Note: currently, this integration does not work with asynchronous code aspect (which is in beta). Whenever asynchronous code comes out of beta, it will support Google Analytics integration.

It is #1 feature requested and here you have it. This blog post introduces the new plugin for the Google Analytics. Using the plugin, you can easily benchmark multiple metrics across different variations. For example, you may find out that while your winning variation has reduced bounce rate significantly, it may actually be reducing average visitor time on site as well. Viewing results from multiple perspectives allows one to get a better idea on the expected behavior of winning variation.

For integrating Google Analytics with Visual Website Optimizer, you will have to sandwich a snippet of code (in bold font below) in your existing Google Analytics tracking code (most likely present at the bottom of your website HTML):

<script type="text/javascript">
var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("XX-XXXXXX-X");
pageTracker._initData();

if (typeof(_vis_opt_GA_track) == "function") { _vis_opt_GA_track(); }

pageTracker._trackPageview();
</script>

The process for Asynchronous code snippet is similar:

 _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'XX-XXXXXX-X']);

if(typeof(_vis_opt_GA_track) == "function") { _vis_opt_GA_track(); }

_gaq.push(['_trackPageview']);

In other words, the code in bold (javascript function  _vis_opt_GA_track()) needs to be added just before the Google Analytics code snippet _trackPageview

After you have added the code, the integration is done. No more settings, no more configuration. For all tests, the Google Analytics intergration will start automatically.

To see A/B test reports in Google Analytics, click on Visitors in the sidebar and then click on Custom Variables report. Then click on the test id (available from VWO reports page) corresponding to the test you want to see a report for. An example of the report name in GA would be “VWO-2” which means it is a report corresponding to test with id 2. In the report you can see goal values for different variations plus you can also see different metrics such as bounce rate, time on site, return visit, pages/visit, etc. corresponding to the variations. The reports look something like the following screenshot (click to expand):

As you can see, different variations have different bounce rate and time on site. If we had configured goals in GA for this site, we could have tracked performance of variations on multiple goals as well. We can also define an advanced segment for a variation to do any kind of complex analysis that GA allows us to do. How cool!

Before you get too excited, please note following important points regarding the plugin:

• By default, the plugin will work perfectly ONLY if you have one test running on your website running at a time (the limitation is because Google Analytics provides limited slots to store customer variables). In order to track multiple tests simultaneously, see the technical note below.
• The reports you see in Google Analytics are indicative, at best. GA won’t show you statistical significance for any result – so interpret the results with care.
• Unlike VWO, Google Analytics reports aren’t realtime – so allow atleast 1-2 days for data to show up in GA reports.
• You can add the integration code site-wide (even on the pages where VWO is not running). The plugin will not affect your GA tracking in any manner.

Technical note:VWO uses GA’s 4th custom variable slot by default. If you would like to change it (either because you already use if for a different purpose or you want to track multiple tests in GA), add the following code before any GA code:

<script type="text/javascript">
var _vis_opt_GA_slot = YOUR_CUSTOM_SLOT; // a number between 1-5
</script>

Leave a comment here if you cannot get the plugin to work for you or you have trouble understanding what code to add or where to add.

Tags: analytics, google analytics, plugin
Posted in News on February 9th, 2010 | 44 Comments »