Does subdomain (or sub sub domain) affect analytics data of root site?
-
We self-host our public website, but over time have also added subdomains onto it that are not public and are for internal or even client portals. I am seeking advice as to whether those subdomains affect the analytics data (self referrals, visits, bounces) of the public site that I am tasked with analyzing. I feel that it does skew the data but need to build a solid case to move the public website to a new domain, so as to leave the existing one in tact with all of its subs.
-
Thanks for taking the time to respond. The guide on setting up tracking across multiple domains was helpful to learn how to filter referal traffic. Unfortunately in this case there is a combination of subdomains with tracking code and also others without, as they are intended to be internal. I am hoping to prove whether having so many is even in some small way negatively impacting the root domain. This article offered an interesting viewpoint: https://www.pi-datametrics.com/identify-seo-sub-domain-conflict-cannibalisation/
-
"Tracking IDs are the unique codes that you're given when you create a Google Analytics property, and look something like "UA-123456-1". Any page with that tracking ID, regardless of the site it's on, will send data to that property." Source
So basically, if you're using that same tracking ID across all subdomains then yes, it will be skewing your data. If you're unsure, the easiest way is to view the source of the page and search for UA- . You'll see a code something like the one quoted above; if it's the same on all subdomains then there's your problem
Your options are to either remove it from the subdomains you don't want to track or check out Eric's guide on how to how to set it up correctly.
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Subdomains retaining PA and DA?
Hello Mozzers It was my understanding that google sees a new subdomain as a new domain - however I have created a subdomain for one of my sites, and this has retained exactly the same DA (35) and a high PA (but slightly lower than original domain) of 35 - Is this normal, and if so is it only temporary? Thanks
Reporting & Analytics | | wearehappymedia0 -
Mismatch between analytics and webmaster tools
Hi, I've noticed that the Queries report in analytics gives a completely different answer (for impressions, clicks, CTR, Avg. position) to webmaster tools. What gives? Which would you use? Thanks, Amelia
Reporting & Analytics | | CommT0 -
Google Analytics Average Position
I'm looking at Google Analytics -> Acquisition -> Search Engine Optimization -> Queries reports. I'm looking at keywords and the average position. What Google reports and what I see in a Google incognito search is different (usually my search is much lower). For example, for one search term, Google reports 5.8 average position and every time I search it is 8. My local result is 4. Anyone know why this is? I'm wondering if Google is averaging the Local results into number?
Reporting & Analytics | | CalicoKitty20000 -
Different transaction data social channel on Google Analytics
Hi there, On my ecommerce, in order to find out the number of transactions that came directly from my social channels I go to Acquisition->Channels and then I look at the column Transactions for the Social channel. Surprisingly this number differ from the one that I find under Acquisition->Social->Overview and then I select Transaction under Conversions. Then I look at Last interaction Social Conversions to find the number of transactions. The two quantities are totally different for a month window and they should be the same. Can any of you explain to me the reason why? Thanks and regards
Reporting & Analytics | | footd0 -
Large event site - how should I structure my URLs?
Hi guys, I'm working on a new website which is consolidating a number of existing event sites into one. The existing sites use a variety of URL structures: www.eventsite1.com/events/event-name www.eventsite2.com/festival-program/event-name www.eventsite3.com/event-name This inconsistency has led to issues with tracking category usage properly in analytics - for instance, with eventsite3.com, events fall within categories (www.eventsite3.com/category-name) but as soon as you drill into an event detail page (www.eventsite3.com/event-name) from the category page, the category is lost to analytics. This is compounded when one event lives within multiple categories, as I can't figure out which category is the most effective for a particular event. I've seen other event sites establish a canonical URL for a primary category, display it in the URL (i.e. www.eventsite4.com/primary-category/event-name) yet still let that event get hit via the secondary categories (www.eventsite4.com/secondary-category/event-name). This way, the categories get passed to analytics without any duplicate content issues (i.e. via the setting of canonicals) Basically, I want to make sure that whatever instruction I give to the devs for the new site re: URL structure is correct from an SEO perspective and analytics perspective. Do I even need to worry about having the category in the URL? Can someone please help me with this? Hope this makes sense Cheers
Reporting & Analytics | | cos20300 -
Tracking in Google Analytics
My site has just recently (or maybe not so recently...) had a great deal of https URL's indexed (I was really only able to find this out thanks to the recent update to the GWT Index Status). It appears that Googlebot picked up an ssl somewhere (I already know where) on my site and then proceeded to crawl and index pages with https rather than http. Since I understand the issue, it should be an easy fix. My question is, does Google Analytics support (track) both http AND https for one site, or would I need to set up two different tracking codes for http and https? I figured that I might as well grab some data from the https pages that are indexed before I try and remove them. I've done a little research on using Groupings/Groups but I figured I would reach out to the MOZ community to see if anyone else has worked with a similar issue. Thanks!
Reporting & Analytics | | GalcoIndustrial0 -
Setting up Analytics on a Site that Uses Frames For Some Content
I work with a real estate agent and he uses strings from another tool to populate the listings on his site. In an attempt to be able to track traffic to both the framed pages and the non-framed pages he has two sets of analytics code on his site - one inside the frame and one for the regular part of the site. (there's also a third that the company who hosts his site and provides all these other tools put on his site - but I don't think that's really important to this conversation). Not only is it confusing looking at the analytics data, his bounce rate is down right unmanageable. As soon as anyone clicks on any of the listings they've bounced away. Here's a page - all of those listings below " Here are the most recent Toronto Beaches Real Estate Listings" are part of a frame. http://eastendtorontohomes.com/toronto-beach-real-estate-search/ I'm not really sure what to do about it or how to deal with it? Anyone out there got any good advice? And just in case you're wondering there aren't any other options - apart from spending thousands to build his own database thingie. We've thought about that (as other agents in the city have done that), but just aren't sure it's worth it. And, quite frankly he doesn't want to spend the money.
Reporting & Analytics | | annasus0 -
What's the best way to track moble traffic / sales from a subdomain in Google Analytics?
Hello, I've been trying to figure out the best way to track traffic and sales for a subdomain mobile site and would appreciate any feedback or guidance. I've set up an advanced segment but have found that I'm not able to source traffic since the segments get disabled when trying to view top content pages. I've also setup an additional sub-profile under the main domain profile in google analytics and have set up an advanced filter using the following guildelines http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/tracking/gaTrackingSite.html In the Profile Settings page, click the Add Filter link. Choose Add New Filter and provide the filter a name. Choose Custom Filter and select Advanced on the Filter type settings. Under Advanced settings: FieldA should be set to Hostname FieldB should be set to Request URI Set the values for both Field A and Field B to (.*), which is an expression that captures all characters. Set the Output To --> Constructor option to Request URI and provide $A1$B1 as the value for that choice. I'm unsure if I've set up the profile / filter correctly, the traffic stats are different than the segment. The mobile profile is also tracking all ecommerce transactions instead of just mobile. Here's the code I have in place. we're using the Traditional code Thanks, Jamie
Reporting & Analytics | | marketing_zoovy.com0