Google Analytics custom variables and how are they recorded?
- by mrtsherman
I have been asked to add GA custom variable tracking to my company's website. The company website uses server side includes, so making modifications to the tracking code happens identically everywhere. Maintenance is therefore a headache. Also, GA takes about twenty-four hours for custom variables to start showing up in reports and that makes troubleshooting a headache.
So if you have custom variables
// visitor level tracking, id = 12345
_gaq.push(['_setCustomVar', 1, 'id', '12345', 1]);
// page level tracking, email = you@me.com
_gaq.push(['_setCustomVar', 1, 'email', 'you@me.com', 1]);
The marketing people want the following out of this:
User visits site and we record a unique id for them. Whenever they return this id will be used in GA.
User signs up for our newsletter on page X and we record their email address. Whenever they return this email address is used in GA.
Now a big problem for me is that I don't use GA and the marketing people don't use custom variables. So we don't actually know how this will work.
Do I want Page, Session or Visitor level tracking?
What happens because the same GA code is used on every page? If they visit the email sign up form and we record the email address, but then they go somewhere else where email is nonexistent will the value get 'overwritten.'
Sorry for the long question, but there are a lot of unknowns for a GA noob.
