Google is officially sunsetting Universal Analytics on July 1, 2023
- Google Analytics 4 is the recommended replacement. Due to the differences in tracking logic used in Universal Analytics vs Google Analytics 4, historical data will not transfer from one to the other.
- Because of this, it's important to get Google Analytics 4 set up as soon as possible in order to start accumulating data in this new system.
In order to report on blog data using the Metric Builder for Google Universal Analytics, you must find a commonality between all blog posts that are tracked in Google Universal Analytics. In this document, we'll walk through the 3 most popular Dimensions that you can use to extract your blog pages and report on blog data in Databox.
Metric Builder is available on the Professional and higher plans. Request a trial of Metric Builder by following these steps.
How to report on blog data using "Page Path Level 1"
"Page Path Level 1" uses a specific piece of your URL to group pages. If you have a URL structure on your website such as "www.companyname.com/blog/page-title", then "Page Path Level 1" refers to "blog." Going one step further, "Page Path Level 2" refers to "page-title."
This is a common URL structure that companies use to host their blog data. If your company uses this setup, you can add a Filter in the Metric Builder to only retain data if "Page Path Level 1 = blog."
Pro Tip: If you don't know the "Page Path Level 1" that is being tracked in your Google Universal Analytics Account, use the Dimension + Data Preview to troubleshoot and get more insight into the data that is returned from your Google Universal Analytics Account for this field. Learn more here.
How to report on blog data using "Hostname"
A "Hostname" is any domain, tool, or service where your Google Universal Analytics tracking code is present. If your company has set Hostnames within your Google Universal Analytics Account, you may already be grouping blog pages using a "blog" Hostname.
A Hostname is a common way companies use to group their blog data. If your company uses this setup, you can add a Filter in the Metric Builder to only retain data if "Hostname = blog."
Pro Tip: If you don't know which "Hostnames" are set in your Google Universal Analytics Account, use the Dimension + Data Preview to troubleshoot and get more insight into the data that is returned from your Google Universal Analytics Account for this field. Learn more here.
How to report on blog data using "Page Title"
"Page Title" refers to the title that is seen on the live page. If there are different subdivisions within your blog, you may differentiate between them in the Page Title itself. For example, all "Survey" blog posts may have the titles structured as follows: "Survey: Post Title"
This is a common naming convention that companies use to group their blog posts. If your company uses this setup, you can add a Filter in the Metric Builder to only retain data if "Page Title = Survey."
If you want to include multiple (or all) subdivisions within your blog, you can add multiple "Page Title" Filters to your Custom Metric(s).
Pro Tip: If you don't know which "Page Titles" are returned from your Google Universal Analytics Account, use the Dimension + Data Preview to troubleshoot and get more insight into the data that is returned from your Google Universal Analytics Account for this field. Learn more here.