Google URL Builder / Campaign Tracking on two Different Domain using the Same Analytics Code
-
Hey Everyone,
I think I know the answer to this but I'd like to get some confirmation.
I currently have a landing page at "www.xyz.com", it's a separate domain in which only the landing page exists and not a vanity URL which redirects. However, the navigation and all the links on "www.xyz.com" actually link out to "www.abc.com". The domain / landing page "xyz" has the same analytics tracking code as domain "www.abc.com".
My question is this, if I use Google URL builder to create custom URL's to track for each ad that I'm running in Adwords, will this data show up in the analytics of "abc" even though it's a separate domain because it has the same analytics code?
In other words, does campaign data show only if the domain and the google analytics code line up, or does the domain not matter and as long as you have the same analytics code (despite two separate domains) that campaign data (built through Google URL builder) will show?
My hunch and best guess it that as long as the analytics code is the same (regardless of a separate domain) that the data in campaign will show with the custom URL's I build. I'm aware that I can test this and I will but I'd like to get an idea from the community first to make things easier. Anybody have experience with this? Answers greatly appreciated!
Thanks!
-
Thanks Tom, I'll try to implement this.
The link for http://psgrep.com/ isn't working? If I implement the solution for cross domain tracking above, will my adwords data flow through? Right now I'm getting no behaviour data even though my adwords and analytics are linked up or is there additional work I will need to do that is available on the link that isn't working?
Thanks!
-
Hey Jon,
I hope what is written above is more helpful and explains I do not want to copy the instructions Word for Word.
But I think this will give you enough to understand if you have implemented these changes you are all set if not please make the changes.
Because there are code changes that should be in place to use to different domains in order to track them you need to set up her primary and secondary.
You are on the right track I hope the information above gives you what you need if it does not.
Let me know and I would try using http://www.analytics-debugger.com/en http://memo.suan3se.com/?p=643 & http://psgrep.com/
in order to set up and know that it set up properly.
Sincerely,
Thomas
-
HI Jon,
There are because
Because cross domain tracking is dealing with a primary and secondary you do have to change the tracking snippet
For Adwords
by following the steps in the link above you will be able to set up Adwords
I have pasted example below using example1.com as well as example2.com represent the different domains. One of the easiest ways to set this up is to simply use the Google analytics debugger it is available in the chrome store as well as a this incredible resource
Here is exactly what you need to do for ad words because it is slight differences you will need to use Google auto linker plug-in
Step 1: Set up a property in your Google Analytics account.
autoLink plugin
to your tracking code, it automatically loads with your pages and does a substring match on all your links. It then recognizes any links that include a domain name that you’ve specified in your tracking code. Any traffic that clicks a link to those domains get counted as cross domain traffic.
The tracking code snippet must contain these changes every place it appears on your secondary domain.
For three or more domains
Follow the example above, but add the other domains to the autoLink plugin. Even the additional comma here is important:
ga('linker:autoLink', ['example-1.com', 'example-3.com'] );
See what this looks like in full context
The tracking code snippet on your secondary domain(s) should look like this:
https://developers.google.com/analytics/devguides/collection/analyticsjs/cross-domain
for GA
https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/1034342?hl=en&ref_topic=2772342
For cross domain tracking, set up one property in your Google Analytics account. Use the same tracking code snippet and tracking ID from that property for all of your domains.
You need to edit the tracking code snippet for cross domain tracking to work. If you haven’t already included the snippet on all your webpages, you might want copy and paste it into a text editor before continuing with the instructions here. This way, you only have to make the changes once before including the modified snippet on all your webpages.
For details on setup help, follow the instructions on how to set up the web tracking code, but remember: You must customize the snippet using the instructions in this article for cross domain tracking to work properly.
Step 2: Edit the tracking code for the primary domain.
Find the create line in the snippet. For a website called example-1.com, it looks like this:
ga('create', 'UA-XXXXXXX-Y', 'example-1.com');
Make the following changes to the snippet (the changes you need to make are in bold red text
ga('create', 'UA-XXXXXXX-Y', 'auto', {'allowLinker': true});
** ga('require', 'linker');**
** ga('linker:autoLink', ['example-2.com'] );**
Remember to replace the example tracking ID (UA-XXXXXX-Y) with your own tracking ID, and replace the example secondary domain (example-2.com) with your own secondary domain name.
http://www.analytics-debugger.com/en
https://www.google.com/search?q=google+analytics+debugger&oq=google-analytics-debugger
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/google-analytics-debugger/jnkmfdileelhofjcijamephohjechhna
I hope this is more helpful and explains I do not want to copy the instructions Word for Word.
