1. Universal Analytics Common Issues
Making success measurable
Dara Fitzgerald
@darafitzgerald
Analytics Director
@measurelab
2. The Main Issues
#1. Change in Session Handling.
#2. Less visibility for debugging.
#3. Caveats for User ID and Cross Device Reporting.
#4. Viewing Custom Dimensions & Metrics.
#5. Don’t migrate to Universal too hastily.
Making success measurable
3. #1. Session Handling Universal will report more sessions than
Classic due to session handling.
< 2% here.
This will vary!
• Other top-line metrics will also differ (typically higher!):
o Pageviews
o Events
o Transactions
Making success measurable
4. #1. Session Handling
Making success measurable
Referrals are most affected as referrals in UA always trigger new sessions.
Overall data accuracy should be greater in UA due to improved tracking
5. #1. Session Handling – Payment Sites
As referrals trigger new sessions, sales
will be attributed to payment gateways.
< 2% here.
This will vary!
To fix this >>>
Making success measurable
6. #1. Session Handling – Referral Exclusions
google / cpc >> website.com >> payment provider >> website.com
GA transaction
Tells GA
to ignore
Making success measurable
10. #3. User ID
Cross Device Measurement with User ID (new method)
Making success measurable
https://support.google.com/analytics/topic/6009743?hl=en&ref_topic=2790009
11. #3. User ID >> Cross-Device Reporting
Device Overlap
Making success measurable
Device Paths
12. #3. User ID – what you might not know!
• The User ID is not exposed in reporting, unlike with
custom dimensions.
• Cross-device reports only available in User ID Views
(segmented!), and not in standard ‘master‘ Views.
• Session stitching
Making success measurable
13. #3. User ID – session unification
Session unification
Session stitching only goes back as
far as the session where User ID
first assigned
If the user logs out, the session
stitching chain breaks
Making success measurable
14. #4. Custom Dimensions & Metrics
Can be set at different levels:
• Hit
• Session
• User
var dimensionValue = 'SOME_DIMENSION_VALUE';
ga('set', 'dimension1', dimensionValue);
Making success measurable
https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/2709828?hl=en
15. #4. Custom Dimensions & Metrics
Making success measurable
There is no default report for custom dimensions & metrics
16. #4. Custom Dimensions & Metrics
Max. of 5 tabs per custom report!!
Can also be selected as
primary/secondary dimensions in
reports
Making success measurable
17. #5. Migration to Universal
• Create a new Universal Web Property.
• Implement all required tracking using analytics.js library.
• Run in parallel with existing, Classic Web Property.
• Compare and contrast to validate new, Universal property.
• When ready, initiate transfer process for main web property
(if not already auto-transferred).
• Update analytics.js code to reference main web property ID and
remove all ga.js code from the website.
Making success measurable
https://developers.google.com/analytics/devguides/collection/upgrade/
18. #5. Migration to Universal - Timeline
Phase 1: All properties can upgrade to Universal Analytics.
Phase 2: Auto-transfer process begins.
Phase 3: Universal Analytics out of beta. (Current Phase)
Phase 4: Universal Analytics is the operating standard for
Google Analytics.
Data collected from ga.js will be
processed for a minimum of 2 years!
Making success measurable
https://developers.google.com/analytics/devguides/collection/upgrade/#phases
19. Summary
#1. Change in Session Handling – beware for YoY reporting.
#2. Less visibility for debugging – use Real-Time Reports.
#3. Be clear on caveats for User ID/Cross Device Reporting.
#4. Use Custom Reports for Custom Dimensions & Metrics.
#5. Compare Classic & UA in parallel before fully migrating.
Making success measurable