Weber Practical Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager for Developers

1. ed
ISBN: 978-1-4842-0265-4
Verlag: Apress
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: 1 - PDF Watermark

E-Book, Englisch, 277 Seiten

Maybe you're starting from scratch with a brand new Web site and wondering, 'What's the best way to go about implementing Google Analytics?' Even more likely, you're scratching your head over someone else's aging and completely undocumented implementation and wondering what it's actually doing-and not doing. You need to turn things around.The instructions for Google Analytics seem easy enough-just copy and paste this little snippet of code, right? But as Practical Google Analytics for Developers shows, using stale code won't give you what you're really after: who is visiting your site, what they want, and what their behavior reveals. After all, the more you know about your particular users, the better you can serve their needs and turn them into buyers.Written by data evangelist and Google Analytics expert Jonathan Weber, this book offers foundational knowledge, a collection of practical recipes, well-tested best practices, and troubleshooting tips to get your implementation in tip-top condition. Among other things, it covers:Basic Google Analytics implementationHow to customize Google Analytics for your unique situationHow to use Google Tag ManagerHow to track and analyze all interactions across multiple devices and touchpointsHow to extract data from Google Analytics and use Google BigQuery to analyze Big Data questionsThere's a reason that `so many organizations use Google Analytics. Whether you're a marketer with development skills or a full-on Web developer/analyst, Practical Google Analytics for Developers will show you how to implement GA from scratch on a new web site or reengineer or enhance a GA account you have inherited. The result? You will reduce customer acquisition costs, turn visitors into customers, get priceless feedback on your new product initiatives, and gain insights that will grow your customer or client base like never before.What You'll LearnImplementation approaches for Google Analytics, including common pitfalls and troubleshooting strategies.
How to use tools like Google Tag Manager and jQuery to jumpstart your Google Analytics implementation.
How to track metrics beyond page views to other critical user interactions, such as clicks on outbound links or downloads, scrolling and page engagement, usage of AJAX forms, and much more.
How to incorporate additional, customized data into Google Analytics to track individual users or enrich data about their behavior.
Who This Book Is ForWeb developers, data analysts, and marketers with a basic familiarity with Google Analytics from an end-user perspective, as well as some knowledge of HTML and JavaScript.

Jonathan Weber is the Data Evangelist at LunaMetrics. He spreads the principles of analytics through training seminars on Google Analytics and related topics, and works with clients on challenging strategic issues in measuring and interpreting analytics data. He holds a master's degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Information Sciences. When he's not in front of the computer poring over data, you can find him out in the sunshine as the co-founder of sustainable urban flower farm greenSinner, located in Pittsburgh.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Weber, Jonathan

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1;Contents at a Glance;5
2;Contents;7
3;Foreword;15
4;About the Author;16
5;Acknowledgments;17
6;Introduction;18
7;Part I: Implementing Google Analytics with Google Tag Manager;20
