Following the lead of Dennis Mortensen (founder of IndexTools, Director of Insights at Yahoo!, WAA board member and all around good guy) I’ve decided to identify just how compliant GA is with these standards.
Below is a list of all standards defined in the WAA metrics definitions document and GA compliance with each definition. GA is compliant with 19 of the 26 metrics. Most of the non-compliance is due to the fact that GA does not offer all the metrics that the WAA defined.
| Compliant | Term | WAA Definition | GA Definition |
| Yes | Page |
A page is an analyst definable unit of content. |
Same as WAA |
| Yes | Page View |
The number of times a page (an analyst-definable unit of content) was viewed. |
Same as WAA.
Note: A pageview is created each time the _trackPageview() method is executed. Any value passed to the _trackPageview() method will appear in the Content reports, thus making a Page analyst definable. |
| Yes | Visits/Sessions | A visit is an interaction, by an individual, with a website consisting of one or more requests for an analyst-definable unit of content (i.e. “page view”). If an individual has not taken another action (typically additional page views) on the site within a specified time period, the visit session will terminate. |
Same as WAA.
Note: By default, a visit will terminate after 30 minutes of inactivity by the visitor. The legth of inactivity can be modified by altering the Google Analytics tracking code. |
| Yes |
Unique Visitors |
The number of inferred individual people (filtered for spiders and robots), within a designated reporting timeframe, with activity consisting of one or more visits to a site. Each individual is counted only once in the unique visitor measure for the reporting period. |
Same as WAA
Note: Google Analytics defines this term as Absolute Unique Visitors.
A visitor is defined using a unique numeric identifier stored in the Google Analytics tracking cookies. This value is set when the visitor’s first visit is created.
Each visitor is counted only once in the Absolute Unique Visitor metric, regardless of how many times they return to the site during the reporting period. |
| Yes |
New Visitor |
The number of Unique Visitors with activity including a first-ever Visit to a site during a reporting period. |
Same as WAA
Note: While GA does share the same definition for a new visitor it does not does not count the number of new, unique people (visitors) that have visited the site during the reporting period. GA counts the number of VISITS generated by new people.
Google Analytics calculate the number of New visitors by identifying the number of new unique visitor IDs that were created during the reporting period.
It is possible to measure the number of new visitors using a profile and include filter. |
| NO |
Repeat Visitor |
The number of Unique Visitors with activity consisting of two or more Visits to a site during a reporting period. |
N/a This metric does not exist in Google Analytics. |
| Yes |
Return Visitor |
The number of Unique Visitors with activity consisting of a Visit to a site during a reporting period and where the Unique Visitor also Visited the site prior to the reporting period. |
Same as WAA
Note: While GA does share the same definition for a return visitor it does not does not count the number of returning unique people (visitors) that have visited the site during the reporting period. GA counts the number of VISITS generated by people coming .
GA identifies a return visitor as any visit generated by a person who’s unique identifier cookie was set prior to the reporting period. |
| Yes |
Entry Page |
The first page of a visit. |
Same as WAA |
| Yes |
Landing Page |
A page intended to identify the beginning of the user experience resulting from a defined marketing effort. |
Same as WAA |
| Yes |
Exit Page |
The last page on a site accessed during a visit, signifying the end of a visit/session. |
Same as WAA |
| Yes |
Visit Duration |
The length of time in a session. Calculation is typically the timestamp of the last activity in the session minus the timestamp of the first activity of the session. |
Same as WAA
Note: Google Analytics uses a different name for this metric. It is called ‘Average Time on Site’.
The average time on site is calculated by dividing the total time spent on the site by the total number of Visits. |
| NO |
Referrer |
The referrer is the page URL that originally generated the request for the current page view or object. |
The referrer in Google Analytics is the page URL that originally generated the request for the current VISIT. This value is then added to all pageviews in that visit.
The referrer is identified in GA as any source whose medium is “referral”.
|
| N/a |
Internal Referrer |
The internal referrer is a page URL that is internal to the website or a web-property within the website as defined by the user. |
N/a
This metric is not available in GA. |
| N/a
|
External Referrer |
The external referrer is a page URL where the traffic is external or outside of the website or a web property defined by the user. |
N/a
This metric is not available in GA. See definition of Referrer above. |
| N/a |
Search Referrer |
The search referrer is an internal or external referrer for which the URL has been generated by a search function. |
N/a
This metric is not available in GA. Note: While Google Analytics does track both external search phrases and internal search phrases, the term ‘search referrer’ is not used in reporting. |
| Yes |
Visit Referrer |
The visit referrer is the first referrer in a session, whether internal, external or null. |
Same as WAA
Note: This data is called a Referral in Google Analytics and can ONLY be the external referrer. |
| N/a |
Original Referrer |
The original referrer is the first referrer in a visitor’s first session, whether internal, external or null. |
This metric is not available in GA.
Note: See information about Referrer above. |
|
Yes |
Click-through |
Number of times a link was clicked by a visitor. |
Same as WAA
Note: Google Analytics refers to Click-throughs as ‘clicks’.
This metric is only available in the AdWords reports. |
| Yes |
Click-through Rate/Ratio |
The number of click-throughs for a specific link divided by the number of times that link was viewed. |
Same as WAA
Note: Click-through and Click-through Rate is the percentage of impressions that resulted in a click. It is calculated by dividing the number of clicks on an ad(s) by the number of impressions for the ad(s).
