Google Analyitics

November 18, 2008

Last Revised:  May 23, 2012 4:50 PM

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Google Apps Reference

Google Analytics Access Credentials Below

Here is some background and history on Vibrant Life usage of a Google service called Google Analytics.

Many years ago I paid a license fee for the use of a program called "Urchin." I was using Front Page as my web publishing program then.

It kept track and gave me reports on page visits, time on a page, what search word in a search engine brought them to my page, etc.

Then Google bought Urchin. I had paid some hundreds of dollars for Urchin.

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When Google introduced the service it was free and it apparently used the same code to be embedded on every page of a web site (as, apparently, did Urchin).

I believe Google allowed and even provided the same code, but presumably that code sent results to the Google Server instead of the Urchin server so that the results could be presented by Google Analytics.

Then, apparently, Google revised the code to be embedded. For some time you could still use what was called the "legacy" code -- the old Urchin Code. You could also use the NEW Google Code.

At some point it started to be that the old Legacy code gave fewer results than the new Google Code.

I believe that Google then changed the code to be embedded. I suspect that the old legacy code no longer works.

I had Gordon Bateson, initially, embed this Urchin code for me, on virtually every one of the 100,000 web pages. Either he, or maybe I, did another search and replace for the new code?

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He had a "search/find and replace" command that was effective in all the folders contained within a master folder. The master folder was probably called "vhosts." So, with one search and replace command he could, for instance "REPLACE" a section such as:

</body>
</html>

The line </body> occurs only once on a web page (unless there is an error) so that line would always be unique to any one page. If the Google Code is supposed to be embedded at the "bottom" of any page, this is one way to put it there. Search for </body> and replace </body> with TWO lines, one of them being the same line, but with the new line inserted just above, such as:

With a new section like the following:


<tag><googlecode.htm>
</body>
</html>

If Google really needs their code at some special position on a page, such as at the bottom, the code could be changed in position by inserting a new code:

<tag><googlecode.htm>
<tag><new code.htm>
</body>
</html>

So, generally you need to look at several pages to see, from just a few, what is likely to be the problem on the many pages.

Whatever needs changing can be done "one web site at a time" working with individual web sites, for instance, in Dream Weaver.

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Gordon used his "universal search and replace" command within "vhosts" folder, probably.

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If you were on the server you could do this. When I did some embedding some months ago, I had to do it one site at a time. Then I lost access to all my webs with DW and I could have done it with FileZilla since it sees the path on the server, including the vhost folder, but I don't know that FileZilla has a search and replace command feature -- DW does, but FZ?

Google Analytics probably still has the code embedded as when he was active for me. Either Gordon did all of them and I did some, when I had DW access. Now that I don't have DW access I don't think I can publish new code except on a few sites.

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  Access and Credentials

Our account to use Google Analytics is accessed by using Karl Loren's personal GMail account (kloren1@gmail.com) along with the password (maiden encrypted here).

The web address for starting is here: http://www.google.com/analytics/sign_up.html

While Sunil, our software tech consultant in India, has been given a task, in general, to improve our configuration and usage of Google Analytics, I decided to do some further work on understanding this service myself, on November 18, 2008.

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Subject to verification, access to the restricted reports by Google Analytics requires a "GMail account," not a "Google Apps eMail account." Thus, access for me uses my GMail account (kloren1@gmail.com) but Clifford Woods Google Apps eMail account (cliff@oralchelation.com) does not work for him to gain access. Sunil has been a registered user with his GMail for access (sunilk1@gmail.com).

Google has assigned UA-5417715 as the Account Number for all our Analytics reports.

All the domains currently registered with Analytics are located here.

I am currently publishing newsletters from the www.vibrantlifellc.com web site and found that this domain had not been added to the Google Analytics Service, so set about doing so.

I found the following message when I checked to see if this domain had yet been registered:

UA-1097907-54
Tracking Status: warning   Tracking Not Installed (Last checked: Nov 17, 2008 3:46:33 AM )
The Google Analytics tracking code has not been detected on your website's home page. For Analytics to function, you or your web administrator must add the code to each page of your website.

This Google page allows and shows both the old "Legacy" code and the new Google Code to be embedded into every page on the site where we want Google Analytics to track usage. The new Google Code is as follows:

Copy the following code block into every webpage you want to track immediately before the </body> tag.
If your site has dynamic content you can use a common include or a template. Learn More

<script type="text/javascript">
var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : "http://www.");
document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E"));
</script>
<script type="text/javascript">
try {
var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-1097907-54");
pageTracker._trackPageview();
} catch(err) {}</script>

 

The sample above uses the VL Google Analytics account number (UA-1097907-54). You can access your personalized tracking code in its entirety by following the instructions in Where can I find my tracking code?. For secure pages, please read How do I obtain tracking code for secure pages?

I have enbedded this tracking code on the pages I am using at www.vibrantlifellc.com for my newsletters and other pages. Since I also have an interest in the "secure" pages for this web site, I will be (or Sunil can) look into the use of Google Analytics for secure pages.

When I explored the pages of interest to me on www.vibrantlifellc.com I found that some pages, published many months ago actually had Google Code on them (Legacy code -- Legacy code can be used on some pages of a site while other pages use the new code -- but both codes should not be on the same page.)

I embedded the new code on folders /1 /2 and /3 on November 17, 2008. Per Google the results of these codes being in place should start showing up in Analytic Reports within 24 hours.

I did NOT install the codes in the secure part of this web site at: https://www.vibrantlifellc.com and would like Sunil to do that.

The site, www.oralchelation.com, is our most important site and generally has had the largest number of page visits per month. When I looked at the Google Analytics statistics for the current period they showed an alarming drop to zero starting about November 7, 2008. This must be one of the first outpoints which is investigated as to whether this is true or not and then to find out why. If it works, this is the link to the PDF file on the web site.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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