Regarding Web Analytics, Google Analytics is by far the most commonly used tool. For any kind of websites, it helps community or product managers to understand what is really going on. Unfortunately, Google Analytics is also the tool the most poorly understood and thus, misused! This workshop will give you insight to master this precious tool in a efficent way. 

1. gilles@thefamily.co
How to use
Google Analytics

2. analytics.jsga.js

4. How does it work?
analytics.js
google-analytics.com
mywebsite.com
You
User

5. This is a User!
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6. Hits
• A Hit is basically a call to Google Analytics,
triggered by the javascript embedded into
your page:
• ga('send', ‘pageview');
• ga('send', 'event', 'button', ‘click’);
• During these hits, Google will also record
information known by your browser, such as
cookie_id, language, screen size,
browser type, etc…
• Everything else is calculations! google-analytics.com
analytics.js
692956160
1419847796

7. Check Your Implementation!
• Use Real-Time view
• (Do not use privacy
protecting tool!)
• Add Google Analytics
Debugger Google Chrome
extension
• Check GA is installed on
every page (including 404!)
https://www.google.com/analytics/partners/search/apps?
category=114

8. Pageviews
Goals
Segments
Events
Sessions

9. Pageviews
Goals
Segments
Events
Sessions

10. Pageviews
• Hits :
• Triggered for each page a user sees

11. Pageviews

12. What a “Pageview” really is?
• No magic: a pageview is recorded
when this script is executed:
ga('send', ‘pageview’);
• This is in default code provided by Google
to be implemented in all your pages
• A page can be virtual (useful if you manage a
full js web-app)!
ga('send', ‘pageview’, ‘/myVirtualPage’);

13. Pageviews

14. Pageviews
Goals
Segments
Events
Sessions

15. • Hits : triggered each time a user does something you want to track
• Play / Pause video
• Download a whitepaper
• Account creation
• Outgoing links
• Error tracking
• Duration tracking
Events

16. Events

17. What an event really is?
• No magic: an event is recorded
when this script is executed:
ga('send', 'event',
category,
action,
label,
Value,
interaction
);
• You are in charge of implementing them
‘Video’
‘Play’
‘Joe birthday’
0
true

18. Events

19. Pageviews
Goals
Segments
Events
Sessions

20. Sessions
• Session :
• Triggered “each time” a user comes (back) to your site

21. Sessions

22. What a “Session” really is?
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427837882
• Interactions
grouped because
they took place on
your website
within a given time
frame
• A session closes
• after 30 min of
inactivity
• after midnight
• campaign_sour
ce changed

23. Sessions

24. Pageviews
Goals
Segments
Events
Sessions

25. • Measure :
• Account creations
• Transactions
• Share on social networks
• Newsletter subscription
• Comments written
• Page duration
Goals

26. Define a goal

27. Define a goal

28. Define a goal

29. pas de
domaine
= | début | regex
Define a goal
Beware
case-sensitive

30. Example:
with regular expression ^/zone(-fr$|-es$)/, the objective is reached
with user visits /zone-fr ou /zone-es
To test a regular expression:
https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/1034324?hl=fr
Define a goal

31. Goals

32. Pageviews
Goals
Segments
Events
Sessions

33. Segments
• Analyze :
• behaviour of different groups
of users/sessions

34. Predefined Segments

35. Example of recommended analyzes

36. Cohorts (beta)

37. Pageviews
Goals
Segments
Events
Sessions
Configuration

38. Company Product Analyses
Account Configuration

39. Account Configuration

40. Property Configuration

41. View Configuration
Create new views - do not modify the default one
exclude crawling robots, define your timezone
Exclude traffic from your IPs or from your dev website
Activate e-commerce option

42. Others
Pageviews
Goals
Segments
Events
Sessions

43. Time spent on a page
• Send events for outgoing links
• Send events every 10 seconds
<script> trackOutboundLink = function(url) {
ga('send', 'event', 'outbound', 'click', url, {
'hitCallback':function () {document.location = url;}});
}; </script>
• Time spent on a page A = duration
between pageview A and
• next (different) pageview
• last hit
• Time spent on session’s last page: 0s
<a href=“#"
onclick=”trackOutboundLink(‘http://
www.google.com’); return
false;">google.com</a>

44. Campaign tracking
• As soon as you build external links to your website, use
• utm_source
• utm_medium
• um_campaign
• utm_content
• example:
http://store.example.com/boots?utm_source=ad_facebook
&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=january_promo &utm_content=copy_variation1
https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/6205762?hl=en
Where does it come from?
How does it come from?
Which occasion?
Which variation?

45. Funnels
• Discover at which step your users are
leaving

46. Data Alerts
http://cutroni.com/blog/2012/01/04/save-your-ass-with-google-
analytics-data-alerts/

47. Annotations
• Site modifications
• GA implementation modifications
• Technical difficulties
• PR
• External event (Google algo changes)
• Whatever can impact your data

48. Demographics
• you need at least a minimal level of activities
• To be activated in your property settings
• javascript code need to be modified (ga('require', 'displayfeatures');)

49. Interests

50. Custom Values
To send to Google Analytics your own data
ga('send', 'pageview', {
‘dimension5': ‘<?=$user_id?>'
});

51. Traps

52. Most common difficulties
• Sub-domains : warning if you use old version of google
analytics
• Trafic source: 6 mois per default!
• Conversion : 1 / objective / session
• No easy way to see individual behavior
• Sampling
• Payment on third-parties platform

53. gilles@thefamily.co
Enjoy your flight!