7.1;Chapter 1: Google Analytics Fundamentals;21
7.1.1; GA Account Structure and Administration;21
7.1.1.1; Getting a Google Login;21
7.1.1.2; Google Analytics Structure;22
7.1.1.3; Administration and Access Controls;23
7.1.1.4; Google Analytics Premium Properties;23
7.1.2; How Google Analytics Collects Data;24
7.1.2.1; Hits, Sessions, and Users;24
7.1.2.2; Privacy Considerations;25
7.1.3; Reports and Data Structures in GA;25
7.1.3.1; Dimensions and Metrics;25
7.1.3.2; Pre-Aggregation and Sampling;26
7.1.3.2.1;Row Limits;26
7.1.3.2.2;Sampling;26
7.1.3.3; Tool Overlap and Reconciliation;27
7.1.4; Google Analytics Documentation;28
7.1.5; Summary;28
7.2;Chapter 2: Basic Google Analytics Measurement;29
7.2.1; Basic Google Analytics Tracking Code;29
7.2.1.1; How the Tracking Code Works;30
7.2.1.1.1;Create the GA Tracker;30
7.2.1.1.2;Send the Pageview;30
7.2.1.1.3;Multiple GA Trackers;31
7.2.1.1.4;Arguments and Field Names;32
7.2.1.2; Getting the Code on the Page;32
7.2.1.2.1;Code Placement;33
7.2.2; Cookies and Domains;33
7.2.2.1; Choosing a Cookie Domain;33
7.2.2.2; Multiple Domains As One Site;35
7.2.2.2.1;Enabling Cross-Domain Tracking;35
7.2.2.2.2;Decorating Links;36
7.2.3; Summary;36
7.3;Chapter 3: Introducing Google Tag Manager;37
7.3.1; Why Use a Tag Manager?;37
7.3.2; How Does Google Tag Manager Work?;38
7.3.2.1; Creating a GTM Account;38
7.3.2.1.1;GTM Account Structure;38
7.3.2.1.2;GTM Permissions;39
7.3.2.2; GTM Container Script;39
7.3.3; The Building Blocks of GTM;40
7.3.3.1; Tags;41
7.3.3.2; Triggers;41
7.3.3.3; Variables;42
7.3.3.3.1;Basic Page Attribute Variables;43
7.3.3.3.2;Page Content Variables;43
7.3.3.3.3;User Interaction Variables;44
7.3.3.3.4;GTM Attribute Variables;44
7.3.3.3.5;Other Variable Types;44
7.3.4; Providing Data to GTM with a Data Layer;44
7.3.4.1; Structure of the Data Layer;45
7.3.4.2; Filling In the Data Layer;45
7.3.5; Implementing GA Basics with GTM;45
7.3.5.1; What Comes Next;49
7.3.6; Summary;50
7.4;Chapter 4: Testing Your Implementation;51
7.4.1; Publishing in Google Tag Manager;51
7.4.1.1; Preview and Debug Mode;51
7.4.2; Publish Your Container;55
7.4.2.1; Version Management;55
7.4.3; Troubleshooting Tools for GA;56
7.4.3.1; Chrome Tag Assistant;56
7.4.3.2; Google Analytics Debug Mode;56
7.4.3.2.1;Enabling GA Debug Mode;57
7.4.3.2.2;Viewing GA Debug Information;57
7.4.3.3; Other Browser Tools;58
7.4.3.4; Google Analytics Real-Time Reports;59
7.4.4; Summary;60
8;Part II: Enhancing Website Data with Google Tag Manager;61
8.1;Chapter 5: Tracking Interactions with Google Tag Manager;62
8.1.1; Tracking Interaction in Google Analytics;62
8.1.2; Design Patterns for Events in GTM;64
8.1.2.1; Design Pattern 1: GTM’s Auto-Event Tracking;66
8.1.2.1.1;All Elements and Just Links Target Types;68
8.1.2.1.2;The Mechanics of Auto-Event Tracking;70
8.1.2.2; Design Pattern 2: Custom JavaScript in GTM;70
8.1.2.3; Design Pattern 3: Explicit Data Layer Events in Site Code;71
8.1.3; Applications of Interaction Tracking;74
8.1.3.1; Outbound Links;74
8.1.3.2; PDFs and Other Downloads;76
8.1.3.3; Mail and Phone Links;79
8.1.3.4; Tabs, Hover, Scroll, and Other Content Interactions;79
8.1.3.4.1;Tabs and Other In-Page Content;79
8.1.3.4.2; Time Spent;80
8.1.3.4.3; Scrolling;82
8.1.3.4.4;Hover and Other Interactions;88
8.1.3.4.4.1;Extending GTM’s Auto-Event Tracking Model;88
8.1.3.5; Social Interactions;88
8.1.3.5.1;Social Actions: Initiation vs. Completion;89
8.1.3.5.2; Facebook Likes;89
8.1.3.6; Video;91
8.1.4; Summary;96
8.2;Chapter 6: Goals: Measuring Conversions;97
8.2.1; Creating and Organizing Goals;98
8.2.1.1; Deleting Goals;101
8.2.2; Destination Goals and Funnels;101