This metric is only available in the AdWords reports. |
|
Yes |
Page Views per Visit |
The number of page views in a reporting period divided by number of visits in the same reporting period. |
Same as WAA |
| Yes
|
Page Exit Ratio |
Number of exits from a page divided by total number of page views of that page. |
Same as WAA
This metric is called ‘Exit %’. |
|
N/a |
Single-Page Visits |
Visits that consist of one page regardless of the number of times the page was viewed. |
N/A
This metric is not available in GA. |
|
Yes |
Single Page View Visits (Bounces) |
Visits that consist of one pageview. |
Same as WAA
Note: Bounces can be modified by other Google Analytics features; specifically Custom segmentation and event tracking.
|
|
Yes
|
Bounce Rate |
Single page view visits divided by entry pages. |
Same as WAA
|
|
Yes |
Event |
Any logged or recorded action that has a specific date and time assigned to it by either the browser or server. |
Same as WAA
Note: There are multiple attributes to an event in Google Analytics. There are objects, actions and labels.
Event Tracking is a Google Analytics Beta feature and may not be enabled in your account. You can read more about Event tracking in this post or on the GA Code Site. |
|
Yes |
Conversion |
A visitor completing a target action. |
Same as WAA
Note: In addition to conversions, Google Analytics will also calculate Conversion Rate. Conversion rate is the total # of visits resulting in a desired action divided by the total number of visits.
You can read more about goals in this post: All About Google Analytics Goals. |
Whoa!
Justin! Impressive work!!!
Take 3 bows, and 2 standing ovations. :-)
Cheers!
– Steve
I am not sure about the Visit Referrer description you provide here. From my experience, the Google Analytics uses Referrer not from the current visit, but from the very first one, even if user directly access the site (i.e. by typing the address of it), even after a few days after the original visit.
http://www.epikone.com/blog/2006/11/10/how-does-google-analytics-track-conversion-referals/
Hey Justin,
This is great! This is really great. And I am not just saying that with my WAA, Board of Director hat on.
I believe that we might even create an opportunity, where we could see other non-free solutions create compliance lists. – creating the vendor transparency that practitioners deserve!
Cheers :-)
Dennis R. Mortensen, Director of Data Insights at Yahoo!
Blog: http://visualrevenue.com/blog
Book: http://visualrevenue.com/blog/yahoo-analytics-book
Steve,
Thanks! As you may have seen on some other blogs, I needed to pull this information together for a WA tool survey. I figured I might as well share it with the rest of the world as Dennis did.
Dennis,
Thanks so much. I couldn’t agree more. Who should we pressure next to post their standards? Omniture? ClickTracks?
Thanks for the comments.
Justin
could I suggest Webtrends? I’m very curious about…
Yeh this information is absolutely brilliant. It’s always good to clear this kind of stuff up anyway and have a proper reference point.
Thank you – finally a comprehensive list!
Very clear and concise explanation on the terms. Makes reading the report so much easier.
I’d this pinned up on the wall.
Nice list Justin
However, I really think the WAA are barking up the wrong tree with their heavy reliance on VISITOR tracking for their list of definitions, as opposed to VISIT tracking.
As you know, visitor tracking is probably the least accurate metric that can be counted by web analytics tools. There are simply too many unknowns – cookie blocking, cookie deletion, the new browser stealth/incognito modes, multiple users on the same computer, same user on multiple computers, mobile phone users (most without javascript capabilities).
Of course, tracking unique visitors would be great in an ideal world. But the reality is that its just not going to be possible…
I feel the days of reporting on visitors as anything other than a side metric are numbered – similar to reporting pageviews, it will soon be irrelevant. My view is that it is much better for analysts and marketers to focus on visits and engagements as their benchmarks.
BTW, here is a the link to a whitepaper I wrote earlier this year on accuracy considerations for web analytics implementers and users: http://www.advanced-web-metrics.com/blog/2008/02/16/accuracy-whitepaper/
Best regards, Brian
Thank you Justin for this really great job :)
Brian,
Thank you so much for offering your insight on these metrics. I appreciate the time. I could not agree more that visitors are a dyeing metric and that the visit is much more suitable. Moving away from visitors would help mitigate the current issue of cookie deletion.
Thanks again for taking the time.
Justin
Forgive what is likely a simple question, but under the GA definition of New Visitor:
“It is possible to measure the number of new visitors using a profile and include filter.”
Could anyone more detail into how this is actually done?
James,
You can now use an advanced segment to measure unique visotrs for a particular segment of your traffic, like new visitors. Check out my post on advanced segmentation for more info.
Justin
I just realized I never commented on your post. Bravo Justin, thank you!
Brian, your comments about visits vs. visitors are well-taken. We need to hear that type of feedback. It’s hard for us to ensure we’ll catch feedback when it’s on someone else’s blog, particularly in the comments, so please make sure to tell us directly at “standards at webanalyticsassociation dot org” or comment on our post (http://waablog.webanalyticsassociation.com/2008/09/new-standards-d.html).
I don’t want to let valuable comments like that slip through the cracks.
Angie Brown
Co-Chair, Standards
Thanks for the comment Angie. I hope to join the standards webinar next week. Keep up the good work, I believe that standards are key to the future of our industry.
Justin