Web Analytics
Web analytics, the measurement and analysis of website visitor data, is key to understanding how website visitors use your site. It can help identify the most important information that people are looking for, and determine areas of your website that need improvement. A successful website caters to the needs of its visitors, and web analytics is a powerful tool to identify those home run opportunities.
All CMS Sites include Google Analytics
HOWEVER you must request Analytics access from your Andrew account first. Once you have access, don't worry about setting anything up — we've taken care of that for you! Quickly see how well your site is performing with a snapshot, or dive into the details to better understand your site visitors.
Get Started
- Request Google Analytics be enabled for your Andrew account and specify the CMS site(s) you would like analytics for
- Log into Google Analytics
- In the platform’s header region, click on the dropdown menu that contains the subproperty followed by "360" (example: University Communications & Marketing 360).
11/15/2023 NOTE: Google recently updated the system so the prior method of selecting the All users button to open the Build comparison field that allowed you to navigate to site-specific data is no longer available. The instructions have been updated below.
Navigate to your site within your GA4 subproperty:
- Navigate to a report you want to view (pages and screens, user acquisition, etc.)
- Select the FILTER button at the top of your report. This opens a Conditions menu on the right, which allows you to modify and filter to your site.
- Select a Dimension value from the dropdown menu. To drill down to a specific site within your subproperty, select:
- Dimension: site_name (Note: the additional fields will appear once you select site_name)
- Match Type: exactly matches
- Value: click the box next to the name of your site
- To see the changes, click Apply on the bottom right.
To learn more about Google Analytics, visit the Analytics Academy for self-paced training or the Help Center for answers to specific questions.
FAQs
I’ve heard about Google Analytics 4. What do I need to know?
Google Analytics 4 is the latest generation of Google's standard analytics platform, previously called Universal Analytics. When you access your analytics, you should see new subproperties. If you don't see your new subproperties let us know at it-help@cmu.edu.
To learn more about Google Analytics 4, visit Google's Analytics Academy for self-paced training.
What is the difference between Google Analytics 4 and Google Analytics 360?
Google Analytics 4 is latest generation of Google's standard analytics platform, and is offered for free.
Google Analytics 360 is the paid version, and has higher limits for the data captured.
I have set up my own Google Analytics using my personal Google account. Do I need to remove it?
No, you may continue to use your own installation of Google Analytics, however we recommend transferring the analytics from your personal Google account to your Andrew account. Follow these steps.
- Request Google Analytics be enabled for your Andrew account
- Follow Google's instructions to transfer ownership of Google Analytics; be sure to give your Andrew account Edit and Manage Users permissions
- Remove your personal Google account
I prefer to install Google Analytics using my own tracking code and have full management of the account settings. Is this allowed?
Yes, if the Google Analytics provided with your CMS site doesn't fully meet your needs, you may install your own Google Analytics tracking. Follow the steps provided for How to Use Google Analytics.
What are the benefits of using the Google Analytics provided with my site versus installing it on my own? Can I use both?
Yes, you can use both! Highlighted below are some of the major differences between the two options to help you decide if installing your own tracking is the best fit for your web analytics needs.
Historical Data
- Default analytics: Your site's analytics will be recorded from the site launch date on! (For existing sites, data will go as far back as late in December 2020)
- Your installation: Data collection starts from time of installation
User Permissions
- Default analytics: You will be provided with Analyst permissions
- Your installation: You will have full permissions that come with the standard service
Why am I seeing large spikes in my organic traffic?
These spikes may be from a variety of causes, but the two most common reasons for CMU sites are:
- A timely event triggers large volumes of keyword searches (for example, an event announcement in May will trigger a spike in searches around that event in May compared to other months).
- Due to backend processes on the email provider side, traffic from Gmail often shows up as organic. Since a large portion of the university currently uses Gmail, clicks on links in mass emails to the CMU community may sometimes show up as google/organic as the source/medium.