Google Analytics Health Check
Laying the foundations for successful analytics and optimisation
Google Analytics Property
Recommendations Summary
As an initial setup, apart from some minor implementation recommendations, Google Analytics is deployed and working
correctly. Analysis of the performance of the account, as well as insight generation for any CRO activity is possible, but
some of the more advanced features are not being used meaning detailed understanding of the customer journey may be
missed.
Additional configuration and custom set up is required to tailor the Google Analytics reports to meet the specific reporting
or analysis requirements of [Client]
Advanced Segments and Multi-Channel Funnels (Custom Channel Groupings and Custom Conversion Segments) are not
currently being used. When Advanced Segments are used alongside Enhanced Ecommerce reports, valuable and
actionable insights are much easier and quicker to uncover.
Based on conversations with [Client] we would recommend further input from AWA Digital to demonstrate how our
training courses can help you set up and fully understand key Google Analytics features and as a result understand your
online visitors to a greater degree. In addition to this we can provide additional services which turn these Google
Analytics insights into an actionable optimisation plan to improve revenue.
Understanding this Report
These settings have either not been configured or could be significantly improved.
#
Setting / Issue
Status
Current setting
Desired setting
Why is this important?
Action / Recommendation
1 Duplicate Data Duplicate
transactions in ecommerce reports
Only unique transactions
Duplicate transactions inflate many metrics across the account and give a false impression of performance.
Other than addressing the root of the problem with [ecommerce platform], these transactions need to be deducted from the account.
Using the software we recommended, export and identify all duplicated transactions.
These need to be placed into a duplicate receipt page, using the addTransaction and
addItem function, which are sent to Google
Analytics when the page is run. Negative values are to be used for transaction total, shipping and item quantity.
Using just addtransaction in this very simple example to illustrate the process:
Original transaction code (sent when the product was bought):
ga('ecommerce:addTransaction', { 'id': '45645 - GBP',
'revenue': '24.99', 'shipping': '2.99' });
Reverse transaction code to be added to a duplicate receipt page:
#
Setting / Issue
Status
Current setting
Desired setting
Why is this important?
Action / Recommendation
'revenue': '-24.99',
'shipping': '-2.99' });
NB – addItem also needs to be reversed.
This creates another entry in the transaction data effectively removing the duplication.
If there are instances where –GBP is not appended to the transaction ID this process will not work as both transactions will be removed. Also, before this is done additional consideration is needed as the date of the reversal cannot be applied to past dates, only by transaction ID.
#
Setting / Issue
Status
Current setting
Desired setting
Why is this important?
Action / Recommendation
2 Presence of Google Analytics Tracking Code (GATC) Tracking Code Present on all pagesTracking Code Present on all pages just after opening <BODY> tag
Incomplete tagging will give inaccurate data and break your campaign attribution reports.
See Google Tag Manager section.
3 Google Analytics Tracking Code Version
Asynchronous Asynchronous The new code, placed at the top of each page, will result in webpages loading faster and Google Analytics data being more accurate.
See Google Tag Manager section.
4 Google Tag Manager Deployed at bottom of page Deployed at top of page
Google Tag Manager allows you to quickly amend the Google Analytics code and add new custom events as required without the need for a developer
The code is currently implemented via Google Tag Manager at the bottom of the page; for reasons stated previously (and if technically feasible) consider placing code at the top of the page.
Move Google Tag Manager container code to the top of the page. Immediately after the opening <BODY> tag.
This will ensure:
#
Setting / Issue
Status
Current setting
Desired setting
Why is this important?
Action / Recommendation
2) That header tags are properly loaded, which are needed for the pageview call. This is included to ensure the Google Tag Manager snippet is not placed in the header.
NB – Also place the data layer call before the Google Tag Manager snippet.
5 Advanced segments None used Dependent on
business goals / needs but see Action / Recommendation.
Advanced and custom segments allow you to isolate specific set of data based on, for example, where the visitor has come from or their behaviour once they arrive. Multiple segments can be used at once to compare, say, conversion differences between mobile and desktop users.
Suggested segments that you may find useful:
1. Count of Visit + Conversion 2. High spenders
3. Cart abandonment by source 4. First time visits that buy 5. Return visits that buy 6. Visits by channel 7. Logged in vs. guest 8. Device
These are just general suggestions, the real value comes from specific questions you have about [Client URL]’s audience and answering these via advanced / custom segments.
#
Setting / Issue
Status
Current setting
Desired setting
Why is this important?
Action / Recommendation
users.
For example, if you click -
https://www.google.com/analytics/web/tem
plate?uid=nhSj1jMnR9qh2MzE2tKd-w - while
you have your Google Analytics account open, it will share with you a custom segment that isolates sessions where visitors have visited the store locator page.
Behaviour / performance of this segment of visits can now be compared with other segments. Or it can be used to see how much visitors who use the store finder spend.
6 Views 4 Views +2 additional views
(and dependent on needs)
Views allow you to see a subset of your data with conditional filters and settings applied.
