I am trying to download clickstream data from Google Analytics but I am not able to get it in correct format i.e. time stamp, page-path etc. I have seen some post on BigQuery but I have never used SQL.
Is there an easy way to do this?
No, there is no easy way. Google Analytics does not expose the client id via the API, so you cannot get user level data, and time based dimension allow breakdowns to the minute only, which is not granular enough.
You could store a more precise timestamp and the client id as custom dimensions (you might need to check your local laws and/or the privacy policy of your company to see if that kind of profile building requires permission by your users in your country).
Then you could pull url per client id, ordered by timestamp, via the Reporting API. However that is not necessarily easy and on a large site you might run into the API limits.
Related
I'm relatively new to Google Analytics and would like to have some inputs.
So I have a web application that people can install to create a backup and can do restores as well. The application has an API where you can see the statistics of the app i.e. number of backups made, restores made, and the number of clusters connected to this application.
Now I want to send these stats to google analytics with an interval of 10 minutes. I was wondering if I can send the status to Event with a unique UUID as Event Category, the backup/restores, or nodes as Event Labels and the number as Event Actions.
Is this the right approach to using Google Analytics Events? Or is there a better way to do it in GA? My requirement is I have to do it in GA or should I use a different hit type.
Given that we are talking API's you intend to use the Measurement Protocol?
And the UUID refers to the unique user? if so, you should look at the uid https://developers.google.com/analytics/devguides/collection/protocol/v1/parameters#uid
As to using Events versus Hits, using hits is probably easier on the reporting.
I'm working on the architecture for a project that includes a Android and iOS apps and a web interface with a subset of the mobile apps functionalities. The project is basically a e-commerce solution. In all three interfaces I'm using Google Analytics to track some information. However I'm having an internal discussion about the extent of the information I should send to GA. What should I store in GA and what should I store in my own server?
Let me give you some examples.
Session tracking is clearly something that belong to GA.
ProductDetailViews. Sounds like something that should go into GA, specially considering the enhanced e-commerce module.
Shared item. When a user shares some content over a social network, should I store that information on GA or in my own server? I'm inclined to GA but it becomes more ambiguos.
Do you see my point? Can someone share a general rule or recommendation on what should be saved in GA and what should be saved on the projects own server?
Thanks
For those examples I would generally send all the hits to Google Analytics. Here are a few reasons:
Preventing data silos. You want all of your data in one place and Google provides you with a database reachable via the API where you can keep all your data organised in one place. This is important when you are considering measuring performance, as you want to avoid duplication of conversions or traffic hits
Useage of Google Analytics advanced segments. With all your data in GA, you will be able to create advanced segments for analysis. But the real power is if you are using AdWords or retargeting, as you can send those Advanced Segments to AdWords, and target those users around the web with your custom data
Single point of reference for users All analytics are inaccurate, but you want to make sure they are inaccurate to the same degree. Using GA keeps all your data on the same playing field
Usability and Freedom of information Its easier to serve up your data to users within the GA interface as people are more likely to know how to navigate that than your database. You can also use the GA API to pull out any data you need to push into other visualisation tools.
User session merging With your data and userID tracking in GA, you may be able to track users as they arrive via mobile to desktop and back again, over multiple sessions.
What you need to avoid putting in to Google Analytics is personal info such as names, email address etc. There are against the TOS. But you can capture a unique userID, and match that outside of the tool later.
The docs describe the clientId as:
This anonymously identifies a particular user, device, or browser instance.
https://developers.google.com/analytics/devguides/collection/protocol/v1/parameters#cid
It can be used to send server side hits to analytics while still tying them to a particular user.
There is also a feature in closed beta called userId, which you will be able to pass once a user has authenticated: https://developers.google.com/analytics/devguides/collection/analyticsjs/user-id
userId is fairly self-explanatory. However, UA also allows you to pass your own clientid if you choose to. For developing CRM type tools, can one just associate the clientid with a user in the same way that you would with a userid? The goal is primarily to be able to track offline interactions and connect them with visitors in Analytics.
maembe,
clientID is a random number generated by Google Analytics, and keep in mind it's always required and its value should always be a random UUID (version 4) (you could technically use your own, but I am not sure how practical and reliable this would be). Most importantly, you can easily access it with predefined get function (see documentation).
For your needs, this is exactly what you should do -- if someone sings ups, store ClientID in your CRM and then if there is any offline purchase, record the transactions with measurement protocol using the stored clientID. Google Analytics will then make the link (attribution) with that visitor and you will see this in your reports. Also, take advantage of newly available custom metrics and dimensions which can store pretty much anything you want (think of customer segmentation etc.). Beware of storing PII though.
Hope this helps :)
I am curious how UserID is going to work, it might change everything, but for now, I wouldn't rely on it as there is very little information available.
This Analytics support page now states the differences between Client ID and User ID - https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/6205850?hl=en#clientid-userid
Essentially client IDs represent unauthenticated users, and are automatically randomly generated.
User IDs represent authenticated users, and must be set manually.
It's worth noting that user IDs cannot be things like an email address, or other data that would allow Google to identify the user
You will not upload any data that allows Google to personally identify an individual (such as certain names, Social Security Numbers, email addresses, or any similar data), or data that permanently identifies a particular device (such as a unique device identifier if such an identifier cannot be reset).
If you upload any data that allows Google to personally identify an individual, your Google Analytics account can be terminated, and you may lose your Google Analytics data.
Taken from: https://developers.google.com/analytics/devguides/collection/protocol/policy
I'd imagine User ID is designed to differentiate the behavior of an authenticated user. here
I'm creating an auction site and would like to provide my sellers with analytics related to their product pages - visitors, search terms, etc. I could roll my own analytics but want to know if it is possible (or forbidden) to use google analytics within my application and present that data to my users. Is this possible, has anyone done this and, if so, how did you go about it. Thanks in advance
Sure, you can do this.
The easiest method is to give your sellers direct access to GA. I have no idea how you have your GA interface setup but you can setup profiles in lots of different ways (filters, segments, etc..) to have the profile show data only for the specific seller, and give their GA account access only to their profile.
Alternatively, GA provides an API for retrieving data from them and displaying on your own site.
Also you can provides Real time data reporting via Google's Real Time API - https://developers.google.com/analytics/devguides/reporting/realtime/v3/devguide
Which will provide several data in the manner of dimensions and metrics
I have a PHP (5+) based website.
I want to track registered users of my site using Google Analytics. I basically just wish to grab their session id (or some way to identify each specific user)and view their movements and site usage from my Google Analytics dashboard.
Can this be done? If so, any guidance would be most welcome.
I believe the best way to do this is via a custom variable:
_setCustomVar(index, name, value, opt_scope)
It would be up to you to identify the 'value' as a unique session id for the user.
The scope in your case would be either session(2) or visitor(1) depending on how you want to track it.
http://code.google.com/intl/en/apis/analytics/docs/tracking/gaTrackingCustomVariables.html#setup
Technically you are able to store the username as a custom variable, but doing so violates the Google Analytics Terms of Service (ToS). Among other things, the (paraphrased) ToS states that you aren't allowed to store anything in Google Analytics that allows you to identify who the visitor is. This typically applies to usernames, IP addresses, phone numbers, etc.
If you decide to ignore the ToS and store the data anyway, it exposes YOU (not Google) to all kinds of data protection & PII laws. Especially in the EU.
If you have some budget money to work with, the best way to see the information you're looking for is to use an on premises web analytics software package that can process Google Analytics data. When you keep your data on premises, it alleviates many of the data privacy / protection / PII laws.