Phase 1- Set-Up Google Analytics For Tracking

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Google Analytics Installation Checklist for Tracking Direct Mail

Because tis the season to be jolly, I am going to share my installation recipe for tracking direct mail using Google Analytics with you. Feel free to employ it if it helps you. It is most important to me that this helps you and if it does…please rate my post. I makes me feel loved :-) .

Please note, I use one software program that generates these set up reports. I have converting my output to suit html for your viewing purpose.

Step1 – Identify Website Type

Let’s make sure we understand the why each website exists

Ecommerce

Brand Lift

Lead Generation

Social Platform

Step 2- Determine the Coding Language

HTML

PHP

If there is a common footer file Install the tracking code here where it will be included on all html pages.

ASP

CFM

Other

Step 3- Special Installation Needs, custom installation needed

Often website have unique characteristics that mean you have to do a custom installation. Identifying the special needs of each website will translate to clean data collection.

Ecommerce Integration

There are many ecommerce solutions that make integration of the Google Analytics tracking code easy. Here is a list of the more popular Ecommerce software used.

Image Based pages or tagging

See document: tagging inks

There’s more to the picture than meets the eye here. You can track email, PDF downloads, links, banners or even offline advertising. To tag links your URL is tagged with a query string that tells Google Analytics additional information. You can use the google URL builder for free from my friends at ROI.

Flash Goal Funnel Pages

See document: flash-goals.php

Google Analytics can track most browser based events. In the case of flash files they can be track with a special modification to the GATC using the _trackPageviewfunction.

Event Tracking

Tracking browser based events with flash files can lead to very telling analysis on how others interact with your flash designs.

Pages are in a frame set

Tracking pages that are in a frame set are actually more than 1 page. For example your site may include 2, 3, or more frames in a page.

Spans Multiple Domains

See also document: multiple-domains

In the case of direct mail Domain A redirects to Domain B

- 2 Sec Meta Refresh installed on Domain A

- Manual tagged URL in refresh to clearly identify traffic source

Add Print Channels

Here we can create a profile if we want to track just print traffic.

That’s really the brass tacks to getting your Google Analytics tracking Code integrated like a hero. It is my basic recipe for tracking your direct mail in one spot–The Google Analytics Interface.

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