An Every Day GA Audit

Nikki Rae Future Insight Analytics Ltd.

www.futureinsightanalytics.com Nikki.Rae@futureinsightanalytics.com

@analyticsgirl

Typical GA Project Stages

Initiation

Analysis

Design

Implementation

Testing

Todays Outcome

• Help you identify questions to ask of Google Analytics?

• Guide you to some answers

• Help you to build a fuller proposal

– Easier to cost the project

– Easier to find the dependencies

Where does Audit fit in?

• Understand the business problem

• Understand ability / knowledge of client organisation

• Specify issues

• Specify tasks

• Write recommendations

• Propose further opportunities e.g. GTM, event tracking, custom reports, training

Checking Set-Up

• Internal

– Which settings in the internal system configuration affect information presented?

Spotting Reporting Anomalies

• External

– Which internet-related activities/ anomalies are impacting the incoming data?

Immediate To Do’s!

• Gain at least ‘read and analyse and edit’ access to the account

• Set up a Client – Raw view

• Setup your own temporary – Main View (exact copy of clients)

– Test View (test you’re theories, add filters etc.)

– Raw View (to build, if necessary, into a new main report for the client)

ACCOUNT SECURITY Future Insight Analytics

Users

• Have all ex-employees / agencies been removed from User Management?

• Do all Edit level users need to have that facility?

• Do staff have their own logins to GA?

GA Terms and Conditions

• Does your client have a cookie notification upon first entry to their site?

• Does your client have a privacy policy?

• Is your client collecting personally identifiable information (PII)?

INTERNAL Future Insight Analytics

Checking Set-Up

Which settings in the internal system configuration affect information presented?

Tracking Code

• Is the tracking on every page?

• Is it up-to-date?

• Do they currently have customised code e.g. – Event tracking?

– Custom Variables?

– Virtual Page Names?

• Are they tracking across multiple domains?

• Are they / could they be using Google Tag Manager?

• Are they using any other tag management solutions?

• Are they using any other tags across the site?

Views (profiles)

• Main – Reporting profile – Staff IP / network excluded – Staging site removed

• Test – Only staging site traffic

• Audit Test – Temporary view for testing use during Audit

• Raw – GA out-of-the-box

• Mobile Views

Filters

• Which filters are already applied and what is their current impact? – Search and replace? – IP Exclusion? – Advanced?

• Which filters could they be using? – Staff IP exclusions – Change multiple home pages – Add hostname to URI – Only include main domain – Lowercase

Time Zone & Currency

• Time Zone

– Often accidentally set to Pacific

– Daylight saving?

• Is the currency set correctly?

– Does the site process sales in multiple currencies?

Ecommerce

• Is E-Commerce enabled in Admin for shopping sites?

• Has Ecommerce tracking been placed on site pages or setup in GTM?

Bot Filtering

• Has traffic from known bots been filtered?

– Based on list compiled by Internet Advertising Bureau (www.iab.net/1418/spiders)

Site Search

• Has site search been enabled in Admin?

• Have site categories been enabled in Admin?

Organic Search Sources

• Have any search engines been added to ‘Organic Search Sources’ in Admin?

Referral Exclusion List

• Have any referring Urls been added to referral exclusion list e.g.

– Clientsite.com

– Checkout.shopify.com

– Paypal.com

Search Engine Optimisation

• Has Google Webmaster Tools been setup?

• Has Google Webmaster Tools been linked to GA?

Adwords Linking

• Has Adwords been linked?

• If necessary, is cost setting applied?

DoubleClick Search

• Has Doubleclick been enabled to allow Demographic and Interest reports in Google Analytics?

Query Parameters

• Are there any set up (Admin area)? – Should they have been removed?

• Are there any in the Behaviour > Site Content > All Pages report? – Are they superfluous?

?

Default Home Page

• Are there multiple instances of the home page e.g.

– /, default, home, index?

Goal Verification

• Are the goals relevant?

• Can you split out engagement goals into a new view?

• Do the goals verify?

EXTERNAL Future Insight Analytics

Spotting Reporting Anomalies

Which internet-related activities/ anomalies are impacting the incoming data?

Canonicalization

• Does the www and no dub version show in hostname report?

Notations

• Are Notations being used?

Referral Anomalies

• Do you have the following appearing in your referrer report?

– Webmail accounts?

– Your own site?

– Search engines?

Organic Anomalies

• Are you ranking for key terms that are not showing in SERPs?

– Untracked paid search

Direct Search Anomalies

• Vast range of direct landing pages

• Large spikes in direct traffic

– At same time as email campaigns

– At same time as social campaigns

• Does client have apps?

• Has client had any redirects put in place?

• Does client have links within non-html brochures?

TOOLS OF THE TRADE Future Insight Analytics

Screaming Frog SEO Spider

• Screaming Frog

– Used to identify presence of tracking code on pages across site

• UA code

• Event Tracking

• Custom Variables

• Virtual Page Names

– Used to identify server redirects

GA Real Time Report

• Real Time

– Is the data appearing in real time as you expect? • Page names?

• Traffic Sources?

• Goals

• Events

Google Tag Assistant

• Google Tag Assistant

– Is the tag reporting any issues with GA or GTM tracking?

POST AUDIT Future Insight Analytics

• Proposed fixes

• Opportunities for upgrade

• Opportunities for goal tracking / advanced segments

• Opportunities for customised coding / reporting

• Implementation of GTM

TAKE AWAYS Future Insight Analytics

• Always start a project with a new client with an Audit

• Always setup your own temporary test views for the Audit

• Always use an Audit as a base for a fuller proposal

• Always check internal GA configuration plus check reporting anomalies

Thank You

Nikki Rae Future Insight Analytics Ltd.

www.futureinsightanalytics.com Nikki.Rae@futureinsightanalytics.com

@analyticsgirl