Tools and Tips for Google Analytics Implementations
September 16, 2019
Here is a handy resource to bookmark for anyone with Google Analytics in their future. Hacking Analytics describes “The Complexity of Implementing Google Analytics.” Writer and solution architect/ data manager Julien Kervizic explains:
“There is more than just placing a small snippet on a website to implement Google analytics. There are different integration patterns in order to capture the data into Google Analytics, and each integration is subject to a lot of pitfalls and potential regressions needed to guard against. There are also question as to whether or how to use the different APIs provided by GA.”
Kervizic begins by detailing three primary integration patterns: scraping a website, pushing events into a JavaScript data layer, and tapping into structured data. Next are several pitfalls one might run into and ways to counter each. See the write-up for those details.
Of course, your tracking setup is futile if it is not maintained. We learn about automated tests and monitoring tools to help with this step. Last but not least are Google Analytics APIs; Kervizic writes:
“Implementing Google analytics, sometimes requires integrating with Google Analytics APIs, be it for reporting purpose, to push some backend data, or to provide cost or product information. Google Analytics has 3 main APIs for these purposes.”
These are the three main APIs: the reporting API, augmented with the dimensions & metrics explorer for checking different field-naming; the measurement protocol with its hit builder tool for setting up requests; and the management API for automating data imports, managing audiences, and uploading cost info from third-party ad providers.
Cynthia Murrell, September 16, 2019
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