Overview: Metric Builder for Google Analytics (Report)
With the Metric Builder for Google Analytics, you can create Custom Google Analytics Metrics using a combination of Metrics, Dimensions, Segments, and Filters.
Some popular use cases for the Metric Builder for Google Analytics include creating content-specific Metrics, reporting on custom Goal Conversions, etc.
HOW TO
How to access Custom Metrics and Metric Builder for Google Analytics
Navigate to Metrics > Custom Metrics to access the Metric Builder. Click the green + New Custom Metric button and select your connected Google Analytics Account from the Data Source drop-down list.
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Metric Builder is available on the Professional and Performer plans. Request a trial of Metric Builder by following
these steps.
How to use the Metric Builder for Google Analytics
Pro Tip: Add the word "by" in between the Metric and Dimension in order to determine an appropriate Custom Metric Name. From the Metric and Dimension examples outlined above, we could create the Custom Metrics "Sessions by Default Channel Grouping," "Pageviews by Page," or "Pages / Session by Device Category."
Most tables in Google Analytics organize Dimensions into rows and Metrics into columns. In order to replicate the Google Analytics table below in Databox, you would need to create 6 Custom Metrics: "Users by User Type," "New Users by User Type," "Sessions by User Type," "Bounce Rate by User Type," "Pages / Session by User Type," and "Avg Session Duration by User Type."
Invert Metric (Optional): By default, the percentage change value displayed on Datablocks is green when the Metric value has increased, and red when the Metric value has decreased. If the Custom Metric you created has opposite trends, select this option. Learn more here.
Learn more about creating Segments in Google Analytics here.
Learn more about the significance of the Metric Sort Order here.
Pro Tip : If you don't know which Filters to put in place for your use case, use the Dimension + Data Preview to troubleshoot and get more insight into the data that is returned from your Google Analytics Account for each field. Learn more here .
How to create a Custom Google Analytics Metric [Example]
In this example, we'll create a Custom Metric to report on New Users tracked in the Google Analytics Account split up based on the Country where the User accessed the website. We only want to view this data for New Users that found the website through Organic Search.
How to add a Custom Google Analytics Metric to a Databoard
Additional Information
- The Data Preview is limited to display a maximum of 20 Dimensions per Date Range for Attributed Metrics. Dimensions will be sorted by descending value, therefore the 20 Dimensions with the highest total values will be displayed in the Data Preview for each Date Range.
- (not set) is a placeholder name that Google Analytics uses when it hasn't received any information for the Dimension you have selected. For Campaigns that are syncing with Google Analytics through an external integration with Google Ads, Google Search Console, etc., Google's API displays (not-set). For Google Analytics Campaigns, the actual name of the Campaign is displayed. Learn more about the (not set) behavior in Google here.
- When a Metric contains "Age", "Gender", or "Interest Category" as a Dimension or Segment, a threshold may be applied in Google Analytics and some data may be withheld from the report.
This happens when your website has low traffic and, as a result, thresholds are applied to your report by Google Analytics to prevent anyone viewing a report from inferring the demographics or interests of individual users.
This is a limitation on the Google Analytics side and there is no solution to overcome this in Databox.
In Google Analytics, when a threshold is applied to a report a yellow icon is displayed at the top of the report, along with a notice below the report title. If no threshold is applied, a green icon is displayed.
To clean up your reports in Databox, you can exclude or rename the (not set) Dimension for Custom Metrics by following these steps.