Google Analytics Flashcards
What are Key Events?
- It measures the interactions most important to your business.
- It’s an event that you mark as important to your business.
- the most basic unit of measurement in GA
- An event is any interaction on the site (eg. clicks, scrolls, product views, page views, ecom transactions, expectations)
- It can also be more complex interactions like completing an ecom transaction or submitting a form.
e.g.) You can mark important event like a purchase or newsletter subscription as a key event.
(This will appear as a key event metric in Analytics reports)
What does an “Event” measure?
It measures a specific behavioral interaction on your website or app
How does Google Analytics work?
It’s a free Google tool that adds a little bit of JavaScript to your site to give you information about your visitors. It monitors each visit and it sends that data back to Google where it’s processed and put into graphs or other visualizations that allow you to see exactly who’s coming to your site and what they’re doing.
How should UX designers use Google Analytics?
UX designers need to be able to parse through data to make “data-informed decisions”.
What is Digital Analytics?
- Measuring your business goals and finding areas for improvement
- The process: Performing measurement, applying analysis, and taking action.
What are the two variables that makeup all the data populated in analytics reports?
Metrics & Dimensions
What are Metrics?
Quantitative measures Data, Counts, Ratios, and Percentages.
What are Dimensions?
Qualitative data describes the data in segments or breakouts (Split data into categories).
What is in each event?
Each event has a name and inside each event, there are parameters to provide more details about those events.
What is a session (website visit)?
A visit to the site (or app) within a given timeframe, and when they exit.
When do you define an exit?
Exit can be leaving the site or being inactive for at least 30 minutes or if you exit out entirely.
- Users that leave and return within 30 minutes are still counted as the original session.
What is User?
Visitors to your website (or app)
- In GA, each event and session is going to be associated back to a user.
What are the 3 ways Google identifies users?
- Identified by browser cookies, the Google identify graph, or USERID that you supply (usually from login on your site)
so if you’ve logged in their service while using your site (Gmail, Android, Google Docs).
- we can also provide a specific ID to google so logging into your website.
A group of users who all share a similar dimension or fall under a similar category can make up a segment. How can segments be divided by?
- Breaks up users into categories or dimensions
- Key concepts in analytics reporting
- Segments by geographic location, device category, traffic source, and more.
What is analytics all about?
- It is all about measuring if your business objectives are being reached.
- When a user completes an action or goal on your website
- These goals are defined by the business
What is Source?
Source is where the user traffic originated from.. so if the medium is Social than the Source is Twitter. Source of the traffic is the who?
What is Medium?
Medium is the avenue the traffic took to get from the source to your site. so if the source is Twitter then the medium is Social. Medium is the How?
How do you use Source and Medium?
We want to see which sources and mediums are sending us the best and most converting traffic.
What is the process of assigning credit to sources when conversions happen called?
Attribution
What is Attribution?
- Who gets credit when a sale happens?
- Assigning value to touchpoints within a user’s journey up to conversion is called attribution.
- The idea that when someone comes to your website, you would know how they got there. eg. organic search, in their websites, social media, and so on. and therefore be able to measure the impact that channel is having on your overall marketing success.
How does the customer journey from start to conversion help in understanding successful outcomes?
The customer journey can involve multiple sources, sessions, and content pieces on your site. Attribution helps identify which touchpoints had the greatest influence on a successful outcome.
What is the difference between metrics an dimensions?
Metrics are quantitative and measure data while dimensions are qualitative and describe data.
What is the typical analysis pattern for Google Analytics reports? (Life Cycle)
- Acquite the customer
- Engage the customer
- Get a successful paying customer (which we measure in monetization)
- Turn them into a long-term customer (which we can measure here in retention)
What’s in the User section in Reports?
Shows the various users of our sites and apps, including their demographic data. and the technology and devices they use to access our content.aqw 1
What is a real-time report?
It gives a sense of what’s happening right now. You can see where your active users are, the devices you’re using, configs, and dimensions.
- Campaign Tracking Data
- Event Data
- Where users are located
What is the purpose of the home screen?
to provide an overview dashboard of most commonly used elements
What type of model is Google Analytics?
It’s an event-driven model. That means everything is part of an event.
Why is it important to understand your customers and prospects?
Understanding your customers and prospects allows you to serve them better. This analysis can be broken down into four key aspects: who they are, what they are doing, their observable behavior, and their intent—what they are trying to accomplish.
What can impact key event capture? (Introduce errors into your attribution)
- Leaving tabs open for a long time
- Visiting your site on multiple devices
- Using privacy-focused browsers that clear cookies. (this make it look like they’re a brand new visitor every time they visit)
- Using ad blockers that prevent analytics from running at all
What are the two main concepts in attribution?
- Attribution model (conversion model): How credit will be given out for the key event/conversion.
- Lookback Window (attribution or conversion window):
What are the two attribution reporting options?
- First user acquisition
- Session (Traffic) Acquisition
What is first user acquisition?
The very first way that each visitor/device got to your website in this time period and attribution window.
What is the typical reason to use traffic acquisition report?
As a primary way to report on key events for clients where the last touch is most important to the reporting and where they may of a lot of different touches from visitors before they actually convert.
What report should you to use if people visit and then they convert or not in that first session?
First user acquisition report
What report should you use when the last touch is important. You want to know what closed the deal.
Sessions user acquisition report
What is a Data Stream?
The connection between your digital property (website, iOS app, or Andriod app) and Google Analytics.
When you configure a data stream, you’re specifying where the data is coming from so that GA4 can track user behavior, events, and interactions.
Why Configure Data Streams?
- To collect user data from different platforms (websites or apps).
