Measuring a custom element on a different website through google analytics - google-analytics

I'm looking for some advice in a best-practice sense. Let me sketch the situation:
There are 8 companies with similar services. Together they have decided to launch a new brand, which will encompass all of them. To promote this new brand, an ad will be placed on all of their websites. This add will include a CTA, and a close button which will minimize it into a bar. This element will be opened the first time someone visits the website. Upon later visits, element will be closed and only the bar (with a fold-out option) will be shown.
The CTA will link to a page in the site of the main brand.
I'm unsure on the best way to measure this in Google Analytics. The 8 sub-companies each have their own tracking, but integrating with theirs will take too much time for now.
My idea was to add separate tracking to the ad, firing a virtual pageview to the GA of the main brand's website, and tracking clicks on the CTA and closing/opening of the ad through events. To prevent interference with the GTM of websites it is placed upon, this would be hardcoded. To prevent interference with the current analytics (since it is a short-term campaign), I would measure this in a separate view, perhaps adding a custom dimension and excluding the hits with a filter.
This will give us insight in how often it is shown for the first time, how often it is opened/closed and how much people click through. Furthermore this will allow us to track a conversion rate on the landing page (which has a form to fill out).
The 8 websites on which it will be shown each have their own analytics, implemented in various ways (GTM, Classic Analytics or Universal Analytics). We do not wish to interfere with this.
Do any of you have tips/tricks or feedback on my plan?

Related

Facebook ads incorrect result or google analytics?

I have implemented facebook ads which shows my website received 290 link clicks over 2 days , but in my google analytics from the day before I started ad it shows 57 users , why is it so ?
There are several reasons why there is a discrepancy between clicks on Facebook Ads (as well as on Google Ads) and Google Analytics sessions. It is a more or less known situation.
Some of these are for example that you are comparing 2 different pieces of information, such as clicks on one side and sessions or users on the other.
Clicks can include clicks on different elements or double clicks.
The session is also detected when the Analytics code on the site page is loaded, so if the user clicks on the ads and exits before the site page is loaded (for example because it loads slowly or because he didn't want to click) you will have clicks counted but not sessions.
In your case you are also talking about users, so the discrepancy is certainly higher since if the same person clicks an ads from his smartphone in the morning, then in the afternoon, then in the evening, he will have 3 clicks on Facebook Ads, in the best of cases will result in 3 sessions in Analytics but for the latter it will result in 1 user.
Adding to Michele's answer a couple of points:
Make sure your cookie banner allow Google Analytics and FB Pixel in the same way (e.g. both are loaded only after the user's acceptance), and make a test also with an AdBlock.
Try optimising your campaign for landing page view optimisation, as they will be counted only those users who click on the ads AND load the page. Maybe this will help.
Edit: be aware about the iOS14 changes that may impact this tracking as well

Tracking HubSpot forms submission conversions in GA

I have multiple HubSpot forms on site. I need to track each on setting up conversion goals in GA. Ideally, I'd like to be able to track how organic traffic is converting.
I set up goals as explained here: https://medium.com/#dillonjones/the-easiest-way-to-setup-hubspot-form-tracking-in-google-analytics-a8ad9ab1fc4d
The problem is that since it tracks an Event, it triggers a conversion for all HubSpot forms, no matter which one is filled in.
Is there a way to set it up to track the conversion for HubSpot per destination page? All forms have separate thank you pages.
If you configure 2 different goals, one for each form (for example by distinguishing them with the event label), you can make sure that the two forms are activated separately, however if you have many forms all the same, for the current session you will not be activated more than one goal for each type of goal per session.
You can always rely on events, perhaps by writing the landing page url in the label to more easily distinguish them in Analytics.

Is it possible to create a funnel in Google Analytics, based on JavaScript events taking place on one web page?

We have a complex order form with multiple steps all taking place on one page. From a business analysis point of view we've been given a requirement to be able to visualise the progress of users through this form in Google Analytics as a funnel.
e.g.
Option on step 1 clicked
Option on step 2 clicked
Input on step 3 completed
Checkbox completed
Form submitted
I know we can add various JS events across the form to track the actions that have been taken, but I can't seem to find a way to create a funnel in GA from this. We're using GA with Google Tag Manager.
The goal is to be able to analyse where on this form users are abandoning it, and how long they are spending on the various steps.
Is this possible? My current research suggests that GA couldn't create funnels from events a few years ago, and that it doesn't seem possible still. I don't want to use the method of virtual page views that I have seen floating around, as this comes with too many other negative effects.
If you want a manageable funnel report in Google Analytics, you shouldn't be using events but virtual pageviews. Anyway, if you don't want to use the latter, Google Analytics offers the Events Flow Report (https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/2521316?hl=en&ref_topic=2521315), in which you can see how users activate the different events you have configured, even if it is not strictly what you are looking for.
The alternative is to track these events in Google Analytics and create a funnel with Google Data Studio.

