Setting Up Google Analytics
Google Analytics is a free analytics tool that helps you track visitors and conversions on your store. To set up Google Analytics, you will need to create a free Google account. We also recommend verifying your site with Google before starting the steps below.
Note: Google recently introduced a new web tagging library called Global Site Tag (gtag.js). BigCommerce does not support the Global Site Tag (gtag.js) at this time. You can continue to use your existing tracking setup and Google's Universal Analytics library (analytics.js) which this article is referencing.
Basic Tracking Code
These steps will show you how to set up basic tracking for a website and generate its tracking code in Google Analytics. If you wish to track additional metrics (e.g. conversion rate), skip ahead to E-commerce Tracking. Ecommerce tracking provides analytical data such as total revenue, the rate of conversions, and the number of unique purchases made.
1. Sign into or create your Google Analytics account.
2. Click Admin.
3. Under Account, select Create a new account.
4. Complete the form, then click Get Tracking ID.
5. Copy the following tracking code, beginning with <script> and ending with </script>.
(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){i['GoogleAnalyticsObject']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){
(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),
m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)
})(window,document,'script','https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js','ga');
ga('create', 'UA-XXXXX-Y', 'auto');
ga('send', 'pageview');
</script>
6. Proceed to Installing the Tracking Code.
E-commerce Tracking
If you wish to see E-commerce tracking in your Google Analytics reports, the code below should be entered instead of the basic tracking code.
E-commerce tracking: You must have a dedicated SSL as this feature does not work with the shared .mybigcommerce.com SSL certificate.
1. In your Google Analytics account, go to Admin › View › Ecommerce Settings.
2. Under Enable Ecommerce, toggle the status to ON. Click Next Step.
3. Leave Enhanced Ecommerce Settings set to OFF. Click Submit.
4. Copy the following tracking code. Be sure to copy the entire code, beginning with <script> and ending with </script>.
(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){i['GoogleAnalyticsObject']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){
(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),
m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)
})(window,document,'script','//www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js','ga');
ga('create', 'UA-xxxxxxxx-x', 'yourdomain.com');
ga('send', 'pageview');
ga('require', 'ecommerce', 'ecommerce.js');
function trackEcommerce() {
this._addTrans = addTrans;
this._addItem = addItems;
this._trackTrans = trackTrans;
}
function addTrans(orderID,store,total,tax,shipping,city,state,country) {
ga('ecommerce:addTransaction', {
'id': orderID,
'affiliation': store,
'revenue': total,
'tax': tax,
'shipping': shipping,
'city': city,
'state': state,
'country': country
});
}
function addItems(orderID,sku,product,variation,price,qty) {
ga('ecommerce:addItem', {
'id': orderID,
'sku': sku,
'name': product,
'category': variation,
'price': price,
'quantity': qty
});
}
function trackTrans() {
ga('ecommerce:send');
}
var pageTracker = new trackEcommerce();
</script>
5. Continue to Installing the Tracking Code.
Installing the Tracking Code
Once you have successfully generated the tracking code, it will need to be installed in your BigCommerce store.
1. In the BigCommerce control panel, go to Advanced Settings › Web Analytics.
2. Check the box next to Google Analytics, then Save.
3. Click the Google Analytics tab that appears at the top of the page.
4. Paste the tracking code into the Tracking Code field. Replace UA-xxxxxxxx-x and yourdomain.com with your Google Tracking Number and your store's domain.
Basic Tracking Code
E-commerce Tracking Code
5. Save your changes.
Set up Site Search
Site Search is a report that can provide you important insights on how shoppers interact with your store's search function. The data it provides can help answer the following questions:
- How frequently do shoppers use my search box?
- What are shoppers looking for?
- Where do shoppers begin searches and what do they find?
- Are shoppers satisfied with what they find?
1. In your Google Analytics account, go to Admin › View Settings.
2. Under Site Search Settings, toggle the status to ON. In the Query parameter field, enter the words: search_query.
3. Save your changes.
4. In the BigCommerce control panel, go to Advanced Settings › Web Analytics.
5. Add ga('send', 'pageview', 'search_query'); directly under ga('send', 'pageview');. The tracking code should look something like this:
Basic Tracking Code
E-commerce Tracking Code
6. Save your changes. To see the Site Search report, go to Behavior › Site Search within Google Analytics.
Excluding Referrals From Hosted Payment Gateways
To avoid transactions made through a hosted gateway such as PayPal appearing as referrals through Google Analytics, you will need to add the payment gateway to your Referral Exclusion List.
1. In your Google Analytics account, go to Admin › Property › Tracking Info › Referral Exclusion List.
2. Click Add Referral Exclusion.
3. Enter the domain of your payment gateway (e.g. paypal.com) in the Domain field.
4. Click Create.
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