Google Analytics Configure

Google Analytics Setup for All Client Sites

1. Ensure 3 views exist: 1 for raw data, 1 for testing purposed, and 1 for filtered data used for on-going analysis. Rename these views Raw Data, Test View, and Master View if necessary.
2. Select the Master View and click on the gear icon with accompanying text "Admin"
3. Under the Account column, select Account Settings
4. At the bottom of the Account Settings screen, ensure that a Data Processing Amendment has been processed. Click Save.  (all GA accounts must have a completed DPA on file)
5. Under the Property column, select Property Settings
6. Review the Default URL for accuracy, paying close attention to http:// vs. https:// & www.{CLIENT}.com/ vs. {CLIENT}.com/
7. Review the Industry Category for accuracy
8. Leave "Allow manual tagging (UTM values) to override auto-tagging..." option under Advanced Settings *unchecked*
9. Leave Use enhanced link attribution option under In-Page Analytics *unchecked*
10. Leave Start In-Page Analytics in set to Embedded mode
11. If you received access to the client's Google Search Console property in Phase II, click Adjust Search Console and review the settings for accuracy. If not, skip this step for now.
12. For the Enable User Metric in Reporting under User Analysis, select ON. Click Save.
13. Under the Property column, select Tracking Info > Data Collection
14. For the Data Collection for Google Signals setting, select ON. Click Save.
15. Under the Property column, select Tracking Info > Data Retention. 26 months is appropriate for most clients, as it allows for year-over-year comparisons. Some clients may request the "Do no not automatically expire option". As a general rule, data should not be retained for longer than it provides business value.
16. For the Reset on new activity option, select ON. Click Save.
17. The User-ID option under Property > Tracking Info  > User-ID is *not* appropriate for most websites. A exception would be a service that people consistently log into from multiple devices. Take caution with using this option, and understand the implications for privacy policy, user notice & consent, and PII concerns before implementing.
18. Under the Property Column, select Tracking Info > Referral Exclusion List
19. The default domain will show up automatically. Click + Add Referral Exclusion and enter in the non-standard version of the clients domain (ultimately both www & non-www versions of the clients domain should show up in this list). Click Create.
20. Repeat the last step for the domain [  translate.googleusercontent.com  ]
21. Under the Property column, select Product Linking > Google Ads Linking
22. If you received access to the client's Google Ads account, review this setting for accuracy. If not, skip this step for now.
23. Under the Property Column, select Optimize and Tag Manger Linking
24. Under the View column, select View Settings
25. Under Website's URL, ensure https:// is selected, and the URL listed is the default version (load the site and see if the URL contains www. or not)
26. Confirm that the Time zone country or territory match that of the client's headquarters
27. Check the box next to Exclude all hits from known bots and spiders under Bot Filtering
28. If the client's website has search functionality, toggle the Site search Tracking option to ON. Click Save.
29. Open the {CLIENT} Form Tracking Map spreadsheet that you created. Create a destination based goal for all confirmation pages. Use the naming convention Thank You - Contact Form, for example.
30. Set the goal type to Destination and click Continue.
31. For Destination under Goal details, select Equals to and enter in the portion of the confirmation page URL *after* .com
32. If the site has historical data in Google Analytics, click Verify this Goal to confirm proper set-up. If not, skip this step for now and verify the goal after a week or so of data collection. Click Save.
33. Repeat the previous 4 steps for all confirmation pages listed on the {Client} Form Tracking Map spreadsheet

Additional Steps For E-commerce sites: Setup a purchase funnel goal

1. Under Goal Setup select the Buy merchandise option and click Continue
2. Use the naming convention Purchased {PRODUCT NAME/TYPE} - Funnel
3. Select Destination under Type and click Continue
4. For Destination select Equals to and enter in the portion of the order confirmation page URL *after* .com. For sites with order confirmation pages that load with dynamic values, use the Regular expression option and write a simple RegEx that will match *all* versions of the order confirmation page.
5. Under Funnel, select ON
6. For Step 1, enter information for the product page. (ex: Name: {PRODUCT NAME/TYPE} Product Page // Screen/Page: /store/product)
7. Repeat the step above for the checkout page.
8. If the site has historical data in Google Analytics, click Verify this Goal to confirm proper set-up. If not, skip this step for now and verify the goal after a week or so of data collection. Click Save.

Filter Unwanted Traffic & Spam

Filter your Agency IP Address

1. Click + Add Filter
2. Enter [  {AGENCY} IP  ] for Filter name
3. For Filter Type, select Predefined / Exclude / traffic from the IP addresses / that are equal to
4. Enter the IP address for {AGENCY}'s office and click Save
5. Click + Add Filter

Filter Webflow Staging Domian Traffic

1. Click + Add Filter
2. Enter [  Exclude Webflow Staging URL Traffic  ] for Filter Name
3. For Filter Type, select Predefined / Exclude / traffic from the ISP domain / that contain
4. Enter [  domain.webflow.io  ] for the ISP domain and click Save

Combine Instagram Referrals

1. Click + Add Filter
2. Enter [  Combine Instagram Referrals  ] for Filter Name
3. For Filter Type, select Custom / Search and Replace
4. Under Filter Field, select Campaign Source
5. Enter [  .*instagram  ] for Search String and [  instagram  ] for Replace String. Click Save

Combine Facebook Referrals

1. Enter [  Combine Facebook Referrals  ] for Filter Name
2. For Filter Type, select Custom / Search and Replace
3. Under Filter Field, select Campaign Source
4. Enter [  .*facebook  ] for Search String and [  facebook  ] for Replace String. Click Save

Cross-domain tracking

1. DELETE the "Include Valid Hostnames" filter
2. Click + Add Filter
3. Enter [  Full URLs  ] for Filter Name
4. For Filter Type, select Custom / Advanced
5. For Field A -> Extract A, select Hostname, and enter [  (.*)  ]
6. For Field B -> Extract B, select Request URI, and enter [  (.*)  ]
7. For Output To -> Constructor, select Request URI, and enter [  $A1$B1  ]
8. Check the boxes next to Field A Required, Field B Required, and Override Output Field. Click Save
9. Under the Property column, select Referral Exclusion List
10. Click + Add Referral Exclusion, and add the outside domain that will be linked to this Analytics property. An example would be a third-party platform used to process transactions, such as event bookings. Click Create.
11. Repeat the last step as required, accounting for all linked domains
12. Review the on-page code and ensure the Google Analytics snippet contains the additional syntax required for linking domains.

Additional Resources

• Google Support / Analytics manual tagging override option for Google Ads and Search Ads 360 integration option
• Google Support / Analytics Enhanced Link Attribution
• Google Support / Analytics Ecommerce tracking
• Google Support / Analytics Cross-domain tracking
• Google Support / Search Console integration
• Helpful tool for writing Regular Expressions (RegEx)

There are a number of text and number strings referenced below that use square brackets with an opening and closing space to highlight the given string. When entering these strings, do not include the square brackets and opening and closing spaces. For example, if you see [ XXXXXX ], you would enter XXXXXX into the given settings field in Google Analytics.