Analytics and Metrics Modules

This chapter provides an overview of the various analytics and metrics modules and their functions.

Overview of the Analytics and Metrics Modules

The various Analytics and Metrics modules can be used to analyze data and generate reports. For example, to find the traffic for various websites. The comScore module enables the publishers and developers to get access to the census level data on their tagged mobile websites and applications. The Google Analytics module enables you to retrieve data from the Google Analytics server, which helps you to analyze the hits in your website. The Omniture module gathers traffic data and shares with Omniture to generate report.

Various Analytics and Metrics Modules

This section provides the detailed description of the following Analytics and Metrics modules:

comScore

The comScore module enables the use of comScore Unified Digital Measurement TM service in the Cisco Enterprise Mobility Services Platform Studio.The comScore module contains a mobile tag that provides a way for comScore to measure and categorize data traffic.

Publishers and developers providing tag-based census data to comScore (directly or through Cisco) to extend their exposure in the market. This data are seen by media planners, advertisers, investors, and others who use comScore data to inform critical business decisions.

Publishers and developers get access to comScore Direct census data on their tagged properties, which they can use to evaluate their performance and to better represent themselves to advertisers.

For more details, refer to http://www.comscore.com

By providing the comScore module, Cisco enables publishers, who have signed up with comScore, to log traffic data of their mobile sites or apps and post to comScore Unified Digital Measurement TM.

Once your mobile site starts posting traffic data to comScore, you can view and analyze the data in the comScore Direct. The comScore Direct is a self service portal and audience measurement service that is accredited by the Media Rating Council. It is here that you initially sign up for the Unified Digital Measurement TM and enable tag-based measurement of your mobile properties by the comScore. The portal then also serves as the access point to your census mobile audience measurement data from the comScore on an ongoing basis.

Through the comScore Direct portal, publishers and developers get access to census level data on their tagged mobile websites and applications. This data can be filtered by country and by day or date range. It can also be filtered by mobile phone vs. connected tablet/device (For example, Android tablet, iPad, iPod Touch), and by specific OS platform. The App developers initially see data on mobile application cold starts and unique devices and mobile web publishers initially see data on census page views, both raw and filtered for both traffic.

Note This module can be used only for web sites.

Features

The comScore features include:

  • Use for mobile logging.
  • Enable to measure the traffic data using the Mobile tag parameters.
  • Logs cold starts for apps, sends data to comScore.

The module offers the following use cases:

  • Use this module to log data traffic (on mobile web) on to the comScore server.
  • Use this module to measure cold start statistics of your Apps.

Prerequisites

Before you begin to use the comScore module, ensure that you have the following:

  • An account with the comScore.
  • All ID details to use the tag parameters.

Note Cisco does not create this account with comScore.

Understanding Parameters in the Mobile Tag

The comScore module contains a mobile tag. This tag helps comScore to measure and categorize data traffic. The tags are also called web bugs or tracking pixels. Tag is a transparent one-by-one pixel graphic image placed on a website or app to track an event. A tag call is made each time a site is visited or app is started, or an ad is viewed.

The tags are used to gather information such as the IP address of the computer that consumed the content, the type of browser, previously set cookie values, the timestamp of when the tag was retrieved. More ID parameters are used for more granular information on the tag call.

Parameters that are required and pre-populated through the comScore module include tag type, comScore Client ID, and Mobile type.

There are a few other parameters that are auto-populated or pre-populated through the comScore module. They include tag type, mobile type, full page URL, referring URL, unique device identifier, and storage type.

Refer the following table for the entire list of parameters the tag contains:

Tag Parameters
ID
Required?
Description
Value

C1

required / prepopulated

Tag Type

10 (indicates mobile)

C4

optional (but recommended)

Full Page URL

Alphanumeric value for URL where content is viewed used when c7 cannot be auto-populated.

C7

required / auto-populated

Full Page URL

Alphanumeric value for URL where content is viewed.

C8

Optional / auto-populated

Page Title

Alphanumeric value for page title.

C9

required / auto-populated

Referring URL

Alphanumeric value for referring URL

C11

required / prepopulated

Mobile Type

mosc (indicates site tag rather ad or other)

C12

required / auto-populate

Unique Device Identifier

Alphanumeric value for user's cookie

C13

required / auto-populated

Storage Type

indicates type of cookie storage (ls)

Cv

Prepopulated

Version of comScore code

2

Rn

auto-populated

Random number used for cache busting

Auto generated random number

ns_partner_id

auto-populated

This helps determine/identify where the clients are from when ns_partner_id is 12360766

12360766 (is the CiscoC2-id).

Tag Type—This value is pre-populated. The ID for the Tag Type is C1. When the tag type value is 10, it indicates that it is a mobile site. When this value gets logged into the comScore data collection server, it identifies it as a mobile tag.

comScore Client ID—The user enters this value. The ID for comScore Client ID is C2. The comScore assigns this Client ID. It is a unique numeric ID for each company assigned by comScore.

