Welcome to Part 3 where we’ll check the Google Analytics implementation. You can find the previous chapters of the guide here:
1. Google Tag Manager
2. Tracking code
3. Check the implementation
When you install the GA tracking code on your website you can visit the real time reports right away to check if data is being collected. If you have a new website just open it in a browser and go to Real-Time -> Overview under Standard Reports and see if GA shows you.
Another tool to use is Google Analytics Debugger extension for Chrome.
Fiddler is a free tool by Telerik that tracks all traffic between your computer and the Internet. You can download it and install it. When you start the program, just open your website in a browser and see what is passed as cookies.
Also, it’s really important that your GA tracking code is fired on every page of your website. If you decide to insert your code without the help of Google Tag Manager, you can use my favorite crawling tool Screaming Frog (paid, one-year license costs 100 GBP) and check if it’s on every page of your website. You can follow the detailed instructions at SEER Interactive blog.
The same method could be used to check for correct GTM implementation as well.
Go to the next chapters of the guide:
4. Profiles and filters
5. Settings
6. Goals setup
7. Virtual pageviews and events
8. Campaign tracking
9. Advanced segments and custom reports. Dashboards.
10. Custom alerts
Or jump to the whole thing: Google Analytics Implementation Guide.
Still have questions? You can ask them as comments below and I’ll try to answer.
Margarita Evtimova
Margarita Evtimova is a Google Analytics fan, who also loves SEO, conversion optimization, online marketing and social media. You can follow her on Twitter and LinkedIn.