Google Analytics ga.js vs urchin.js
Back in 2007 Google Analytics decided to switch over to ga.js, which is a new version of the javascript tracking code which is loaded through the snippet of code implemented on your webpages. Ga.js provides the functionality required for specific actions and events to be captured, processed and passed on to your Google Analytics reporting.
Although urchin.js continues to deliver the data just like it did in the early days of Google Analytics, there are some important benefits to updating your code to ga.js:
- ga.js loads and works faster than urchin.js, reducing page load time
- ga.js is easier to understand and customize
- It detects the use of https automatically
- e-Commerce and cross-domain tracking are easier to set up
- Allows you to use new features offered by GA now, and in future updates
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Using setVar (_utmsetvar / utm_setvar) for custom segmentation
SetVar (for older versions utm_setvar or _utmsetvar) is a function in the Google Analytics javascript code that allows you to set a custom segmentation rule. GA already offers a set of standard segmentations, as well as more advanced segmentation techniques in the reports interface, but setVar (_utmsetvar / utm_setvar) allows you to take a slice from your traffic before the reports and apply the segmentation options available in the reporting. This kind of custom segmentation gives you an extra dimension and more freedom to interpret the data through the reports.
Tags set for setVar in the code will appear in the report Visitors > User Defined.
Uses of setVar ( _utmsetvar / utm_setvar)
SetVar can be set to tag specific(entry) pages, but also values from a registration form, e.g. “job title”, which would show the values set for this item in your registration form. This will enable you to figure out how each of these visitor segments behave on the site (and possibly use this knowledge to adjust your marketing strategies).
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New graph views in Beta
Google again shows they listen to their Analytics users by adding another feature in Beta which allows you to change graph views to weekly and monthly views.
What can you get out of these new graph views?
The Power of Site Search in Google Analytics
Most websites these days have internal search functionality, which serves visitors with the option to search for specific information within websites. The popularity and effectiveness of Google and other search engines over the past decade have driven a demand for search functionality, which has become an important tool in the webmaster’s toolbox. Web analysts have become aware of the need to analyze how visitors use search, whether it is helpful to them and find out what goals they try to achieve but which you do not yet cater for. Google Analytics provides web analysts with the means to gather this knowledge through Site Search reporting.
Website owners often look at their websites from their own perspective, setting out goals as they see them and to a certain extent determining what visitors are served with. Many website owners aren’t aware of the fact that in order to get the most out of their online businesses they need to put themselves in their visitors’ shoes to find out what their needs are, and customize their websites to meet these needs. Failing to use a user-centric approach is likely to result in loss of business, and many online businesses aren’t even aware of this. Site Search analysis can be a great measure of how well your site performs in serving users with what they need.
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Tracking clicks to outbound links with latest GA script
The latest script version for Google Analytics enables you to track clicks on outbound links. By manually tagging each link to other sites using a javascript function, data on these clicks will be gathered in the content reports.
Before trying out this technique, please be sure you’re using the latest ga.js script and not the legacy urchin.js version of the script. The updated Google Analytics code can be found by editing the targeted website’s profile in the welcome screen and by clicking ‘Check Status’ at the top right corner of your website profile. Both urchin.js as well as ga.js based code is provided here.
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New Google Analytics graphing tools
Google Analytics added a few nifty new features in beta recently, which includes the ability to map out multiple metrics in one graph at once. All Google Analytics users should have this functionality enabled already (the new features were introduced on December 13, 2007) so here’s a little appetizer to get you going.
New Google Analytics graphing tools
The new graphing tools enable you to view multiple metrics in one graph and see how they correlate. This enables you to see, for example, how your pay-per-click traffic compares to organic search engine traffic, but also how one conversion goal compares to another in a set date range.