At this level of the account, once a filter has been used, that data has been discarded and cannot be recovered.
The only filter being used at present is to exclude visits from within [Client].
However, a “Raw” View should always be setup to safeguard against any loss of data (for example if a filter
We recommend the following Views (in addition to the other views present in the account):
1. Raw 2. Test
#
Setting / Issue
Status
Current setting
Desired setting
Why is this important?
Action / Recommendation
is incorrectly applied).
This Raw view should not include a default page, exclusion of query parameters or removal of search query parameters as part of the view settings.
A Test View should be setup to test changes before applying to Main View.
7 Filters 1 filter applied
to the main view to remove [Client]’s own traffic.
4 additional filters for the main view
Filters allow you to control what data is flowing into individual Views. For example, you do not want to include traffic from your office in your traffic reports.
Filters also allow you to clean the data before it arrives in your reports. For example, setting all URL’s to lower case.
As a reminder of the previous recommendation, do not apply filters to the new Raw view and test filters on the Test view before applying to the main view.
We recommend the addition of the following standard filters to the main View:
1. Ensure all URLs are lowercase; this removes duplication caused by capitalisation.
2. Exclude visits to images via Google Images and Google Translate 3. Append landing page details to
visitors arriving with keyword (not provided). This provides useful insights for encrypted search visitors.
4. Assign referrers to the correct channels. E.g. assign webmail referrers to the email channel.
8 Exclude query parameters
Query parameter ‘q’ excluded.
Enabled Excluding query parameters from your Google Analytics reports makes them more readable and actionable.
#
Setting / Issue
Status
Current setting
Desired setting
Why is this important?
Action / Recommendation
9 Social EventTracking
Enabled Enabled Capturing onsite social actions such as Likes and Tweets can give you insight into levels of engagement and the impact of social interactions
No action required.
10 Custom alerts None configured 6 custom alerts Custom alerts can be set to alert you any changes in site activity. Usually these are used for large variations in website activity, e.g. surges or troughs in visitors or transactions.
We recommend the configuration of 8 standard daily alerts.
1. More than 50% increase in visits 2. More than 50% decrease in visits 3. More than 70% increase in transactions 4. More than 70% decrease in transactions 5. More than 50% increase in visits on
mobile domain
6. More than 50% increase in transactions on mobile domain
7. More than a 50% drop in Google referrals.
8. No data being received
You can be more or less selective about the alerts you use – any changes to any metric across any dimension can be used.
11 E-commerce enablement
Enabled Enabled Allows you to track sales and orders received through the websites.
No action required but see Enhanced Ecommerce below.
12 Horizontal Funnels
Not Configured Goals set up to track each stage of
conversion (checkout) funnel.
Horizontal Funnels allow you to view you the fallout rate per stage of the funnel for different visitor segments side by side. E.g. New vs. Returning
Setup and configure horizontal funnels.
#
Setting / Issue
Status
Current setting
Desired setting
Why is this important?
Action / Recommendation
Visitors. Note, regular goal funnels in Google Analytics cannot be
segmented. See Enhanced Ecommerce below.
13 Enhanced Ecommerce
Not configured Configured Enhanced ecommerce reports are very detailed funnel reports which allow segmentation. Other metrics such as look-to-book and add-to-cart vs purchase are also included.
Shopping report shows the user journey across the whole site. Checkout Behaviour shows the user journey through the checkout.
The shopping reports also allow you to drill down to individual product performance even down to the performance of product listing pages.
This is the built-in facility to achieve the horizontal report described above.
Enhanced Ecommerce and Advanced Segments (mentioned earlier) used together can provide very detailed insights.
Install the additional tracking code required for Enhanced Ecommerce.
Please note, the Enhanced Ecommerce code has to replace the existing ecommerce code, they cannot be used together.
We recommend assistance from one of our Google Analytics specialists to guide the process.
14 Annotations 1 visible
annotation (3+ years old)
Annotations used to record key events
Annotations should be used to record key events on your website. For example, major changes to your
#
Setting / Issue
Status
Current setting
Desired setting
Why is this important?
Action / Recommendation
website and/or the data or any other external event which will impact the analytics.
15 Enhanced Link Attribution
Off On Enhanced link attribution you to report on clicks on links that lead to the same page. For example, it would allow you to determine how people reach the store finder – by the link in the header or the link in the footer on each page of [Client].
Add the additional code required to enable enhanced link attribution.
16 Goals 9 used Appropriate use of
goals.
Goals are a way of measuring website performance against actions that you want website visitors to take.
Goals are best used for processes or user journeys. For instance [Client URL] already has checkout completion configured. Other appropriate uses would be:
1) Newsletter signup 2) Login / Registration
Goals such as ‘Store locator’ would be better tracked as an event – as all that is currently tracked by this goal are visits to the page (of course the data can also be found in the ‘All Pages’ reports.
In general, consider goals for behaviour relating to a conversion or something with a monetary value (purchase or mailer signup). Consider events for specific behaviour you want to track.
