Google Analytics Tracking Code Queries
-
Hello,
I have taken on a new client who has Google Analytics installed. The tracking code is set to 'single domain'. Recently they added a mobile site using a sub-domain (m.website.com) which means that Google Analytics is not picking up this traffic.
I want to revise the account so that I have a master account (raw data) and then profiles for the mobile site, main domain (www.website.com) and one other for a sub-domain that they are using. I am aware that there is mobile specific tracking code however I thought it would be easier (re conversions/goals/eCommerce tracking) to not use this and by changing the account to 'multiple domains' we could also get data for another sub-domain that they are using .
My questions are:
- Am I right to want to use individual profiles over web properties. If not please explain why.
- When installing the tracking code (where the profile number is changing) I believe that I need to add that code with the changing profile number to the sub-domain sections. So my question is a) is that correct, and b) if I use a profile number on a sub-domain section will the master account still gather the data for the main URL as well as all sub-domains.
- If I change the master account from using 'single domain' tracking code to 'multiple domain' tracking code will this affect historical data? Will I lose the data?
- When changing from 'single domain' tracking to 'multiple domain' tracking does this affect eCommerce tracking? Or do we only need to be adding the additional lines of tracking code that allow sub-domains to be tracked?
- The web developers are using asynchronous code however half is in the and the other half is at the bottom of the source code. Given that traffic is being reported in the Google Analytics account should I have any concerns that the code is split?
I have done a lot of reading but seem to be going around in circles, so your help is much appreciated!
Thanks,
Dinny -
Very helpful, thanks Mike!
-
-
Yes. Use individual profiles. Not web properties.
-
I would suggest using just one profile #. As you said you want to have a raw data, the main site, and the mobile profile. It's easy enough to use the same UA number for all three, then filter into 3 separate profiles.
-
No. In fact, you're actually not making any changes on Google's end by making that switch in the admin. That's really just a tool that generates a different code for you. It's all front-end. As long as you implement properly, you shouldn't lose any data to your main profile. Any new profiles that you create will, of course, start from scratch.
-
Yes and no. I'll explain below.
-
This isn't ideal, but isn't overly concerning. First of all, there is ZERO benefit to splitting the code. The async code does not block other code from loading, meaning it will have no effect on page load speed. By moving the whole code up into the head, you're just ensuring that the best, most honest data is being captured. Still, splitting the code is a common practice that yields fine results.
So, as I mentioned in answer three, I think you first have to understand that it's not a 'switch' in GA's admin that makes the change from single to multiple-domain. The only thing that actually changes in the admin is the way the snippet is written. And I'll tell you that the only thing that will change is that the _setDomain line will be added. So if you properly add this new line into your GA code, you'll be set up to capture all data into your raw profile. From there you can create your two separate profiles using the same UA code, with a custom filter based on the hostname.
Mike
-
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Analytics Tracking in China
I am setting up a Chinese domain and I was wondering if anyone has experience with using Google Analytics for tracking in the country and if it really works or if Baidu is the better solution for the website. The website will be hosted in the US so I don't know if that makes any difference with getting around "The Great Firewall". I would prefer to us GA if possible because I am extremely familiar with the platform but I am more concerned with getting accurate tracking data for the site. Thank you in advance and any help would be greatly appreciated. Brooke
Reporting & Analytics | | Ryan_Henry0 -
Universal Analytics & Google Tag Manager - Track URLs that include hashes
Does anyone have any experience tracking URLs that include hashes (#) using Universal Analytics and Google Tag Manager? Can it be done using GTM's container for UA, using the "more settings" options? Or building another tag to work with the GTM UA container? The fallback I'm considering is implementing the UA code in GTM for every page as Custom HTML with the "ga('send', 'pageview', location.pathname + location.search + location.hash);" solution, rather than GTM's specialized UA tag. I'm not yet sure what problems may arise from that, if any. Thanks in advance.
Reporting & Analytics | | 352inc0 -
Potential Security Issues Installing Google Analytics GTM
Greetings MOZ Community!! My SEO firm plans has requested that Google Analytics GTM be installed on my website to better track goals and events. My developer will be responsible for installing the GTM script on my website and the SEO firm will actually configure GTM to track goals. Is anyone aware of GTM causing server errors/issues when installed? My developer claims that running GTM would create additional vulnerability to hacking. Is anyone aware of potential security risks from running Google Tag Manager? Once Google Tag Manager is installed, will it make the site more difficult for my developer to administer? Will there be increased risk of the code breaking? Overall, is GTM a big improvement over the existing version of Google Analytics? Is it worth the effort to install? My SEO firm is very much in favor of this upgrade. I would like to move forward provided there is no major downside. I look forward to feedback. Thanks, Alan
Reporting & Analytics | | Kingalan10 -
Testing IP Exclusion Filters in Google Analytics
(I hope I haven't missed something simple 😉 I have add IP exclusion filters in Google Analytics. What I haven't been able to determine is how to test to see if it is working. I'd imagine there would be a dip in traffic but if a site is low volume it might not even register. Thanks!
Reporting & Analytics | | AUDigitalMarketing0 -
Is Google analytics not working properly anymore?
Hi mozzers, We launched a website 2 months ago and when monitoring Organic data on GA we had an average of 23% bounce rate like a month ago but the last 2 weeks I noticed that bounce rate=0%. This is very weird especially that we haven't modified the existing pages and that multiple keywords show an average site duration of 0 seconds. Any thoughts about this discrepancy? Do you think that there is an issue with the GATC implemented? Thanks
Reporting & Analytics | | Ideas-Money-Art0 -
Google Analytics - New account creation broken
Is it just me or is the new Google Account Creation button not working. After i set it up, it just simply doesn't save.
Reporting & Analytics | | TheGrid0 -
Strange increase in Direct traffic in Google analytics
For past 2 weeks, several of our sites have strange increase in direct traffic in Google Analytics. we also have another tracking code, and in this account we don't have any big changes, so this is very strange what is happening. We didn't changed any codes, and none of the changes were done to application. Any ideas why this is happening? z7ME9.jpg
Reporting & Analytics | | InformMedia0