XTRABANNER Google Analytics Integration Guide U-BTech Solutions LTD. INTRODUCTION Created: 18-Oct-2012 Updated: 23-Mar-2014 We are excited to announce that XtraBanner version 2.0 now supports integration with Google Analytics for collecting data, measuring and analyzing e-mail campaigns. This document will guide you, step-by-step, through configuring the Google Analytics integration. AUDIENCE This document is targeted towards IT infrastructure personnel, in charge of managing and configuring XtraBanner in their organizations. However, Website owners, Webmasters and Campaign Managers may also find interest in some parts of this document. ABOUT XTRABANNER XtraBanner is an E-mail enrichment system, created for organizations running Microsoft Exchange Server (versions 2007, 2010 and 2013) as their messaging infrastructure. Once configured, the system adds banners, ads or disclaimers to the organization's e-mail correspondence. XtraBanner is also available as a cloud Service. ABOUT XTRABANNER REPORTING CAPABILITIES XtraBanner collects statistical information about e-mails enriched by the system. Collected information, as of version 2.0, includes: Number of messages sent with each campaign. Number of unique recipients for each campaign. Per sender, per recipient, and per Exchange server counters. Enriched e-mails can include, if configured, a clickable hyperlink to an existing page on a website (referred to as a "landing page"). Campaign Managers frequently need to measure how effective a campaign is, mostly by measuring the number of clicks per campaign ("click count") and the ratio between clicks and U-BTECH SOLUTIONS LTD. GOOGLE ANALYTICS INTEGRATION GUIDE PAGE 1
impressions, referred to as "Click-through rate" (or "CTR" for short). Since the hyperlink frequently directs to a landing page on a server hosted outside the organization, XtraBanner cannot keep track of clicks on those links, what visitors do after clicking, where do they come from and other information related to web analytics. Starting with version 2.0, XtraBanner can integrate with Google Analytics to fill in the gaps for those missing pieces of information. ABOUT GOOGLE ANALYTICS Google Analytics (referred to as "GA") is a service offered by Google that generates detailed statistics about visits to a website. At the time of writing this document, GA is the most widely used website statistics service and the basic service is offered free of charge. HOW GOOGLE ANALYTICS WORK GA collects information using a Google Analytics Tracking Code (GATC), which is a snippet of JavaScript code that the website owner adds to every page of the website. The code runs in the client browser when the client visits the page and collects visitor data and sends it to a Google data collection server. Website owners can then view and analyze the collected data using the GA web interface. HOW XTRABANNER INTEGRATES WITH GOOGLE ANALYTICS GA integration is a two-fold process: XtraBanner tags campaign hyperlinks with Urchin Tracking Module (UTM) codes, so the source of visits can be analyzed both by GA and by XtraBanner. The following UTM tags are added by XtraBanner: o utm_source: contains a unique ID for each XtraBanner campaign o utm_medium: contains the value "email", as recommended by Google for e-mail campaigns. o utm_campaign: contains the campaign name, as configured in the XtraBanner management console. XtraBanner collects visit count data from GA, using an Application Programming Interface (API) provided by Google, and displays this information in the XtraBanner management console. U-BTECH SOLUTIONS LTD. GOOGLE ANALYTICS INTEGRATION GUIDE PAGE 2
GOOGLE ANALYTICS INTEGRATION ADVANTAGES Campaign Managers can view detailed analytics data from all advertising channels, including XtraBanner, search engines, pay-per-click networks and display advertising, in a single user interface the GA web interface. Campaign Managers can view XtraBanner-specific statistics in the XtraBanner Management Console, including click count data. Campaign Managers can decide whether or not to integrate a specific XtraBanner campaign with GA. CONFIGURING XTRABANNER INTEGRATION WITH GOOGLE ANALYTICS This section provides a step-by-step guide for configuring GA integration. Though it requires multiple steps to complete and may look complex, it is a one-time, "set it and forget it" process. STEP 1: PREREQUISITES 1. To begin, you must have at least one GA-enabled website. In case you are new to GA and have never used it before, please refer to Google's "Getting Started with Google Analytics" guide: http://www.google.com/analytics/learn/setupchecklist.html 2. XtraBanner version 2.0 or higher must be deployed in your organization. If a previous version of XtraBanner is deployed in your organization, you must first upgrade the deployment (including the Configuration Point, all Transport Agents and all Management Consoles), as GA Integration is a new feature introduced in XtraBanner 2.0. Removing the older version does not delete existing rules and campaigns, so you can safely uninstall an older version and install a new one. The latest version of XtraBanner can be downloaded from U-BTech's website: http://www.u-btech.com/products/email-enrichment.html If you are using the XtraBanner Cloud Service, GA Integration is already supported. STEP 2: GET A SERVICE ACCOUNT API KEY NOTE: This step is only required for on-premise deployments. If you are using Google Analytics with the XtraBanner Cloud Service, please skip to Step 3 and use the pre-configured Cloud API account. U-BTECH SOLUTIONS LTD. GOOGLE ANALYTICS INTEGRATION GUIDE PAGE 3