8.2.2.1; Setting Up a Funnel;103
8.2.2.1.1;Testing Goal and Funnel URLs;105
8.2.2.1.1.1;Required First Step;107
8.2.2.2; Funnels Without Distinct URLs;109
8.2.2.2.1;Modals and iFrames;110
8.2.2.2.2;Forms and the Form Listener;111
8.2.2.2.3;AJAX and Dynamic Processes;113
8.2.2.2.3.1;The History Listener;113
8.2.2.2.3.2;Using the Click Listener;115
8.2.2.2.4;Flash and Other Browser Plugins;116
8.2.2.3; Conversions That Span Sessions;116
8.2.3; Summary;117
8.3;Chapter 7: Ecommerce: Tracking Products and Purchases;118
8.3.1; Basic Ecommerce Tracking;119
8.3.1.1; Ecommerce Data in the Data Layer;120
8.3.1.2; Create a Goal in GA for the Checkout Process;124
8.3.2; Enhanced Ecommerce Tracking;124
8.3.2.1; Enabling Enhanced Ecommerce;126
8.3.2.2; Ecommerce Data in the Data Layer Declaration;129
8.3.2.2.1;Product Data;130
8.3.2.2.1.1;Product Impressions;131
8.3.2.2.1.2; Product Detail View;132
8.3.2.2.1.3;Cart Additions and Removals;134
8.3.2.2.1.4; Checkout Process;134
8.3.2.2.1.5; Purchase;136
8.3.2.2.1.6;Refunds;137
8.3.2.2.2;Promotion Data;138
8.3.2.2.2.1;Promotion Impressions;139
8.3.2.3; Ecommerce Data on User Interactions;139
8.3.2.3.1;Product and Promotion Clicks;139
8.3.2.3.1.1;Explicit Data Layer Events in Site Code;140
8.3.2.3.1.2; Using GTM’s Auto-Event Tracking;142
8.3.2.3.2; AJAX Cart and Checkout Interactions;144
8.3.3; Summary;146
8.4;Chapter 8: Cleaning Up and Enriching Data;147
8.4.1; Tools for Cleaning Up Data;147
8.4.1.1; GTM: Blocking Triggers and Overriding Default Values;147
8.4.1.1.1; Blocking Triggers;148
8.4.1.1.2; Overriding Default Values in a Tag;148
8.4.1.2; GA: Filters and Views;149
8.4.1.2.1;Types of Filters;150
8.4.1.2.1.1;Predefined Filters;151
8.4.1.2.1.2; Custom Filters;151
8.4.1.2.2;Testing and Troubleshooting Views and Filters in GA;152
8.4.2; Partitioning Internal Traffic;154
8.4.2.1; Removing Internal Traffic;154
8.4.2.1.1;Using IP Addresses;154
8.4.2.1.2; Using Service Providers;158
8.4.2.2; Separating Test and Production Environments;160
8.4.2.2.1;Using Lookup Tables to Partition Traffic in GTM;160
8.4.3; Cleaning Up and Grouping Content;163
8.4.3.1; Enforcing Case in URLs;164
8.4.3.2; Default URLs;165
8.4.3.3; Query Parameters;167
8.4.3.4; Capturing the URL Fragment;169
8.4.3.5; Viewing Hostnames for Subdomains and Cross Domains;170
8.4.3.6; Site Search;173
8.4.3.7; Grouping Content;177
8.4.3.7.1;Grouping by Extraction;178
8.4.3.7.2; Grouping by Rule Definitions;180
8.4.3.7.3; Grouping by Tracking Code;181
8.4.4; Other Applications for Filters;183
8.4.4.1; Filtered Views vs. Segments;184
8.4.5; Summary;185
8.5;Chapter 9: Measuring Campaigns and Troubleshooting Traffic Sources;186
8.5.1; Traffic Sources in GA;186
8.5.1.1; Adding Organic Search Engines;187
8.5.1.2; Ignoring Certain Referrers;188
8.5.1.3; Campaign Tracking;188
8.5.1.3.1;Campaign Tracking URLs;189
8.5.1.3.2;Shortening Campaign URLs;191
8.5.1.3.3;Avoiding Conflicts with Campaign URLs;191
8.5.1.4; Specifying Campaign Values with GTM;192
8.5.1.5; Channel Groupings in GA;193
8.5.2; Traffic Data Integrations;195
8.5.2.1; AdWords;195
8.5.2.2; DoubleClick Platforms;197
8.5.2.3; Google Search Console;198
8.5.3; Troubleshooting Traffic Sources;198
8.5.3.1; Redirects;198
8.5.3.2; Self-Referrals;200
8.5.3.2.1;Untagged Pages;201
8.5.3.2.2;Incorrect Cross-Domain or Subdomain Tracking;201
8.5.4; Summary;201
8.6;Chapter 10: Tracking Users Across Devices;202
8.6.1; Set Up User ID in GA;204
8.6.2; Send User ID Data with GTM;206
8.6.2.1; Provide a User ID Value;206
8.6.2.2; Set Up GTM to Send User ID to GA;206
8.6.3; Summary;207
8.7;Chapter 11: Providing Additional Data About Users;208
8.7.1; Custom Dimensions and Metrics;208
