Using Google Analytics

The Campus Web Committee uses Google Analytics as a way to better understand the usage of the UMD web site. This data helps make better decisions about what links should be on the home page and many of the second level pages.

What pages are tracked?

• Any page that currently uses the templates.
• Any page that uses at least the footer from the virtual includes.
• Any page that has the UMD Google Analytics code added by other means is also tracked.

Help us with analytics data - Short Term

The Campus Web Committee is working with Flint Interactive to update our site. To do the best job we can, we need data to help us understand the needs of our visitors. We do not have data from every page on the server because not every page is using the UMD Google Analytics code. If you are using your own Google Analytics code, you can give us and Flint Interactive access to view your data.

Follow Google's instruction to add users to view your Google Analytics site data.

Add webmastr@d.umn.edu - Campus Web Committee

Help us with analytics data - Long Term

Simply giving us access to your data helps but it is not the ideal solution. It's much easier if we can see all pages together for easier comparison of usage statistics. Adding the UMD Google Analytics code to your site by using the templates, the virtual includes, or manually will allow us to see statistics starting from the date you add the code. We still need access to the historical data for the current web site update process so granting access to your data (at least until the update process is done) and adding the UMD Google Analytics code will be the most helpful. You can still have your own Google Analytics code as well as the UMD Google Analytics code on your pages. Use this page for a good reference on how to use more than one Google Analytics account on the same page especially if you are not using the UMD virtual includes.

UMD Google Analytics code

If you are not using the UMD templates or UMD virtual includes, or you are using some modified version of them, you can add the UMD Google Analytics code to your site by adding this code to your pages:

    <script type="text/javascript">

      var _gaq = _gaq || [];
      _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-20893774-1']);
      _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']);

      (function() {
        var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true;
        ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js';
        var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s);
      })();
        
    </script>