One goal of the GoWeb Analytics team is to have all university key public entry points begin using a shared Google Analytics ID. This analytics code would be used in addition to your already existing code, not instead of it.
Having a single shared code gives many advantages. First, it allows us to have a more complete view of campus web traffic. While tracking the traffic for a single site is important, it is also important to have a holistic view of the entire campus web traffic.
Having everyone use a separate code has meant that all of our sites exist in silos. We can analyze our own site traffic, but only as a self-contained unit. Adding a shared analytics code will let us see both our own traffic and traffic to all other sites that are using the code. This is important because many web browsing sessions are not limited to a single site, but rather span multiple sites across campus. The benefit of a common analytics ID is the ability to see patterns and opportunities across the entire university – which sites are channeling traffic to your site and which sites rely on traffic from your website.
Beyond viewing simple site traffic, having a cross-domain analytics code is required to track conversions (measurable goals that are important to you) originating on other web sites. For example, an important conversion to Mays is the number of people completing an application. They are currently tracking how many people first visit the university website, click to the Mays home page, and then complete the application form.
Another benefit – colleges can see traffic between their website and other college or departmental sites. This can be particularly important for pages that contain information about a joint program. For example, te One Health initiative has touchpoints in several colleges, and would not be able to effectively track cross traffic without a common analytics code.
To start using the campus ID code, please email webmaster@tamu.edu.