In this step, you will request a private key for accessing the Google Analytics API. A single API key can be used by the entire organization. This step is typically performed by the organization's IT department. 3. Open a web browser, and browse to the Google APIs Console: https://code.google.com/apis/console/ 4. Login with a Google account. We recommend using an account controlled by the organization's IT department, as it will be used for creating an API private key for your organization. This account will not be used for log ging in to Google Analytics. 5. In the Google APIs Console, click "Create Project " 6. In the list of services, locate the "Analytics API" service, and click the "OFF" button to enable the service. U-BTECH SOLUTIONS LTD. GOOGLE ANALYTICS INTEGRATION GUIDE PAGE 4
7. Review and accept the terms of service. 8. The Analytics API service should now be marked as "ON". 9. Click "API Access" on the left menu. 10. Click "Create an OAuth 2.0 client ID..." U-BTECH SOLUTIONS LTD. GOOGLE ANALYTICS INTEGRATION GUIDE PAGE 5
11. In the "Branding Information" section, under "Product Name", enter "XtraBanner" (without quotes) and then click "Next". 12. In the "Client ID Settings" section, select "Service account" and then click "Create Client ID". U-BTECH SOLUTIONS LTD. GOOGLE ANALYTICS INTEGRATION GUIDE PAGE 6
13. In the "Public-Private Key Pair Generated" box. Click "Download Key" and save the key to a secure and well-known folder. 14. Close the "Public-Private Key Pair Generated" box. Locate the service account's e-mail address, and copy it to the clipboard (right-click then "Copy"). 15. Locate the file you just downloaded, and rename it to the value you have just copied, keeping the.p12 file name extension. The renamed file should look like: 12345678901@developer.gserviceaccount.com.p12 U-BTECH SOLUTIONS LTD. GOOGLE ANALYTICS INTEGRATION GUIDE PAGE 7
16. Copy the file to the server where the XtraBanner Configuration Point is installed, under the path: C:\ProgramData\U-BTech Solutions LTD\XtraBanner-0000\GoogleKeys Note: the C:\ProgramData folder is hidden by default. 17. Click "Sign out" and close the browser window. STEP 3: ALLOW THE API ACCOUNT TO READ GOOGLE ANALYTICS DATA In this step, you will permit the API account to read Google Analytics data, so it can be fetched by XtraBanner and displayed in the XtraBanner Management Console. This step is typically performed by a Campaign Manager or a Webmaster, and is required only for fetching and displaying click information in the XtraBanner Management Console. 18. Browse to the Google Analytics website: http://www.google.com/analytics/ U-BTECH SOLUTIONS LTD. GOOGLE ANALYTICS INTEGRATION GUIDE PAGE 8
19. Click "Sign in" and sign in with your GA-Enabled account. This can be a different account than the one you used in previous steps. This user must have "Administrator" permissions for your GA property/view. 20. Click the "Admin" button on the top bar. 21. Select the GA account, property and view you wish to allow access to, then click "User Management". U-BTECH SOLUTIONS LTD. GOOGLE ANALYTICS INTEGRATION GUIDE PAGE 9
22. Scroll down to the "Add permissions for:" section, then fill-in the following information: 1. Fill the e-mail address of the service account: On-Premise Deployment: use the service account generated by your IT department in previous steps. Cloud Deployment: use the following pre-configured service account: 291981435753@developer.gserviceaccount.com 2. Make sure the "Read & Analyze" permissions are selected. This will allow read-only access. 3. Click the "Add" button. 23. Make sure the service account was added to the list of accounts. 24. Repeat all sub-steps above for each GA-Enabled website or view you want to use with XtraBanner. STEP 4: ENABLE GOOGLE ANALYTICS FOR XTRABANNER CAMPAIGNS U-BTECH SOLUTIONS LTD. GOOGLE ANALYTICS INTEGRATION GUIDE PAGE 10
25. Open the XtraBanner Management Console. 26. In the console: 1. Double-click an existing rule in the rule list 2. In the "Rule Configuration" window, click the "Campaigns" tab. 3. Check the "Analytics Enabled" checkbox for campaigns you want to enable GA for. VIEWING ANALYTICS DATA USING THE XTRABANNER MANAGEMENT CONSOLE The XtraBanner Management Console displays per-rule (aggregate values) and per-campaign click counts: Per-rule aggregate counts are displayed in the "Clicks" column of the rules list. Per-campaign counts are displayed in the "Clicks" column of the "Campaigns" tab, inside the "Rule Configuration" window. U-BTECH SOLUTIONS LTD. GOOGLE ANALYTICS INTEGRATION GUIDE PAGE 11
VIEWING ANALYTICS DATA USING GA WEB INTERFACE Detailed analytics data can be viewed from the Google Analytics web interface. Since XtraBanner tags banner links with campaign names, you can easily view XtraBanner campaigns from the "Acquisition" / "Campaigns" view. You can also filter campaigns by: Medium: XtraBanner tags banner links with the "email" medium. Source: XtraBanner tags banner links with a source tag in the format "XtraBanner-*", where * is a unique campaign identifier. You can customize a new GA Segment that shows only sources that start with the "XtraBanner-" pattern. CONCLUSION Once configured, XtraBanner can provide click count data in the management console, and detailed analytics data in the GA web interface. U-BTECH SOLUTIONS LTD. GOOGLE ANALYTICS INTEGRATION GUIDE PAGE 12