Mobile Type—This value is pre-populated. The ID for Mobile Type is C11. The value passed by this is mosc. This indicates that it is a site tag, as against an ad tag.

Configuring the comScore Module

To configure the comScore module, perform the following steps:

Step 1 In the Modules panel, enter comScore. The comScore module appears in the Modules panel.

Step 2 Drag and drop the module into the footer area of your site in the canvas. The Edit panel of the module opens.

Step 3 In the Edit panel of the module, specify the required values in the respective fields.

Step 4 Click Save.

 

Note As this module logs data in the back end, nothing can be displayed when you preview.

Note Your site should be Live and you must have a comScore ID to see the analytics on the comScore site. Visit the comScore Direct portal (Direct.comScore.com) to sign up to comScore or to get your tag parameters.You can use a third party tool such as firebug fiddler to see the values that are passed to the comScore or check if data is being logged into comScore.

comScore Properties

Main Properties

The Main properties enable you to specify the comScore Client ID. The following is the list of comScore Main properties..

Main Properties
Property
Description

comScore Client ID

The Client ID assigned by comScore.

Google Analytics

The Google Analytics module facilitates the use of the Google analytics code on your mobile site. This code sends and retrieves calls to the Google Analytics servers, which in turn log the data.

This module enables you to track page views or hits on your site. Choose the appropriate Tracking Method. For server-side tracking, paste the server-side code snippets provided by Google on each page that you require to track.

Note You require a Google Analytics account to use this module. Sign up with Google to receive the appropriate code for Analytics. Cisco only facilitates the use of the code that Google provides and will not provide you with a code for analytics.

Note This module can be used only for web sites.

Configuring the Google Analytics Module

To configure the Google Analytics module, perform the following steps:

Step 1 In the Modules panel, enter Google Analytics. The Google Analytics module appears in the Modules panel.

Step 2 Drag and drop the module into the footer of your page in the canvas. The Edit panel of the module opens.

Step 3 In the Edit panel of the module, specify the required values in the respective fields.

Step 4 Click Save.

 

For Client-side Tracking—We recommend users to drag and drop the Google Analytics module for client-side tracking in the footer of the page. This means that the site does not have any redirection in the page, since the redirection is not logged for the page.

If a page is redirected to the server:

  • The customer cannot make changes for that page as the Google Analytics module is configured in footer of the page.
  • This module will not log data from the page, when the page is redirected.

Alternatively, you can let tracking for the redirection criteria that are maintained by the Target Container module. For page specific changes, configure the Google Analytics module by dragging and dropping the module at the end of the body area of the page.

For Server-side Tracking— Drag and drop the Google Analytics module (for pages that are redirected with a server) at the end of the body area of the page. This ensures that the module is not configured for all the pages of the site. If you drag and drop it in the footer area, it reflects on all the pages of the site. For pages configured with the redirector modules, the Google Analytics module must be placed before the redirector module, with server-side tracking enabled.

Note The Google Analytics module does not render on the canvas where it is configured.

Google Analytics Properties

Main Properties

The main properties enable you to specify the tracking method and the Google Analytics properties. The following is the list of Google Analytics Main properties.

Main Properties
Property
Description

Choosing Tracking Method

There are two options: Client and Server.

Client—This method is used to track page views in a page that is not redirected through a server. Client-side tracking enables you to track page views in a page that is rendered on a browser. Using this method, you can track the page and utilize the logs, through the parameters that Google Analytics provides. This option is selected by default. We recommend this method for client-side tracking.

Server—This method is used to make a back-end call with the server (that is, pages that are configured with the redirector modules) to track the page that is redirected through a server. Server-side tracking should be used to track page views for pages that contain a redirection module (that redirects this page to a different page). A customer intending to log the page views on such pages should use server-side tracking.

Server-side tracking does not log all the parameters in comparison to the client-side tracking method. This method can be used to track only those pages that are configured with a redirector module.

Paste your code here

The code, provided by Google, to render on your site.

Sign up with the Google Analytics service. Google provides a code snippet which should be pasted on your site for the analytics that you require.

This is a mandatory field for configuring the Client Tracking option.

Tracking ID/Web property/Property ID

The ID retrieved from the code that is provided by the Google Analytics. To retrieve the Tracking ID, sign in with the Google Analytics service. Google provides a code snippet that must be pasted on your site for the analytics that you require.

This is a mandatory field for configuring the Server Tracking option.

Omniture

The Omniture module gathers traffic data for a page such as number of page visits, unique visits, content viewed, source URLs, and user location. The module then shares this data with the third-party web analytics solution, Omniture, to generate a report. The Omniture module uses a set of standard properties to retrieve information such as device used, user location, and user agent.

Note An Omniture account is required to use this module and the reports would then be created by Omniture.

The Omniture module connects to the Omniture database in the following scenario:

For a live site with domain URLs and not for other requests like wireframe or preview, draftsite, studio or Release Candidate URLs, monitoring calls, bot requests and blocked IPs which are identified by Cisco.

Note This module can be used only for web sites.

