Nikki rae Google Analytics Audit at BrightonSEO

1. An Every Day GA Audit
Nikki Rae
Future Insight Analytics Ltd.
www.futureinsightanalytics.com
Nikki.Rae@futureinsightanalytics.com
@analyticsgirl

2. Typical GA Project Stages
Initiation
Analysis
Design
Implementation
Testing

3. Todays Outcome
•Help you identify questions to ask of Google Analytics?
•Guide you to some answers
•Help you to build a fuller proposal
–Easier to cost the project
–Easier to find the dependencies

4. Where does Audit fit in?
•Understand the business problem
•Understand ability / knowledge of client organisation
•Specify issues
•Specify tasks
•Write recommendations
•Propose further opportunities e.g. GTM, event tracking, custom reports, training

5. Checking Set-Up
•Internal
–Which settings in the internal system configuration affect information presented?

6. Spotting Reporting Anomalies
•External
–Which internet-related activities/ anomalies are impacting the incoming data?

7. Immediate To Do’s!
•Gain at least ‘read and analyse and edit’ access to the account
•Set up a Client
–Raw view
•Setup your own temporary
–Main View (exact copy of clients)
–Test View (test you’re theories, add filters etc.)
–Raw View (to build, if necessary, into a new main report for the client)

8. ACCOUNT SECURITY
Future Insight Analytics

9. Users
•Have all ex-employees / agencies been removed from User Management?
•Do all Edit level users need to have that facility?
•Do staff have their own logins to GA?

10. GA Terms and Conditions
•Does your client have a cookie notification upon first entry to their site?
•Does your client have a privacy policy?
•Is your client collecting personally identifiable information (PII)?

11. INTERNAL
Future Insight Analytics

12. Checking Set-Up
Which settings in the internal system configuration affect information presented?

13. Tracking Code
•Is the tracking on every page?
•Is it up-to-date?
•Do they currently have customised code e.g.
–Event tracking?
–Custom Variables?
–Virtual Page Names?
•Are they tracking across multiple domains?
•Are they / could they be using Google Tag Manager?
•Are they using any other tag management solutions?
•Are they using any other tags across the site?

14. Views (profiles)
•Main
–Reporting profile
–Staff IP / network excluded
–Staging site removed
•Test
–Only staging site traffic
•Audit Test
–Temporary view for testing use during Audit
•Raw
–GA out-of-the-box
•Mobile Views

15. Filters
•Which filters are already applied and what is their current impact?
–Search and replace?
–IP Exclusion?
–Advanced?
•Which filters could they be using?
–Staff IP exclusions
–Change multiple home pages
–Add hostname to URI
–Only include main domain
–Lowercase

16. Time Zone & Currency
•Time Zone
–Often accidentally set to Pacific
–Daylight saving?
•Is the currency set correctly?
–Does the site process sales in multiple currencies?

17. Ecommerce
•Is E-Commerce enabled in Admin for shopping sites?
•Has Ecommerce tracking been placed on site pages or setup in GTM?

18. Bot Filtering
•Has traffic from known bots been filtered?
–Based on list compiled by Internet Advertising Bureau (www.iab.net/1418/spiders)

19. Site Search
•Has site search been enabled in Admin?
•Have site categories been enabled in Admin?

20. Organic Search Sources
•Have any search engines been added to ‘Organic Search Sources’ in Admin?

21. Referral Exclusion List
•Have any referring Urls been added to referral exclusion list e.g.
–Clientsite.com
–Checkout.shopify.com
–Paypal.com

22. Search Engine Optimisation
•Has Google Webmaster Tools been setup?
•Has Google Webmaster Tools been linked to GA?

23. Adwords Linking
•Has Adwords been linked?
•If necessary, is cost setting applied?

24. DoubleClick Search
•Has Doubleclick been enabled to allow Demographic and Interest reports in Google Analytics?

25. Query Parameters
•Are there any set up (Admin area)?
–Should they have been removed?
•Are there any in the Behaviour > Site Content > All Pages report?
–Are they superfluous?
?

26. Default Home Page
•Are there multiple instances of the home page e.g.
–/, default, home, index?

27. Goal Verification
•Are the goals relevant?
•Can you split out engagement goals into a new view?
•Do the goals verify?

28. EXTERNAL
Future Insight Analytics

29. Spotting Reporting Anomalies
Which internet-related activities/ anomalies are impacting the incoming data?

30. Canonicalization
•Does the www and no dub version show in hostname report?

31. Notations
•Are Notations being used?

32. Referral Anomalies
•Do you have the following appearing in your referrer report?
–Webmail accounts?
–Your own site?
–Search engines?

33. Organic Anomalies
•Are you ranking for key terms that are not showing in SERPs?
–Untracked paid search

34. Direct Search Anomalies
•Vast range of direct landing pages
•Large spikes in direct traffic
–At same time as email campaigns
–At same time as social campaigns
•Does client have apps?
•Has client had any redirects put in place?
•Does client have links within non-html brochures?

35. TOOLS OF THE TRADE
Future Insight Analytics

36. Screaming Frog SEO Spider
•Screaming Frog
–Used to identify presence of tracking code on pages across site
•UA code
•Event Tracking
•Custom Variables
•Virtual Page Names
–Used to identify server redirects

37. GA Real Time Report
•Real Time
–Is the data appearing in real time as you expect?
•Page names?
•Traffic Sources?
•Goals
•Events

38. Google Tag Assistant
•Google Tag Assistant
–Is the tag reporting any issues with GA or GTM tracking?

39. POST AUDIT
Future Insight Analytics

40. •Proposed fixes
•Opportunities for upgrade
•Opportunities for goal tracking / advanced segments
•Opportunities for customised coding / reporting
•Implementation of GTM

41. TAKE AWAYS
Future Insight Analytics

42. •Always start a project with a new client with an Audit
•Always setup your own temporary test views for the Audit
•Always use an Audit as a base for a fuller proposal
•Always check internal GA configuration plus check reporting anomalies

43. Thank You
Nikki Rae
Future Insight Analytics Ltd.
www.futureinsightanalytics.com
Nikki.Rae@futureinsightanalytics.com
@analyticsgirl