How to Defeat the Beast

How To
Defeat
The Beast
Safely migrate from Classic,
Universal, to Google Tag Manager.
#AIM 5 #heweb17
Sylvia E. Nicosia
Farmingdale State College
@synicosia
Follow Slides at: https://www.slideshare.net/SylviaNavarroNicosia/how-to-defeat-the-beast
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https://www.etsy.com/transaction/1334132909

ALL ANALYTICS TOOLS
SERVE THEIR PURPOSEG
a.jsAnalytics.js
G
tm
.js
W
ebtrends
yoast
G
oogle
AnalyticsH
ubspot
hs-analytics.netG
oogle
classic
piw
ik
SiteIm
proveH
otjarG
oogle
U
niversal
G
oogle
AdW
ordsQ
uantcast
M
onsterInsightsTw
itter
G
oogle
Tag
m
anager
quintly
K
lout
O
pen
w
eb
analytics
Sim
ply
m
easured
fbq.push
W
P
Plugin
Acquia
Lift
bitly
clicky
sim
ila

____
COMMON DENOMINATOR IN HIGHER ED
analytics.js gtm.js
Google
Analytics
+
Google
Analytics
Google
Analytics
+ga.js _______ ____
Classic
Analytics
Google Tag
Manager
Universal
Analytics

WHAT’S EVERYBODY IN HIGHEDWEB USING?
*As of August, 24, 2017
97%Google Analytics

GOOGLE ANALYTICS
STATISTICS
g of institutions and
companies
attending
HighEdWeb 2017
use Google Tag
Manager (gtms.js)
use Google
Universal Analytics
(analytics.js).
use Google
Classic Analytics
(ga.js).
40% 31% 11%

GOOGLE ANALYTICS
STATISTICS
Universal and GTM Classic and
Universal
Classic, Universal,
and GTM
9% 2% 1%
Classic and GTM
3%

GOOGLE ANALYTICS
STATISTICS
g use Google
Universal Analytics.
use Google
Classic Analytics.
31% 11%

CLASSIC ANALYTICS
 Uses old tracking code ga.js Javascript library
 Google Analytics properties were transferred to Universal
Analytics, however it’s unclear what will happen to those
properties which are still utilizing the old tracking code
 Misses features from Universal Analytics such as User ID
 Google can make old tracking script stop working at any
time
 Needs custom JavaScript tags to track events
<a href="http://farmingdale.edu/catalog.pdf"
onClick="_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', ' PDF Downloads', ‘Click',
’Catalog');">Catalog</a>

UNIVERSAL ANALYTICS
 Uses tracking code analytics.js Javascript library
 All new Properties use it
 Enjoys cool features from Universal
 Connect multiple devices, sessions, and
engagement data with the User ID.
 Still needs custom JavaScript tags to track events
<a href="http://farmingdale.edu/catalog.pdf" onClick="ga(‘send’,
‘event’, ‘ PDF Downloads’, ‘Click’, ‘Catalog’);”>Catalog</a>

GOOGLE TAG MANAGER GTM
 Uses tracking code gtm.js Javascript library
 GTM does not replace your analytics, but helps you easily
add/manage JS tracking code (tags) to your website
 Minimal amount of coding for more complex tags
 Built-in debug feature, preview mode
 Built-in variables and tags, plus you can make your own
 Event tracking: No more custom JavaScript tags on your site
<a href="http://farmingdale.edu/catalog.pdf" class=“gtm-
catalog”>Catalog</a>

IS IT ONE BETTER THAN THE OTHER ONE?
Classic
Universal
GTM
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THE ISSUE IS IN THE MIGRATION
Migration Classic Universal GTM
m c u g
=

YOU MAY BE TEMPTED TO…
Classic GA Property ID Number
Universal GA Universal ID Number
GTM Google Tag Manager
UA-XXXX123-1
UA-XXXX123-1
Your Website

WHAT COULD GO WRONG?
Bad or inflated data by
conflicting or
overlapping code (i.e.,
using the same
property ID all along)
No data on any view in
your property.
No data at all! (i.e., not
testing properly)
Data from Goals and
Events can stop while
the code is switched
(i.e., gap between
deleting old code and
new).
bad Really bad Very Extremely Mega Bad

