Google Analytics Help on New SmugMug

adlib13

Hey everyone! Just set up a smugmug website and am loving the service, save for a few issues and missing feature functionalities. First post here on Digital Grin, seems like a great community.

Background:
I set up a google analytics account and put the account ID into my New SmugMug account settings, and it seems to be tracking visitors. Cool!

Two questions:

1. How can I prevent google analytics from tracking my own visits? I can filter by IP address, but my IP changes. I'm always logged in when I visit, so maybe I can have it filter out visitors who are logged in? (just me)

2. How can I use google analytics to track clicks on external links? That is, I have a link to my portfolio and resume PDFs that are being hosted elsewhere. How can I track clicks on this link?


I've seen answers to these questions, but mostly for Legacy SmugMug, and never clearly explained. Any help for the new SmugMug would be sweet! Thanks everyone!

thenickdude

adlib13 wrote: »

1. How can I prevent google analytics from tracking my own visits? I can filter by IP address, but my IP changes. I'm always logged in when I visit, so maybe I can have it filter out visitors who are logged in? (just me)

I don't think that is supported. The best you could do would be to filter out everybody on the IP address range you find yourself in (which is likely to be everybody using the same ISP as you in your local area). Here's the instructions for adding an IP address filter:

http://ralphwhitbeck.com/2012/google-analytics-exclude-your-ip/

If you post your IP address that's displayed on this page, I can let you know what filter to enter:

http://www.whatismyip.com/

2. How can I use google analytics to track clicks on external links? That is, I have a link to my portfolio and resume PDFs that are being hosted elsewhere. How can I track clicks on this link?

This requires JavaScript, so isn't supported. However, there are several third-party analytics tools for tracking links that don't require JavaScript. For example, many "link shortener" services will tell you how many times the link was clicked. One such service is Google's:

http://goo.gl/

You would shorten the link to your PDF, then use that shortened link in place of the original one.

adlib13

Lamah wrote: »

I don't think that is supported. The best you could do would be to filter out everybody on the IP address range you find yourself in (which is likely to be everybody using the same ISP as you in your local area). Here's the instructions for adding an IP address filter:

http://ralphwhitbeck.com/2012/google-analytics-exclude-your-ip/

If you post your IP address that's displayed on this page, I can let you know what filter to enter:

http://www.whatismyip.com/



This requires JavaScript, so isn't supported. However, there are several third-party analytics tools for tracking links that don't require JavaScript. For example, many "link shortener" services will tell you how many times the link was clicked. One such service is Google's:

http://goo.gl/

You would shorten the link to your PDF, then use that shortened link in place of the original one.

Thanks for the tips! Hopefully smugmug starts to support a way to filter owner-views out.

What about using analytics to track hits to an embedded youtube video?

thenickdude

I don't think you can do that either. However, I imagine a combination of checking your video view count on YouTube and comparing it with the page view count of the page it's embedded in will get you most of the way there.

lwpetersenphotography

adlib13 wrote: »

1. How can I prevent google analytics from tracking my own visits? I can filter by IP address, but my IP changes. I'm always logged in when I visit, so maybe I can have it filter out visitors who are logged in? (just me)

You can install this https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout/ on whatever browser you are working on. It's basically an opt-out for any google analytics tracking you in that browser. You would need to install in all browsers that you work in and on all machines. Here's a blogpost that describes some pros/cons of using this tool.