8.7.1.1; Dimensions;209
8.7.1.2; Metrics;210
8.7.1.3; Accessing Custom Dimensions and Metrics in GA;212
8.7.2; Setting Up Custom Dimensions and Metrics;213
8.7.2.1; Creating a Custom Dimension or Metric in GA;214
8.7.2.2; Generating Custom Data;215
8.7.2.2.1;Using the Data Layer;216
8.7.2.3; Sending Custom Information to GA;216
8.7.3; Additional Examples;218
8.7.3.1; Custom Dimensions from Form Input;218
8.7.3.2; Custom Metrics from Interactions;219
8.7.4; Summary;220
9;Part III: Collecting Data from Other Sources;221
9.1;Chapter 12: Importing Data into Google Analytics;222
9.1.1; Data Import Process;223
9.1.1.1; Creating a Data Set;223
9.1.1.2; Data Import Schema;225
9.1.1.3; Uploading Data;226
9.1.1.4; Updating Data Sets;226
9.1.2; Data Import Types;227
9.1.2.1; Hit Data Import;227
9.1.2.1.1;Refund Data;227
9.1.2.2; Extended Data Import;227
9.1.2.2.1;User Data Import;228
9.1.2.2.2;Campaign Data Import;228
9.1.2.2.3;Geographical Data Import;228
9.1.2.2.4;Content Data Import;229
9.1.2.2.5;Product Data Import;229
9.1.2.2.6;Custom Data Import;229
9.1.2.3; Summary Data Import;230
9.1.2.3.1;Cost Data Import;230
9.1.3; Summary;230
9.2;Chapter 13: Collecting Data from Mobile Apps;231
9.2.1; GA for Mobile Apps;232
9.2.1.1; App Properties and Views;232
9.2.2; Mobile App SDKs;234
9.2.2.1; Android and iOS;234
9.2.2.2; Unity;235
9.2.3; GTM Containers for Mobile Apps;235
9.2.3.1; Differences from Website Containers;235
9.2.3.1.1;Tags;235
9.2.3.1.2;Triggers;236
9.2.3.1.3;Variables;236
9.2.3.2; The Data Layer in Mobile Apps;238
9.2.3.3; Deployment and Testing;239
9.2.4; Summary;240
9.3;Chapter 14: Sending Data from Other Sources Using GA’s Measurement Protocol;241
9.3.1; Sending Data;242
9.3.1.1; HTTP Request;242
9.3.1.2; Payload Parameters;242
9.3.1.2.1;Client ID and User ID;243
9.3.1.2.2;Request Data Outside the Payload;244
9.3.1.2.3;Cache Busting;244
9.3.1.3; Validation;245
9.3.2; Data Processing in GA;246
9.3.3; Summary;246
9.4;Chapter 15: Using Google Analytics with BigQuery for Big Data Analysis;247
9.4.1; About BigQuery;248
9.4.1.1; What BigQuery Is Not;248
9.4.1.2; GA and BigQuery Integration;248
9.4.2; Accessing BigQuery;249
9.4.2.1; Web Interface;249
9.4.3; GA Data Schema in BigQuery;251
9.4.4; BigQuery’s Query Language;252
9.4.4.1; Selecting Data from Tables;253
9.4.4.1.1;Computation Functions;254
9.4.4.1.2;Table Date Ranges;256
9.4.4.1.3;Flattening Tables with Repeated Fields;257
9.4.4.1.4;Ordering by Fields;258
9.4.4.2; Grouping Fields;259
9.4.4.3; Finding Data Where a Condition Is Met;259
9.4.4.4; Further Google Analytics Examples;260
9.4.4.4.1;Bounce Rate by Landing Page;260
9.4.4.4.2;Segmenting by a Custom Dimension;260
9.4.4.4.3;Metrics for Custom Dimension Values;261
9.4.4.4.4;Pivoting Dimensions;262
9.4.4.5; Joining Data;263
9.4.5; Strategies for Using GA and BigQuery in Big Data Analysis;264
9.4.5.1; Importing Data into BigQuery;264
9.4.5.2; Extracting Data for Use in Other Applications;265
9.4.6; Summary;265
9.5;Appendix A: Google Tag Manager and Google Analytics APIs;266
9.5.1; Google API Basics;266
9.5.2; Google Tag Manager API;267
9.5.2.1; GTM Container JSON Format;267
9.5.2.2; Google Analytics APIs;268
9.5.2.3; Reporting APIs;268
9.5.2.3.1;Core Reporting API;268
9.5.2.3.1.1;Specifying a View;268
9.5.2.3.1.2;Dimensions & Metrics;268
9.5.2.3.1.3;Sort, Filter, and Segment;269
9.5.2.3.1.4;Date Ranges, Results, and Pagination;269
9.5.2.3.1.5;Query Explorer Tool;269
9.5.2.3.2;Multi-Channel Funnels Reporting API;270
9.5.2.3.3;Real-Time Reporting API;270
9.5.2.3.4;Embed API;271
9.5.2.3.5;Metadata API;271
9.5.2.4; Configuration APIs;271
9.5.2.4.1;Management API;271
9.5.2.4.2;Provisioning API;272
10;Index;273