When it comes to adding analytics to an online retail site, opportunities for mistakes abound. E-Commerce reporting can be particularly susceptible to error because of the number of inputs that go into setting up the analytics tracking code that loads with each page. There can be enough inputs that errors are caused.
The following are e-commerce tracking tips for commonplace errors with the Google Analytics tracking code. Setting up an e-commerce tag can be complicated but with some care these mistakes can be debugged easily in an text editor.
- Avoid currency signs, such as $, when modifying analytics tag code to include your price points. Certain signs are interpreted in Javascript - in this case, a dollar sign can be a part of a variable identifier. Its appearance in the code can stop or alter the function.
- Do not use commas in the reporting code when adding price information. Commas can be misinterpreted within the code.
- Also, do not use zero values for price points when adding price information in the e-commerce code. Instead leave entry details blank.
- Make sure that the order ID in the 'addTrans' field matches with your ID for your products and services. This will make sure that you are recording the right order.
- Keep 'addItem' call to one singular product item. It is essential that this is representing a single items each time it is called in the JavaScript code.
- Ensure that the 'tracktrans' code is called after the main Google Analytics code. Verify that it is properly positioned.
- Create a master profile or rollup file. Having subdomains is common in many E-commerce websites, so maintaining an web analytics profile that includes all the site properties can be a time-saving diagnostic aid when filters and reporting become problematic.
