Analytics Templates & Instructions
DAP - GA4 reports for the blog.
- Navigate to the "Explore" section of Google Analytics.
- Make sure you are in the "ONRR: Open Data, Design, & Development" property
- Within this property, you will see a shared exploration titled "Blog Monthly Analytics"
- Click on this "Blog Monthly Analytics" exploration to view the monthly analytics.
- Be sure to update the date range to the correct month.
Below is a table showing the details of the analytics we pull every month. Each metric is within a separate tab of the exploration.
| Metric | Rows | Columns | Values | Filters |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Views | Hostname | Views, Sessions, Users | Hostname contains blog-nrrd.doi.gov | |
| Most Viewed Pages | Page Location | Views | Hostname contains blog-nrrd.doi.gov | |
| Referring Pages | Page Referrer & Landing page + query string | Sessions | Hostname contains blog-nrrd.doi.gov |
If you have a DAP account, you can use these links to import our blog reports. Select DOI Agency Profile when prompted for a profile during the import process.
Report: https://analytics.google.com/analytics/web/template?uid=BJa63TM_SGGihympzm8w2Q
User segment: https://analytics.google.com/analytics/web/template?uid=-Q32ho7FSF-PJ_wHzo5G9g
This step is only for UA: Data is in the Blog Usage tab in the blog report. Apply the NRRD Blog Users Segment.
Chart is updated in the Pageviews and Formatted Pageviews worksheets in this spreadsheet (limited access).
Add a new column for page views for the month to the Pageviews tab. If there are any new blog posts, they need to be added as a row and you need to figure out what the first week and 2-4th week numbers are based on the post date of the post. Then make sure the chart is updated.
Take a screenshot of the chart and save the file as BlogPageviews.png and upload it to the Analytics folder in the research repo. That will update the chart on the analytics page.
Then copy and past the numbers into the Formatted Pageviews tab. You will need to copy the 1st week and weeks 2-4 numbers for any posts newer than 4 weeks and the entire after 1st 4 weeks column. Then copy the whole table into a markdown table maker and then copy the code from that over the old markdown table.
This step is only for UA: Data is in the Referrers tab in the blog report. Apply the NRRD Blog Users Segment. Add Landing Page as a secondary dimension.
Chart is updated in the Referrers, Referrers Pivot and Referrers Chart worksheets in this spreadsheet (limited access).
Download the referrers report for the month.
Clean the data by removing any rows that don't have our blog posts or the blog homepage as the landing page. Also remove any referrers that are from ONRR websites.
Add a new column for referrals for the month to the Referrers tab. Sort by the referrer and move the new month numbers to the old row for referrers that were already in the spreadsheet. Add the Referrer Type to any new referrers.
Refresh the pivot table in the Referrers Pivot tab to include the latest data. You will have to make sure all the rows that are now in the Referrers tab are being pulled into the pivot table.
Copy and paste content into the Referrers Chart sheet to get it in the right format and update the chart. This involves making sure the data is in the order in this sheet.
Take a screenshot of the chart and save the file as BlogReferrers.png and upload it to the Analytics folder in the research repo. That will update the chart on the analytics page.
Then copy and past the numbers into the Referrers Chart tab and copy that into a markdown table maker and then copy the code from that over the old markdown table.
If you need to get more than about 3 months of data (like when you want data for the whole fiscal year), Google Analytics samples the data. You know it’s sampling when the badge by the report title is yellow. If you mouse over the badge, it will tell you what percentage it’s bringing back.
If the percentage is less than 100%, you will need to request an unsampled report. Sometimes on behavior reports, the badge is yellow, but the percentage is 100%. I’m not sure why it does this, but you do not need to run an unsampled report if the percentage is 100%.
To request an unsampled report:
- Make sure all of the rows are showing in the report using the drop-down in the bottom right.
- Go to the Export menu in the top right and select Unsampled Report.
- I usually leave the default settings, but you may want to rename it to make it clear which report you’re generating. On multi-tab reports, it will only export the selected tab. Click on Request Unsampled and then wait for an email. It will take a few hours to send.
You get an allotment of tokens to use, so it’s possible to run out, especially when generating all the reports at the end of the fiscal year. If you run out for a day, it will usually send the report the next day.
- You can check on the status of your unsampled reports on the Customization > Unsampled Reports page.