I'm unable to run experiments accross subdomains using Universal Analytics

I'm currently running an experiment without redirect, using Google Analytics, but I'm running in some issues.
The case
I work for a company that has two websites, with two separate brands, selling the same product. Today, we are plaining a merge of the brands, one of the reasons being the low costs of maintanance.
To see how this would affect sales, we are doing an a/b test. The test consists of changing the logo of the sites, and displaying an information about the merge of brands in the variant. The original is the website without changes.
We have some requirements to do it:
We use a CMS that has no support to the Google Analytics Experiment tag (we get some errors when we install it to the , and are unable to run it)
We need to run it through all pages of our websites. We have also a subdomain in each site, that the user is redirected to place an order.
We doesn't have time to wait for the experiment to end for itself. So, we came up with the idea to track the rejection and sales using a duplicate pageview with "/variant" in the url and in the title.
To do that, I used the Content Experiments without redirects, with the Google Tag Manager.
Configuration of the Experiment
In Google Tag Manager, I load the Content Experiment Javascript API and define the choosenVariation variable in all pages of both websites and subdirectories.
I track the "gtm.load" event, to see when the page finished loading all elements and change the DOM in three ways: changing the logo, adding the content about the merge and add an item to the main menu. All of this, through Javascript.
Along with the changes of the DOM, I add a datalayer called VirtualPageView, and pass the corresponding url with "/variant" and the title with "Variant".
When the datalayer fires, I send a new Pageview with the variant information.
The problem
The experiment is running right, but when a user gets the B variant of the experiment and procceed to a subdomain of our websites to place an order, it seems that it's somehow running another test, and happens to the user get the A variation.
We are trying to persist the original session and the client Id through the domain and subdomain, in order to the user that saw the different logo, continue in his way to order.
I saw this page about Running Experiments across Subdomains, but its about the Classic Analytics and the classic experiment, and we are using the Universal Analytics with the Content Experiment without redirects.
I don't know if my explanation was clear enough, so if someone have doubts, please ask me. I don't have a profound knowledge of Google Analytics or the Content Experiments either. So, if you have a better way to do this, please, tell me.
I came up with a solution to our problem. We agreed to use the experiment only in the pages of the main domain, so I can change the content otherwise in the pages of the subdomain:
When a user visits our main domain, through Google Tag Manager, I created a cookie that says what the result of the variation chosen for the user (0 for the original and 1 for the variation).
When this user goes to our subdomain to place an order, still via GTM I check the cookie to see its value. If its equal to 1 (a variation), I change the logo and the menu, according to our previous configuration, and I send a virtual pageview to help us check the data.
Until now, this is working properly.

How can I track button clicks on a site that can't use Google Analytics?

I will start by saying that I have fair experience in HTML, but please keep the technical terms to a bare minimum. Pretend you're explaining it to a child. :-)
I used Wix.com to make my site (Wix is a place to easily design websites and has little HTML capabilities, since it's all based on being able to easily design a site with no HTML knowledge). You can add a Google Analytics tracking code, so i can see the number of clicks on the site, but that's about all. Apparently you can't change the code to be able to see button clicks on the site etc. (or maybe you can?...)
This is what I need above anything else:
On the site are a few "sign up now" buttons. When someone clicks it, they go to a signup page on an external site. I need to be able to track who clicks these buttons and when.
Ideally it's all tracked within google but apparently it doesn't work on wix.
Priorities:
Somehow it works with Google Analytics on Wix. It would have to be if somehow I can track it with Analytics without putting a code on the site itself. Don't know if or how that would work.
If not Google, is there a simple 3rd party Analytics site that could track the number of clicks on these buttons to external pages? It would be best if I can get the IP addresses of the clickers as well.
this is fairly easy, try customerlabs.co/google-analytics-event-tracking which can directly help you to send data about the users when they click event tracking.
eg:
Wix supports 3 types of goal tracking for your site: Destination, Duration and Pages/Screens per session. Currently, Wix doesn't support an Event tracking goal.

Resources