As some of you already know Google is sunsetting Universal Analytics (in favor of Analytics V4) and along with it access to the UA API, which means our Google Analytics integration soon enough will not be able to collect or even access the data.
(If you are wondering when this will happen then the GA integration will work until the middle of this year.)
We used this as an opportunity to deprecate the GA integration and release our own Analytics plugin that will no longer need Google, there are a few reasons why we used this approach:
- Easier configuration – you will no longer need to configure complex API keys to start collecting data.
- You will own the data – all the analytics data will be stored on your server and only you as the site owner will have full access to it.
- Collecting and displaying data in a way that is more useful and actionable for the users.
The third point is the most important one I think.
By having complete control over how the data is collected and stored we can now show a kind of funnel with the number of times the Ad was viewed on the ads list, the number of page views and (for example) how many times a contact form was submitted or a private message sent.
The new chart will look something like this:
With GA integration this chart was showing Page Views, Unique Page Views, and Time on the Page.
I think that having List Views (ie how many times the Ad was shown in the Classifieds List block or the [adverts_list] shortcode), Page Views and Contact Form submissions is much more interesting to the person who posted the Advert – so while the layout did not change much I think that overall this is a step in the right direction.
Two additional new “features” are:
- The charts are now mobile-friendly so they should look good on both desktop and mobile devices.
- In the front end, the chart has the same interface as in the wp-admin panel allowing the Ad owner to change the date range settings.
Downloading WPAdverts Analytics
The plugin is in a beta version so while it does not have an official page (like other extensions) if you have a Pro or Pro+ license you should already see it in your client panel.
In order to install just download it to your computer, then install and activate it on your website from the wp-admin / Plugins / Add New / Upload panel.
For now, it does not have any configuration options and should start collecting data immediately after activation.
Please remember this is a beta version so it might not be suitable for use on a production site, it is best to test first on a staging or development website.
Once you give it a try i will be grateful if you could share your experience in the comments or via the contact form.