But I think this will give you enough to understand if you have implemented these changes you are all set if not please make the changes.
https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/1042508
TRACKING ACROSS MULTIPLE DOMAINS
autoLink plugin
https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/4627488
https://developers.google.com/analytics/devguides/collection/analyticsjs/cross-domain
I hope this will tell you yes or no
let me know,
Tom
-
Hey Thomas,
Just to be sure, could you answer the question whether my assumption is correct or not? I'll read through the resource you sent but your opinion would be great.
Thanks!
-
here is a detailed answer to your question.
https://developers.google.com/analytics/devguides/collection/gajs/gaTrackingSite
https://developers.google.com/analytics/resources/concepts/gaConceptsDomains
Please let me know if I can be of more help,
Thomas
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
-
I am a seller on Amazon and am looking for an agency/consultant to help optimize my products
Anyone do this kind of work or know anyone who does? Looking to act quickly. Our product is selling well and the team wants to put more money behind it and I'm not sure if that's necessary or if we just need to optimize our organic listing. Trying to understand scale and how Amazon differs from Adwords
Paid Search Marketing | | Eric_OWPP0 -
Any data for Google results page click through rates?
Hi. Trying to find data for click through rate for the Google search results page? If I run Adwords, do I want a PLA listing or a text listing? Or do I work on PLA + Organic or Text + Organic? What percentages do each position get approximately? E-commerce website. Technology sector. Any help?
Paid Search Marketing | | YNWA0 -
How to manage AdWords accounts for two business units
Hello! I need some insight with a problem I'm struggling with. First, some background... Our company has two business units: (1) our dental practice and (2) our insurance business. In 2013, we started using AdWords to promote our insurance business. In 2013, we also used an agency to manage our SEM efforts for the dental practice. In 2014, we plan to bring our dental practice SEM campaign in-house and manage both AdWords account internally. That leads to my question... Is it possible with the one AdWords login that we've used for our insurance business to add a second, completely separate account? And by completely separate, I mean separate reporting, separate Campaigns tab, etc. If it's not possible, whats a guy to do? Set up a completely separate AdWords account with a different email address and login? Any insights from those who have managed a similar situation would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!
Paid Search Marketing | | SmileMoreSEO
Erik0 -
Google Analytics Code
I have an ecommerce website and have installed the Google Analytics Code. i am also spending the money for google adwords. i m getting clicks and as well as orders but in google analytics it show that i am getting all the traffic from organic search results whereas my daily budget get exhausted and i do get business for the keywords i bid. i want to ask is there a problem with adwords or anlytics. Or have i placed the wrong code or have placed the code not in a proper format.
Paid Search Marketing | | seosogo0 -
Social Media black hat methods - can google see this?
My site was hit by a Penguin or Panda, for some bad linking in 2012. Ever since then I have been 100% completely white hat, being careful who I pick to my marketing. Once burnt.... Recently, with all the hype of social media being the thing to help you boast rankings, it got me wondering about how Google really can monitor this. I saw this the other day on Elance... I need 5000 Facebook fans. They must be real looking and be coming from US IPs, Preferable real looking US accounts. If people are just going to get false Facebook fans, tweets etc.... then it is no better than all the bad linking. Perhaps Google will come out with Puma penalty (well we have pandas and penguins)
Paid Search Marketing | | Llanero0 -
Google PPC - coupon balances
So, I know that you can't simply transfer a coupon credit in Google AdWords to another account. My question, if anyone knows, is there a way to do this using My Client Center? We manage multiple accounts, and have another coming on board that has a pre-existing coupon credit. We were going to set up a new account (which we would handle billing for and just invoice) for the client. But, that would leave them unable to use a coupon code. If it's managed under MCC, is there a way to work around this?
Paid Search Marketing | | DeliaAssociates0 -
Adwords and Analytics figures not matching up
We are currently running a A/B test on a landing page using only adwords to split the traffic. Looking at the figures in adwords has given us a higher number of conversions than the analytics is giving us in transactions. The conversion rate is also different. The only visitors this page is getting is from Adwords. Can someone please help us understand why this is? Cheers Al
Paid Search Marketing | | -Al-0 -
Running Adwords Campaigns to show Improvement in Organic Traffic
Hi mozers, I have a new client who contacted because his organic traffic dropped all of a sudden from 5000 visits per month to 300 visits per month. I have been reviewing his website profile and there are several reasons that take me to beleave the agency that managed his account until 3 months ago, was doing PPC to show improvement in the orgranic (SEO Service) traffic. 1. The Website was showing traffic for several highly competitive keywords 2. Most of the traffic 95% was driven to the home page with several groups of keywords 3. The website has just a few external links with anchor text not related to keywords sending traffic. Is anyone familiar with this type of practice? Thanks in advanced.
Paid Search Marketing | | SEOPractices0