Google Analytics

E-Commerce Tracking

The Google Analytics e-commerce tracking feature provides a rich set of reports that you can use for product and customer analysis. If you are an e-commerce company, then it is recommended that you implement the e-commerce tracking code to collect transaction data. The resulting reporting is very valuable and helps you gain additional insight into the performance of your online business.

As with most things, understanding how Google Analytics collects, processes, and stores e-commerce data is key to a proper implementation.

Warning

Google Analytics e-commerce tracking should not be used in place of an accounting package. While the tracking is fairly accurate, there are too many external forces that can affect the data quality. It is best to analyze larger sets of e-commerce data and look for trends that provide insight into customer actions. Do not rely on it for accounting tasks.

How It Works

Figure 34 illustrates the basic process used to track e-commerce transactions. Tracking begins when a visitor submits a transaction (step #1) and it is received by the web server (step #2). The web server usually passes the data to an application server where it is processed (step #3). This processing may include adding the data to a database, validating a credit card, or emailing the customer. Once the application server has processed the transaction, it usually creates some type of receipt page for the visitor (step #4).

Figure 34. How e-commerce transactions are collected ...