Simple Google Analytics - Support

[Zinfandel]

Hello Gang,

I'm wondering why I couldn't just take the code generated on the Google Analytics site specifically for my site and paste it to the bottom of
tpl.main.page.php

I'd like some idea of why I have to load configurations into my database and run scripts I don't understand. Google makes no mention of the need for that.


By the way, I want to thank "econcepts" for the wonderful insights he brings us . "20 Surfire Ways to Increase Sales" is a great read.

[econcepts]

Hello Gang,

I'm wondering why I couldn't just take the code generated on the Google Analytics site specifically for my site and paste it to the bottom of
tpl.main.page.php

I'd like some idea of why I have to load configurations into my database and run scripts I don't understand. Google makes no mention of the need for that.


By the way, I want to thank "econcepts" for the wonderful insights he brings us . "20 Surfire Ways to Increase Sales" is a great read.

Glad you liked the 20 Ways book. There is much more on the way and a "surprise" I have been working on that I hope to have running by end of April that I think you all will enjoy.

To answer your question:

If you just copy and paste the info Google provides to you into you rtpl_main_page.php file then you will not (unless you hard code it) have the e-commerce tracking or conversion tracking (in the case of Adwords).

The reason you have to install configurations is to get the mod installed and working from within your Zen Cart admin (to take advantage of a number of things).

To work within the framework of Zen Cart, and to have the most effective use of the module I simply took what Google shows and converted it into a format that can be manipulated from within the admin with little effort.

Hopefully that answers your questions. :)

[shrimp-gumbo-mmmhhh]

Glad you liked the 20 Ways book. There is much more on the way and a "surprise" I have been working on that I hope to have running by end of April that I think you all will enjoy.

To answer your question:

If you just copy and paste the info Google provides to you into you rtpl_main_page.php file then you will not (unless you hard code it) have the e-commerce tracking or conversion tracking (in the case of Adwords).

The reason you have to install configurations is to get the mod installed and working from within your Zen Cart admin (to take advantage of a number of things).

To work within the framework of Zen Cart, and to have the most effective use of the module I simply took what Google shows and converted it into a format that can be manipulated from within the admin with little effort.

Hopefully that answers your questions. :)

If the "surprise" is related to the material on your site I think many people may be very happy.

[econcepts]

Update on various reports of missing revenue figures

We've all heard reports of the missing revenue figures and what seems to be potentially incorrect tracking figures with the recent Google "ga.js" tracking code.

I've been researching it and finally came across a thread where a member of Google admits there is a problem on their end.

The thread on the internet reads as follows:

My two biggest issues right now are not AdWords related - they have to do with custom filters that stopped working on January 15th, and ECommerce revenue numbers not matching up properly (new code) - some transactions have NO revenue at all, some are missing products too. Looking at the Google Group, we're not the only ones with these problems, and my clients are rather upset, because they've gotten used to making some decisions based on GA data. I know it's free and everything... (although these clients are longtime AdWords advertisers) but we were kinda hoping it would be accurate as well. But it seems like there's been this huge silence about these issues - nothing officially has been said. We sent all kinds of screen shots to support, set up sample transactions, etc etc and then never heard anything back.

The Google Analytics Adviser responds with the following:

I've spoken to the team about the issues you are experiencing.

If possible, please write in to the Analytics Support team (via the contact link in Analytics) with specifics on the filters. We haven't noticed anything specific to filter setups in the past few months, but are eager to take a look into it.

As for the ecommerce problems, we've confirmed received reports that in rare circumstances ecommerce data is not being recorded properly when using the newly released ga.js code. We are in the process of addressing this issue and plan to release a fix by the first week in April. However, the older urchin.js is not affected by this issue, so if you are having this problem, you may wish to consider switching back to urchin.js for the time being.

So after reading that, I decided to rework the current Simple Google Analytics contribution to include the option of using either the urchin.js tracking code or the ga.js tracking code.

This way you can use the urchin.js code until the fix comes out from Google and then easily switch to the new "ga.js" tracking code from your admin (simple as selecting a radio button).

I have this contribution complete and tested it on my site(s) last night. Once the new data is reported back and I confirm it's working, I'll upload to the Zen Cart downloads section.

Just wanted to give everyone the heads up.

[topaz44]

Hello. I just installed this. I am not getting any errors. I changed my tpl_main_page under my custom template like I was supposed to. I have viewed my source code on my main page, and yet google is still saying not installed. Could someone help please? Thanks.
Christine

[topaz44]

Oh and by the way, there was no dash at the end of my google id number, I have tried adding the dash before the last number and nothing seems to happen.

[rlfreshwater]

I'm unable to download the ZIP file for some reason, but it's just as well since you're getting ready to post an update. Can't wait to try it out. Thanks, Eric!

[econcepts]

Oh and by the way, there was no dash at the end of my google id number, I have tried adding the dash before the last number and nothing seems to happen.

The code looks to be installed correctly on this.

Typically in these cases, when the code is there but Google can't verify it, that usually means that the URL you are pointing Google to is incorrect.

Make sure you watch the "trailing slash" (best practice is to include it) when providing Google with the URL to verify the code at or it may fail to recognize the install.

[netmeg]

I've been researching it and finally came across a thread where a member of Google admits there is a problem on their end

Heh, actually, that was MY thread on WebmasterWorld. How odd to run across the quote somewhere else.

Yes, they are still telling me the problem with the new code is not resolved, but we're also having problems with the old code as well. In fact, I just submitted another support request because we noticed some transactions in Zen Cart were missing from GA. Now I'm wondering if I have to go back and check EVERYTHING from the last eight or nine months. I'll just cut and paste here:

[FONT=verdana]In this case, the client wanted to figure out how many of a certain product he'd sold over a time period, so he could plan how many to stock. He's running Zen Cart. Zen Cart told him that he'd sold 59 units of this product, but Google Analytics shows only 49 over the same time period. We were scratching our heads over this one, so I did a dump into out of Zen Cart and into Excel of all the orders with this product; then I did a dump of all the transactions from GA with this product, and compared them. Nine transactions were missing entirely. Two of them can be explained away by Paypal (he added that payment method last month and we haven't gotten to where we can track Paypal orders in GA yet) But the other seven - no idea what's up with those. I went back and looked through each of the missing orders, and I can't find any common denominators - in some cases, the product was ordered alone, and in others, it was ordered with other products. All were authorized credit card orders. It's such a big percentage of total orders that now we're really starting to get a little nervous. [/FONT][FONT=verdana]This is with the OLD js code. [/FONT]

Haven't gotten an answer on this one yet.