THERE’S A SAFE, ALTERNATE SOLUTION
The “Parallel” testing with a migration plan
gtm.js
ga.js
or
analytics.js
Property A
Property B

WHERE YOUR DATA REMAINS CONSTANT
Your current data:

YOU SHOULD
CONSIDER MIGRATING IF…
Classic Analytics Universal Analytics
+20 Custom Tags Manage
•Facebook tags
•Twitter tags
•AdWords
•Any other custom
HTML/JavaScript code
•Make your life easier
You Should Consider Google Tag Manager IF…

OLÉ
An this is how it’s DONE.
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STEP 1: NEW PROPERTY
1
Create a NEW Property in Google Analytics and
recreate all views/filters from your current GA
Property.
Current Property
UA-XXXX123-1
Testing Property
UA-XXXX123-2

HOW GOOGLE TAG MANAGER WORKS…
1. Tag: A snippet of code (usually JavaScript)
added to a page.
2. Trigger: Defines when and where tags are
executed.
3. Variable: Used to receive or store
information to be used by tags and triggers.
GTM has pre-defined variables like:
Page URL: returns the full URL of the current
page (http://www.farmingdale.edu/about)
And you can build your own tags & variables.

STEP 2: CREATE CONTAINER IN GTM
2
Current UA-XXXX123-1
* Useful Tip: Use same name as your GA Property
Testing UA-XXXX123-2
UA-XXXX123-2

STEP 3: SETUP YOUR PAGE VIEW TAG WITH
NEW VARIABLE
3

STEP 4: INSTALL GTM CODE
4
Testing PropertyUA-XXXX123-2
Current Property UA-XXXX123-1

CURRENT PROPERTY + TESTING PROPERTY
Current Property: UA-XXXX123-1
Testing Property: UA-XXXX123-2

PREVIEW AND DEBUG MODE
Testing Property
UA-XXXX123-2

STEP 5: WHILE YOU START COLLECTING
DATA, REVIEW EVENTS
5
Review your Events. This is the best time to do
an extensive inventory to find a common
ground:
•How many and where are they located?
•Which Events will you keep?
•Which ones to modify?
•Which ones to remove?

EVENT INVENTORY
WE ARE AMONG THE TOP 50
DESIGN AGENCIES IN THE UK.
Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error
sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque
laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae
ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae
vitae dicta sunt explicabo.

EVENTS WITH UNIVERSAL
<li>
<a href="https://www.farmingdale.edu/about/contact-
us.shtml" class="btn btn-default .btn-sm btn-block call-to-
action-gtm” onclick="ga('send', 'event', 'Footer Call to
Action Buttons', 'click-contact-us', 'Footer Contact Us
/about/contact-us.shtml', 10, {'nonInteraction': 1});”> Contact Us</a>
</li>
Event Category: Footer Call to Action Buttons
Event Action: click-contact-us
Event Label: Footer Contact Us /about/contact-us.shtml

CONFIGURE EVENT TAG IN GTM
Same category name

EVENT WITH GOOGLE TAG MANAGER
<li>
<a href=https://www.farmingdale.edu/about/contact-
us.shtml onclick="ga('send', 'event', 'Footer Call to
Action Buttons', 'click-contact-us', 'Footer Contact
Us /about/contact-us.shtml', 10, {'nonInteraction':
1});” class="btn btn-default .btn-sm btn-block
call-to-action-gtm”> Contact Us</a>
</li>
Event Category: Footer Call to Action Buttons
Event Action: {{Click URL}} 
https://www.farmingdale.edu/about/contact-
us.shtml
Event Label: {{Page Path}}  /
Trigger: When Click Classes matches RegEx
(call-to-action-gtm)

COMPARE DATA RESULTS
Current Property UA-XXXX123-1
Testing Property UA-XXXX123-2

TRACKING DOWNLOAD FILES IN GTM
Download Links Setup in Universal Analytics

YOU’LL GET MORE DETAIL DATA
With ZERO NADA code

STEP 6: REVIEW YOUR GOALS
6
Just like with Events, do another inventory for
all your Goals:
•All Goals per View
•Which Goals need adjustment since some
Events’ actions and labels changed
•Different from Events, Goals will need to
individually be modified in ALL views.

