Hidden quirks, misleading metrics and tips and tricks for the Google Analytics platform

1. Everything You Didn’t Know
About Google Analytics

3. We place insane trust in Google

4. Prioritising marketing spend

5. Investing in regions, products or
technologies

6. KPIs by which we’re promoted or fired

7. Valuing businesses for sale or investment

8. So: You need to understand this

9. Hidden
Quirks
Misleading
Metrics
Tips &
Tricks

10. Hidden
Quirks
Misleading
Metrics
Tips &
Tricks

11. Hidden Quirks:
WTF is a Session?

15. Entrance
Alcohol
Aisle
Checkout
Machine
Visit to Tesco
(Source = Passing Trade)
Passing
Trade

16. /category /product /checkoutGoogle
Session
(Source = Google)

17. /category /product /checkoutGoogle
Session
(Source = Google)
Session
(Source = Self Referral)

18. /category /product /checkoutGoogle
Session
(Source = Google)
Session
(Source = Self Referral)

20. /category /product /checkoutGoogle
Session
(Source = Google)
Session
(Source = Self Referral)

22. /category /product /checkoutGoogle Google
Session
(Source = Google)
Session
(Source = Google)

23. /category /product /checkoutGoogle Paypal
Session
(Source = Google)
Session
(Source = Paypal)

25. Hidden Quirks:
Attribution

26. /category /productGoogle
Session
(Source = Google)
Session
(Source = Google)
Direct
2-week
holiday

27. Direct Other Channels
Other
Channels
Direct

29. Hidden Quirks:
Data Integrity

30. A couple of years ago, I decided to
make a website

31. Naturally, I started by making a
measurement plan

32. ...that’s as far as I got

34. Two easy ways to ruin Google Analytics data
● Measurement Protocol
● Using their tracking ID on some random pages on your
site

35. Two easy ways to ruin GA data
● Measurement Protocol
● Using their tracking ID on some random pages on your
site
Ways this can be used against you:
● Competitors sabotaging your data
● Falsified data in pitches etc.

36. GA data integrity is non-existent

37. If you need to be sure, cross check
with logs

38. https://www.distilled.net/resources/guide-to-log-analysis-with-big-query/

39. Hidden
Quirks
Misleading
Metrics
Tips &
Tricks

40. Misleading Metrics:
Time on Page

41. Define Average Time on Page

42. GA: “The average amount of time users spent viewing a
specified page or screen, or set of pages or screens.”
Define Average Time on Page

43. GA: “The average amount of time users spent viewing a
specified page or screen, or set of pages or screens.”
Define Average Time on Page

44. “Average Time on Page” =
(“Time on Page”) / (Pageviews - Exits)
Define Average Time on Page

45. Before we calculate an average, we need the individual times:
Scenario Intuitive Time on
Page
Google Analytics
Time on Page
0s: Pageview
10s: Social plugin
20s: Click through to next page
20s 20s

46. Before we calculate an average, we need the individual times:
Scenario Intuitive Time on
Page
Google Analytics
Time on Page
0s: Pageview
10s: Social plugin
20s: Click through to next page
20s 20s
0s: Pageview
10s: Social plugin
20s: Leave site
20s 10s

47. Before we calculate an average, we need the individual times:
Scenario Intuitive Time on
Page
Google Analytics
Time on Page
0s: Pageview
10s: Social plugin
20s: Click through to next page
20s 20s
0s: Pageview
10s: Social plugin
20s: Leave site
20s 10s
0s: Pageview
20s: Leave site
20s 0s

48. Average Time on Page?
Scenario Intuitive Time on
Page
Google Analytics
Time on Page
0s: Pageview
10s: Social plugin
20s: Click through to next page
20s 20s
0s: Pageview
10s: Social plugin
20s: Leave site
20s 10s
0s: Pageview
20s: Leave site
20s 0s

49. Scenario Intuitive Time on
Page
Google Analytics
Time on Page
0s: Pageview
10s: Social plugin
20s: Click through to next page
20s 20s
0s: Pageview
10s: Social plugin
20s: Leave site
20s 10s
0s: Pageview
20s: Leave site
20s 0s
“Average Time on Page”= (“Time on Page”) / (Pageviews - Exits)
“Average Time on Page”= (Total of 30s) / (3 Pageviews - 2 exits)

50. ● Confusing prospective consultants in interviews
● Confusing conference attendees
● Seed for generating random numbers
Usefulness of Average Time on Page

51. Misleading Metrics:
Bounce Rate & Exit Rate

54. Engagement Metrics
● Avg. Session Duration
● Avg. Time on Page

55. Engagement Metrics
● Avg. Session Duration
● Avg. Time on Page
● Bounce Rate
● Pages/Session
● Exit Rate

56. Engagement Metrics
● Avg. Session Duration
● Avg. Time on Page
● Bounce Rate
● Pages/Session
● Exit Rate
● Social Interactions
● Scroll Depth
● Micro-Conversions (e.g. signup)

57. Hidden
Quirks
Misleading
Metrics
Tips &
Tricks

58. Tips & Tricks:
Checkout as Landing Page

60. /category /checkoutGoogle
Session
(Source = Google)
/product
Session
(Source = Google)

61. /category /checkoutGoogle
Session
(Source = Google)
/product
Session
(Source = Paypal)
Paypal

62. /category sub.domain.com/checkoutGoogle
Session
(Source = Google)
/product
Session
(Source = Self Referral)

63. https://moz.com/blog/cross-domain-subdomain-tracking-in-google-analytics

64. Tips & Tricks:
Landing Page (not set)

66. /category EventGoogle
Session
(Source = Google)
/product
Session
(Source = Google)

67. /category
Event
Google
Session
(Source = Google)
/product
Session
(Source = Google)
Analytics.js
Ga.js

68. Tips & Tricks:
Sequences

71. Tips & Tricks:
User Flow Reports

72. THE MOST POWERFUL
BUTTON IN GOOGLE
ANALYTICS

74. Takeaways

75. We place insane trust in Google Analytics

76. Some of its definitions are arbitrary

77. You can’t always trust it

78. Some metrics are basically useless

79. The user interface makes things
unnecessarily difficult

80. But it helps us with big decisions

81. To trust something, you need to know it

82. Detailed Resources
● Sessions
● Self referrals
● Metrics
● Cross domain/subdomain tracking
● Log File Analysis
@THCapper

83. Thank You
@THCapper