Create custom selections with Google Analytics
Google Analytics is one of the most used website statistic apps but it can be hard to find the information you are looking for. In this article, we will explain the basics so you know exactly how many people visited your publication and where these visitors came from. But first you have to make sure that you have integrated Google Analytics into your Maglr account.
Note: if you haven't used Google Analytics before and you want to learn the basics of how to use this tool, we highly recommend you first complete the Google Analytics Academy: https://analytics.google.com/analytics/academy/
The dashboard you see when you log into Google Analytics can be fully edited so it shows the information that is most important to you. On the left side, there is a menu to navigate through the application. In order to view the data that is specifically from your publication, you need to [create a new segment](https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/3124493?hl=en).
You can use the segment builder to configure the individual filters that together form a segment. You can then apply segments to your reports and dashboards so you can see that specific data. After creating and viewing this specific segment, you can view all kinds of data within Google Analytics, concerning the traffic and behaviour of people who are viewing your publication.
In case your are using multiple domains in your account, choose for conditions -> Hostname and fill in the domain. This segment will then show all data for all publications inside this domain name. Google will pre-fill the input with available names.
To select the data for a specific publication, you need to extract the pages containing this specific URL. A page URL is built up in the following order: publication.maglr.com/edition/pagename. By creating a condition and choosing for the page option, you can select the /edition/ name of your publication. All pages containing the /edition/ name will now be returned.
For older publications before March 2020, the URL structure contained numbers (for example: publication.maglr.com/2344/12312/pagename.html). The same segment filter can be applied to these URL's. If you have an older publication which is updated (with a new URL) you can add a secondary condition to the above filter. With the AND option you can check on the new /editon/ URL but also add a condintion for the older /ID/ variant.
Click audience and overview to view the overall visitor information of your publication. From here you can click on the links for more information about the country, language, browser etc. If you want even more information, you will see more menu items under Audience in the left menu. You can also choose from which period you want to see the data by clicking on the dates in the right top part of the screen.
If you want more information about your publication and wish to see the most visited pages, click the behaviour button in the left menu. Now click overview again to see the most important parts in one view. You'll see the page views, the average time visitors spent on a page and the pages that got the most visits. Click on links in the overview or in the menu on the left for more information.
The other thing you probably want to know is how your audience came to your publication. Click acquisition and overview. On this page, you can click around to find out more about the keywords they used to find your publication or the sites from which they navigated to your publication (referrals).
You can also view a Real-Time version of your data that basically allows you to see what users are currently viewing and where they are from (and more) in a simple overview. Click the real-time section on the left of the dashboard, then select overview. This page will give you an overview of the live information that is coming in from the publication, such as the current amount of users viewing the publication at the current time, where they are viewing from and how long they have been viewing for.
You can compare two types of data and see the outcome of those together, using the drop-down options above the main graph of an overview page. You can select a recorded data type and then select the second one. The dashboard then generates a graph to give you an accurate comparison between the two.
For example, we will plot users vs avg. session duration, which generates a graph of the viewer's average session duration of the publication. On top of this, you can then view this graph in an hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly basis, using the appropriately labelled buttons above the graph to the right side.
You can apply the key metric field to almost every one of the titled tabs on the left of the dashboard in order to retrieve insights about your audience and their behaviour in your publication.
Note: if you haven't used Google Analytics before and you want to learn the basics of how to use this tool, we highly recommend you first complete the Google Analytics Academy: https://analytics.google.com/analytics/academy/
The dashboard you see when you log into Google Analytics can be fully edited so it shows the information that is most important to you. On the left side, there is a menu to navigate through the application. In order to view the data that is specifically from your publication, you need to [create a new segment](https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/3124493?hl=en).
Create a segment
You can use the segment builder to configure the individual filters that together form a segment. You can then apply segments to your reports and dashboards so you can see that specific data. After creating and viewing this specific segment, you can view all kinds of data within Google Analytics, concerning the traffic and behaviour of people who are viewing your publication.
Segment for all publications within domain
In case your are using multiple domains in your account, choose for conditions -> Hostname and fill in the domain. This segment will then show all data for all publications inside this domain name. Google will pre-fill the input with available names.
Segment for specific publication
To select the data for a specific publication, you need to extract the pages containing this specific URL. A page URL is built up in the following order: publication.maglr.com/edition/pagename. By creating a condition and choosing for the page option, you can select the /edition/ name of your publication. All pages containing the /edition/ name will now be returned.
For older publications before March 2020, the URL structure contained numbers (for example: publication.maglr.com/2344/12312/pagename.html). The same segment filter can be applied to these URL's. If you have an older publication which is updated (with a new URL) you can add a secondary condition to the above filter. With the AND option you can check on the new /editon/ URL but also add a condintion for the older /ID/ variant.
Audience
Click audience and overview to view the overall visitor information of your publication. From here you can click on the links for more information about the country, language, browser etc. If you want even more information, you will see more menu items under Audience in the left menu. You can also choose from which period you want to see the data by clicking on the dates in the right top part of the screen.
Behaviour
If you want more information about your publication and wish to see the most visited pages, click the behaviour button in the left menu. Now click overview again to see the most important parts in one view. You'll see the page views, the average time visitors spent on a page and the pages that got the most visits. Click on links in the overview or in the menu on the left for more information.
Acquisition
The other thing you probably want to know is how your audience came to your publication. Click acquisition and overview. On this page, you can click around to find out more about the keywords they used to find your publication or the sites from which they navigated to your publication (referrals).
Real-Time overview
You can also view a Real-Time version of your data that basically allows you to see what users are currently viewing and where they are from (and more) in a simple overview. Click the real-time section on the left of the dashboard, then select overview. This page will give you an overview of the live information that is coming in from the publication, such as the current amount of users viewing the publication at the current time, where they are viewing from and how long they have been viewing for.
Compare data (advanced view)
You can compare two types of data and see the outcome of those together, using the drop-down options above the main graph of an overview page. You can select a recorded data type and then select the second one. The dashboard then generates a graph to give you an accurate comparison between the two.
For example, we will plot users vs avg. session duration, which generates a graph of the viewer's average session duration of the publication. On top of this, you can then view this graph in an hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly basis, using the appropriately labelled buttons above the graph to the right side.
You can apply the key metric field to almost every one of the titled tabs on the left of the dashboard in order to retrieve insights about your audience and their behaviour in your publication.
Updated on: 08/02/2023