Google Analytics Site Search to new sub-domain
-
Hi Mozzers,
I'm setting up Google's Site Search on a website. However this isn't for search terms, this will be for people filling in a form and using the POST action to land on a results page. This is similar to what is outlined at http://support.google.com/analytics/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=1012264 ('<a class="zippy zippy-collapse">Setting Up Site Search for POST-Based Search Engines').</a>
However my approach is different as my results appear on a sub-domain of the top level domain. Eg..
- user is on www.domain.com/page.php
- user fills in form
- submits
- user gets taken to results.domain.com/results.php
The issue is with the suggested code provided by Google as copied below..
Firstly, I don't use query strings on my results page so I would have to create an artificial page which shouldn't be a problem. But what I don't know is how the tracking will work across a sub-domain without the _gaq.push(['_setDomainName', '.domain.com']); code. Can this be added in? Can I also add Custom Variables?
Does anyone have experience of using Site Search across a sub-domain perhaps to track quote form values?
Many thanks!
-
Don't know if you still need help with this, but here goes...
The main problem is that article you reference is showing out of date Google Analytics tracking code. The _setDomainName piece that you reference is from the asynchronous version of the tracking code. The code shown in the article is from the previous version of the GA tracking code. If you try to mix code from the two different versions, it won't work.
That article is basically just describing how to create a virtual page view that includes the search term the user has searched for. With the asynchronous code, it would look like:
You would need to update the code above with your own UA ID, domain and replace the 'SearchTerm' placeholder programmatically with whatever the user entered.
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
-
Moz reports way fewer backlinks than google search?
My site is only 11 months old but has steadily (if not slowly) been gaining backlinks. My question, is why Moz shows me at 303 backlinks and Google search console is showing at 1,237? I am more than a little suspicious that this could highlight the reason Moz shows such an unfavorable DA ranking for our site at a DA12. Other competitors that rank for similar keywords to mine are DA 42, DA 65, DA 73, etc. If the largest ranking factor is links, and they have mine reported incorrectly - is this the issue with DA as it relates to sites like mine? Any answer from someone who has experienced similar, or has a definitive answer is more than welcome to chime in! Thanks, Kevin
Reporting & Analytics | | kvncrll0 -
% Change - Google analytics - how to calculate?
Hi All,
Reporting & Analytics | | JohnPalmer
I have two dates with two different numbers I want to calculate the "% Change" like google analytics, The numbers of June 2015 - 127,931 sessions
The numbers of June 2014 - 90914 sessions please tell me what is the %Change. Best. J0 -
Google Analytics Set-Up for site with both http & https pages
We have a client that migrated to https last September. The site uses canonicals pointing to the https version. The client IT team is reluctant to put 301 redirects from the non-secure to the secure and we are not sure why they object. We ran a screaming frog report and it is showing both URLs for the same page (http and https). The non-secure version has a canonical pointing to the secure version. For every secure page there is a non-secure version in ScreamingFrog so Google must be ignoring the canonical and still indexing the page however, when we run a site: we see that most URLs are the secure version. At that time we did not change the Google Analytics setup option to use: "https" instead of "http" BUT GA appears to be recording data correctly. Yesterday we set up a new profile and selected "https" but our question is: Does the GAnalytics http/https version make a difference if so, what difference is it?
Reporting & Analytics | | RosemaryB1 -
Universal Analytics: Why does Google Organic appear as Direct traffic?
Hi there, When I enter the site via Google Search and follow myself via Real-Time Analytics I appear an organic visitor (which is good). When I browse and visit the site I still am an organic visitor. However, as soon as I fill in the contact form (gravity forms) and land on the "thank you page" I appear as a direct visitor with Google as the source. Since I have the thank you page set-up as a goal, Analytics incorrectly attributes these conversions to the direct medium instead of the organic medium. The tracking code has been installed on all the pages and all conversions are being recorded. What is going on?
Reporting & Analytics | | Robbern0 -
What is the difference between "Organic Traffic" and the "Non-Paid Search Traffic" default segment in Google Analytics?
These two filtering options ("organic traffic" in the left sidebar and "non-paid search traffic" in the advanced segments) give me slightly different numbers. Any idea why this would be the case?
Reporting & Analytics | | FPD_NYC1 -
Google Analytics Goals are not recording
Hello! I've set up Goals within Google Analytics and they aren't registering. I'm wondering if someone can review what I've set up to see if I've entered something wrong. I'm trying to track enrollments. Here's the site info: Enroll URL: http://www.careplusdentalplans.com/individuals/enroll-careplus/ Upon completion, the user goes to a Thank You page and our CMS generates a trailing URL parameter. For example: http://www.careplusdentalplans.com/index.php/individuals/enroll-careplus-thank-you/#123456789 My Goal info in GA: Goal URL: /individuals/enroll-careplus-thank-you/
Reporting & Analytics | | SmileMoreSEO
Match Type: Head Match (to disregard trailing URL parameter)
Goal Funnel: Step 1: /individuals/enroll-careplus/ I'm curious if the problem lies in either: The URL: Notice how the URL adds /index.php/ on the thank you page. In that case, should I enter the full URL in the Goal instead of the truncated URL? The Funnel: Is it necessary to show the initial Enroll page or if I'll see that in the Flow Visualization regardless? Thanks in advance for helping me out. Erik0 -
Google Analytics tracking code for completely new website
Hello! I use Google Analytics to monitor our company's websites. In the coming weeks we will roll out a brand new website for one of our brands to replace its current site. The domain name will remain the same. My question is, should I use the same tracking code that's been used on the existing site for the new site, or is there a benefit to creating a new tracking code? Thanks in advance!
Reporting & Analytics | | SmileMoreSEO
Erik0 -
How can I track search engine optimization data in Google analytics?
My website is linked to a Google Analytics web property. But, I am not able to track search engine optimization data in Google Analytics. So, How can I get it done?
Reporting & Analytics | | CommercePundit0