Configuring the Omniture Module

To configure the Omniture module, perform the following steps:

Step 1 In the Modules panel, enter Omniture. The Omniture module appears in the Modules panel.

Step 2 Drag and drop the module into the footer area of your site in the canvas. The Edit panel of the module opens.

Step 3 In the Edit panel of the module, specify the required values in the respective fields.

Step 4 Click Save.

 

Note As the Omniture module is intended to generate a report on an entire page, it is recommended that you drag and drop the Omniture module into the footer area of your site below all modules. Since the Cisco Enterprise Mobility Services Platform loads a page (in the order of modules in the page from top to bottom), a page view is recorded only when all modules in the page are loaded. Since the footer area is common for all pages of the site, the module will record all the pages in the site, and also records any new pages that get added to the site.

Omniture Properties

Main Properties

The Main properties enable you to configure the Omniture URL and key pair. The following is the list of Omniture Main properties.

Main Properties
Property
Description

Omniture Main URL

The URL of your Omniture database received from Omniture.

Omniture Key Pair

You can add the Omniture key pair using the Add button. Each Omniture Key pair provides two fields. The first field is used for entering Omniture data variable Names (for example, visitorID). The second field is used for entering a constant such as the name of the site, genre, and content category or declaring a variable for Page/Module/Standard Property.

Note You can also configure different complex combinations of constants and variables for an Omniture Data Variable Name.

For example, you can combine a constant and a variable or multiple variables using a colon in the following way:

  • Omniture Data Variable Name = Constant : $[name of the Page Property variable]
  • Omniture Data Variable Name = Constant : $[name of the Page Property variable you want to create] : ${name of the Module Property variable { : $(name of the Standard Property)

Configuring Properties

The module uses Omniture data variable names that can be mapped to the fields in the Omniture data structure. Using Omniture data variable names, the module gathers the following types of information that is shared with the Omniture tool:

  • Constants (Site Level) are used to configure values that do not change for the entire site. That is, every page of the site can send the same value to a specific Omniture data variable.
  • Page level information or Page Property is used to configure values that are constant for a set of pages of a site or all inner pages of a module.
  • Module level information or Module Property is used to configure values that are passed only for inner pages of a module, and the value changes for each instance of the inner page.

For example, the Story Title that changes depending on the article the user chooses in the Stories module.

  • Standard Property is used to configure values that change depending on external factors that are not site level constants, page property, or module parameter.

For example: The visitorID.

The list of Standard Properties is provided in Standard Parameter Names

You can configure values that do not change for the entire site. That is, every page of the site can send the same value to an Omniture data variable. These values are called Constants.

Standard Parameter Names

The Omniture Analytics tool provides a set of standard properties to gather global information such as device name, user agent, and unique visitor ID.

Standard Parameter Names
To get information on
Key
Value

Device/Browser

userAgent

$(user-agent)

Unique Subscriber Identifier / Subscriber

visitorID

$(subscriberId)

IP Address / clientip

ipaddress

$(ipaddress)

Session ID

purchaseID

OR

transactionID

$(sessionId)

Referring Sites / Site Name

Referrer

$(referrer)

Page reported / pageref

pageURL

$(pageURL)

Device Name

prop1

$(devicename)

Source: The value of the source parameter used to access the site

prop2

$(source)

Operator: The name of the operator arrived at using the Gateway IP of the page request. Not to be used for On Deck sites that are configured using a URL Source parameter

prop3

$(operator)

Note prop1, prop2, and prop3 track device, source, and operator. If you want a different key, configure the respective key for those values based on the following Omniture Data Variable Name table.

Note Keys should not be configured more than once. For example: prop1=$(devicename), prop1=$(source)

Standard parameters should be configured in the following way in the Omniture module: Omniture Data Variable Name = $(standard parameter name).

Omniture Data Variable Name

The following table lists the omniture data variable names.

Omniture Data Variable Name

Property
Description

The campaign tracking code associated with the page.

campaign

The page title or bread crumb.

channel

The host to which the visitor's IP address resolves.

domain

A SiteCatalyst eVar name.

eVarn

For example:eVar2

A list of SiteCatalyst events.

events

A hierarchy string.

hiern

For example:hier2

The visitor's IP address.

ipaddress

Name of link

linkName

Type of link ("d", "e", or "o").

linkType

The link's HREF. For custom links, page values are ignored.

linkURL

The Web page name.

pageName

The Web page type. This is only used on 404 error pages. Set pageType to "Error Page" for when a 404 error is detected.

pageType

The Web page URL

pageURL

A SiteCatalyst property name.

For propn, the maximum limit of n is 50.

propn

For example: prop2

Specifies the report suites where you want to submit data. Separate multiple report suite IDs with a semi-colon but will make two separate calls (each call is chargeable). Alternatively, if you include two report suite ids separated by a comma, then this would be a single call to both report suites.

reportSuiteID

The time and date on which the data was collected.

timestamp

The visitor's browser type and OS.

userAgent

Visitor's unique identifying cookie.

visitorID