following in GA:
• Automatically track form submits to external domains
• Automatically track link clicks to external domains
• Automatically track how long pages are in the visible state
• Automatically track how far down the page a user scrolls
OR
I could have just searched Github first!
https://github.com/googleanalytics/autotrack
Autotrack does it all!
Thanks, GA
developer platform
team!
26. So I did this…
Yes, I really am
simple-minded
#GithubFirst
27. • A client subscribe to a third party web application with Radio-Shack
levels of customer service and helpfulness (very, very bad)
• I compiled 19 pages of UI and software design flaws
• Sent it to customer support who never replied – even after multiple
follow-up requests by the client
• Eureka! Enter GTM (Google Tag Manager)
Failure to implement GA using GTM
28. • They installed GTM
• I configured the
Custom JavaScript
Variable
• Overwrote their
design flaws
• Shhhhhh
Failure to implement GA using GTM
29. Recommended Resources
• Simo Ahava
• simoahava.com
• Measure Slack
• http://bit.ly/AddMeasureSlack
• Visit the Google Analytics Channel and many other great channels
• Analytics Power Hour Podcast
• www.facebook.com/analyticshour
• GitHub
• www.github.com
30. Feel free to contact me
with any questions:
ikloss@archetypeconsulting.com
You can grab this deck
by filling out the survey
about this session.
1. Often, you only
need to find
small amounts of
gold in mining
and it doesn’t
take much --
same thing goes
for data.
2. Be skeptical
about your gold
pan and shovel.
3. Failing can’t
steal your story.
It’s often an
important part.
Tips