#
Setting / Issue
Status
Current setting
Desired setting
Why is this important?
Action / Recommendation
Finder’ goal is set up incorrectly. The store locator is present on two URLs but it appears only one is tracked as part of this goal:
1) /store-locator/page/storelocator 2) /page/storelocator
The ‘Begins with’ condition will only catch one of these URLs along with the URL store variables once a search has been done.
Also, as store locator usage is of interest, it may be better to use the goal with a start and end page to gauge usage of the store locator itself and not visits to the page and usage of the locator all combined.
17 Funnels 4 funnels
configured.
n/a Funnels are linked to Goals. Correctly
configured funnels will allow you to see which steps are causing visitors to drop out as they move through the process to complete a Goal.
The goals we would recommend are already in use, however it is unclear why Goal 3:
Desktop Site: Purchase includes Login Error
and Password Reminder as part of the checkout process. We would recommend this be reviewed.
18 Additional tracking with Events
17 custom events Additional tracking for key actions and events.
By deploying additional tracking code you can capture important events that would not automatically be tracked in Google Analytics.
Many events are already tracked. As mentioned in the Goals section it would be better to track Store Locator as an event, unless the Goal setup is changed to track if the Store Locator is actually used, rather than just the store locator page being visited.
#
Setting / Issue
Status
Current setting
Desired setting
Why is this important?
Action / Recommendation
make for event tracking are already implemented – for instance navigation use. Any remaining recommendations would be better implemented though Enhanced Ecommerce.
19 Google Webmaster Tools / SEO reports
Not Enabled Enabled Google Webmaster Tools is the only way to get data into the Queries section for the Search Engine
Optimization report.
As most keywords are now (not
provided), which accounts for 85% of
[Client]’s keyword data, this is the best way to see which keywords are bringing visitors to the site and which pages they are visiting.
Sign up for Web Master Tools. Visit the Property Settings page in Google Analytics to edit the Webmaster Tools setting and link the data.
20 Default page
Not set
[Client URL] Your Analytics View Settings page contains a field in which to specify your default page in order to prevent duplicate pages being recorded.There are instances of [Client URL] and [ClientURL]page/home being tracked causing duplication in the content reports.
Additional information is needed before this is changed to determine the use of
/page/home in the URL as it seems to be used for some paid campaigns.
21 Cross Domain Tracking
Not Configured Site activity occurring across other [Client] web properties. For example:
- URL - URL
If cross domain tracking is not implemented GA will over count the number of visits and unique visitors to the site
#
Setting / Issue
Status
Current setting
Desired setting
Why is this important?
Action / Recommendation
22 Multi-ChannelFunnels: Custom Channel
Groupings
None used Custom Channel Groupings created for each key traffic source
Custom Channel Groupings allow you to understand how specific traffic sources interact with all other traffic sources. For example, custom Channel Groupings can allow you to understand if visitors, who came to your website through a Twitter campaign, later returned and made purchases.
We recommend including Channel Groupings focusing on each of your key traffic sources, including:
1. Email – Identifying individual Email Campaigns
2. Social Media – Identifying individual social media sites
3. Referrers – Identifying individual referrers
4. Paid Search – Identifying keywords 5. SEO – Identifying keywords (needs
Google Webmaster Tools)
23 Multi-Channel Funnels: Custom Conversion Segments
Non used Custom Conversion Segments created to match each channel in the Channel
Groupings
Conversion Segments allow you to define specific segments of visitors, based on their interactions with multiple channels, for you to study in detail and compare against ‘All Visitors’ or other segments
For each Channel within the Channel Groupings, we recommend creating the following Conversion Segments 1. First interaction is Channel name 2. Last interaction is Channel name 3. Assisting interaction is Channel name
24 Site search Enabled Enabled with failed
search data and force search terms to be lower case.
Forcing keywords to lower case will ensure that “Michael kors” and “Michael Kors” are captured as one search term.
Capturing failed searches will identify keywords that require optimisation.
Add code to enable the tracking of failed searches e.g. no matches found.
Create filter to ensure all keywords are forced to lowercase (but do not place the filter on the raw view).
25 404 trapping Not tracked Custom report
configured to track requests that led to
With a small change to the Tracking Code on the 404 template you can identify pages that have been requested but not found on your
Add additional GA code to the 404 template
#
Setting / Issue
Status
Current setting
Desired setting
Why is this important?
Action / Recommendation
the error 404 page website, helping to identify dead links and increase visitor satisfaction.
configured to track URL request which result in an “Error 404” message.
26 User id Not enabled Enabled Implemented via your account / login
authentication system, use of User ID allows the tracking and analysis of visits across devices.
Add the necessary tracking code to the authentication system across all devices (desktop, mobile and tablet).
27 Content Grouping None Used Define content groupings depending on business needs.
Content Grouping allows
categorisation of the content on [Client]. Aggregate performance of those groups can then be analysed. This can give insight into how those types of content are consumed and performance associated with those groups. For instance grouping the content in Insider separately to category pages, homepage, product pages etc.