GOAL INVENTORY
Current Property Testing Property

GOAL SETUP IN GA DASHBOARD
Current UA-XXXX123-1 Testing UA-XXXX123-2
*In all views

GOAL RESULTS
1,426 conversions 1,796 conversions

STEP 7: REVIEW DATA, MAKE ADJUSTMENTS
7
Testing UA-XXXX123-2
Current UA-XXXX123-1

STEP 8: PLAN FOR MIGRATION
8
• After testing your data and you’re confident
you have the results you want, it’s time to plan
for the migration.
• The migration/upgrade consists of:
• Remove all existing Universal code
(tracking code and event tracking code).
• Switching GTM variable from Testing
UA-XXXX123-2 to Current UA-XXXX123
• Set an official (realistic) date and timeline for
the migration.

REMOVE ALL CUSTOM EVENT TAGS
 An audit may be helpful to find
them all.
 All matches will have to be
deleted.

MAKE SURE OLD EVENT TRACKING CODE IS
REMOVED!
<li>
<a href=https://www.farmingdale.edu/about/contact-us.shtml onclick="ga('send', 'event',
'Footer Call to Action Buttons', 'click-contact-us', 'Footer Contact Us /about/contact-
us.shtml', 10, {'nonInteraction': 1});” class="btn btn-default .btn-sm btn-block
call-to-action-gtm”> Contact Us</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href=https://www.farmingdale.edu/about/contact-us.shtml class="btn btn-default .btn-
sm btn-block call-to-action-gtm”> Contact Us</a>
</li>

DAY OF SWITCH: REMOVE ALL CUSTOM TAGS
 Remove the GA code for
Classic/Universal Analytics
and schedule pages to publish
on merge date.
 Leave your GTM code intact
 Remove all instances of
Classic/Universal custom tags
code and set pages to publish
on merge date.

STEP 9: ON MERGE DATE, SWITCH PROPERTY
ID IN GTM VARIABLE
9
From Testing
UA-XXXX123-2
To Current
UA-XXXX123-1

MAKE SURE NOW YOU’RE TRACKING
UAXXXX123-1
Current
Property
UA-XXXX123-1

STEP 10: PUBLISH YOUR CONTAINER
10
Publishing both pages and GTM container
must be done at the same time. Any gap or
overlapping when switching can affect your
data!

CHECK WITH GTM PREVIEW MODE
 Check that all your tags are firing and passing the right variables

CHECK WITH GA REAL TIME
 Check that you events and Goals are working properly
 Keep closed monitoring in the next 48 hours

YOUR MAIN PROPERTY DATA CONTINUES…
Current Property A: UA-XXXX123-1
Testing Property B: UA-XXXX123-2
That’s it!

CONSIDER UPDATING/MIGRATING IF…
 You are using Classic Analytics
 You are using Universal Analytics and you have at least
20 custom JavaScript tags on your website
 You want to manage your Facebook tags, Twitter tags,
AdWords, event tags, and any other custom
HTML/JavaScript code
 Make your life easier 

STEPS FOR A SAFE MIGRATION
1. Create a new Property in GA, recreate your views.
2. Create a container in GTM.
3. Setup your tracking code with a Page View tag and a variable to
store your new Property ID.
4. Install GTM code on your website along your current GA code.
5. Review your Events.
6. Review your Goals.
7. Review your collected data, make necessary adjustments.
8. Plan for upgrade: Set a date and timeline, remove GA tracking
code and custom tags, set pages to auto-publish.
9. On upgrade day, switch to current Property ID in GTM variable.
10. Publish your container and monitor for the next few days.

ADVICE
 Same steps apply when migrating from Classic to
Universal, Classic to GTM.
 Do your testing for at least two months so you’ll have
data for comparison.
 Schedule the switch at the end of the spring semester.
 Do it on a Monday! You’ll have all week to fix any mess.
You’re welcome.

RESOURCES
Simo Ahava’s Blog
https://www.simoahava.com/
LunaMetrics
https://www.lunametrics.com/
Weber, J. (2015). Practical Google
Analytics and Google Tag Manager for
Developers. Berkeley, CA: Apress.

THANK
YOU!
Questions?
Day Of The Dead "Street Party" Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, 8x10, Art Print Poster Mexican Folk Artist J Ellison. https://www.etsy.com/transaction/1334132907
Slides available at:
https://www.slideshare.net/SylviaNavarroNicosia/how-to-defeat-the-beast

How to Defeat the Beast

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