- To track events like page views, clicks, and conversions.
- To analyze user behavior and improve user experience.
- To integrate multiple platforms (website and app data in one GA4 property).
What are Enhanced Events?
automatically captured events.
- page_view
- scroll
- click
- view_search_results
- form_start and form_submit
- video_start
- video_progress
- video_complete
- file_downloads
What is the Object Action Model?
- Object is what was engaged with
- Page
- Video
- File - Action is what the engagement was
- View
- Start
- Download
What is a Dimension?
A grouping of data, such as what pages were viewed. Dimensions are usually text.
What are Metrics?
Metrics are numbers. How often something happened, such as how many times a specific page was viewed
What are the Dimension Scope Options?
- Event- attached to individual events
- User- applied to everything that the user does
- Item - related to an e-commerce item
What should key events be tied to
your overall business goal
Why would you need a calculated metric?
Are most useful when you can combine custom metrics with standard metrics.
What if we have visitors come back even after they have become customers?
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Why wouldn’t the overall key event rate be as useful sometimes?
Because some visitors are already customers!
How does GA4 know how to connect multiple sessions to the same user?
When you visit a website, GA4 sets a cookie, which contains what’s called a device ID. and then if you come back to the site again later, GA4 looks for that device ID and then knows you’re the same user and then can tie your sessions together.
How is Audiences in GA4 used to segment your visitors?
Using Dimensions, Metrics, and different conditions.
What are the available targeting options in Audiences?
- Across all sessions
- Within the same session
- Within the same event
“Build an audience of user between 18 and 34 that have viewed the “Shoes” product category at any point.”
Looking at the last 30-90 days time range in GA4 is best for?
Recent Behaviors (Short-Term Trends):
1. Useful for understanding current patterns, quick usability issues, and recent changes in user behavior,
2. Best for fast-moving products, A/B testing validation, or recent feature launches?
Looking at the last 6months’ time range in GA4 is best for?
Medium-Term Trends
1. Helps identify more stable patterns while accounting for minor fluctuations.
2. Useful for understanding gradual UX issues and trends in engagement/drop-off.
Looking at the last 12 months’ time range in GA4 is best for?
Long-Term Trends
1. Essential if your product has seasonal trends (e.g., e-commerce, travel, finance).
2. Useful for analyzing significant UX issues that may have been consistent over time
How far back should I look when analyzing micro-interactions in GA4?
For micro-interactions (e.g., button clicks, video plays, scroll depth), look back 3-6 months. Short-term trends are more valuable because user behavior can change quickly based on design updates or content changes.
How far back should I analyze critical funnel events in GA4?
For critical funnel events (e.g., checkout, sign-ups, form submissions), analyze 6-12 months of data. A broader timeframe helps identify long-term trends, drop-off points, and potential friction in the conversion process.
How long should I look back when analyzing engagement and retention metrics in GA4?
For engagement and retention metrics (e.g., returning users, session duration), examine 12+ months of data. Retention trends develop over time, so a longer historical view is necessary to assess user loyalty and behavior changes.
How far back should I compare data for a site redesign or feature launch in GA4?
When evaluating a major site redesign or new feature launch, compare 3-6 months before and after the change. This helps measure the impact on user behavior and conversion rates.
How far back should I look for general UX analysis in GA4?
A 6-month view is a solid starting point for identifying user behavior trends.
When should I look back 12 months in GA4 for UX analysis?
Look back 12 months if you need deeper insights, especially to account for seasonality and long-term trends.
How far back should I analyze recent changes in GA4?
If you’re analyzing recent changes, a 90-day view works best to capture short-term shifts in user behavior.
How should I account for seasonality when analyzing UX data in GA4?
If your business experiences seasonal traffic (e.g., holiday sales, summer peaks), compare the same time period year-over-year (e.g., Q4 2023 vs. Q4 2022) to identify consistent trends and seasonal patterns.
How can I ensure my GA4 data sample size is statistically significant?
If your traffic volume is low, consider expanding the time range to gather enough data for meaningful insights. A larger dataset reduces the risk of misleading conclusions.
What anomalies should I watch for when analyzing UX data in GA4?
Be mindful of external and internal factors that can skew your results, such as:
1. Marketing campaigns (e.g., ad spikes, email promotions)
2. External events (e.g., Black Friday, industry-wide trends)
3. Internal changes (e.g., website updates, new features, pricing adjustments)
How can GA4 help UX Designers?
It helps you understand how visitors interact with your website, identify user segments, and optimize the user experience.
You can understand where visitors are coming from, how long they are staying on the website, and what pages they are visiting.
This information allows you to identify areas for improvement and make data-driven decisions to optimize the user experience.f
How can you optimize UX Design using GA4?
Identifying UX Issues, A/B testing, Heatmaps and session recordings
What does GA4 provide?
Valuable insights into user behavior and engagement on your website
What are the key features of GA4?
Tracking user interactions, analyzing user flow, and identifying user segments.
What is Enhanced Measurement?
Provides enhanced measurement capabilities, allowing you to track user interactions and events more accurately.
What are Exploration Reports?
advanced and customized data analysis. Gives you deeper insights into user behavior.
Date Range Filtering?
focus on specific time frames. Enables target analysis of data
What is Source/Medium Filtering?
Filter data based on specific traffic sources, such as Google Organic, to analyze traffic from particular channels more closely.
What is GA4 Comparative Analysis?
You can compare data to previous periods or other dimensions like traffic channels, helping you identify trends and anomalies.
How does Visual Reports help you?
Visual reports provide you with a clear overview of key metrics and trends, allowing you to quickly identify patterns and areas of interest.
