One of my favorite (and most popular) articles in my blog is Improve Data Collection With Four Custom Dimensions<\/a>. In that article, I show how you can improve the quality and granularity of your Google Analytics<\/a> data set with just four Custom Dimensions<\/a>. The reason I chose the four dimensions (Hit Timestamp, Session ID, Client ID, and User ID) is because I firmly believe that they should be in Google Analytics\u2019 standard<\/strong> set of dimensions, but for some inexplicable reason they aren\u2019t.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Since publishing that article three years ago, I have naturally uncovered more of these \u201cneed-to-have\u201d Custom Dimensions, and I\u2019ve written a bunch of guides on how to implement them. In this article, I want to pull all of these together into one reference guide, which you can then use to find the relevant information with ease. All of the implementation guides are for Google Tag Manager<\/a>, but nothing\u2019s stopping you from modifying the JavaScript to work with analytics.js<\/a> or gtag.js<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n \n Subscribe to the Simmer newsletter<\/a> to get the latest news and content from Simo Ahava into your email inbox!\n <\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n The first four Custom Dimensions are those introduced in my earlier article<\/a>. You can follow the link to see more details about the implementation, but some of the solutions below have been updated<\/strong>, so make sure you follow these guides rather than those in the original article.<\/p>\n The purpose<\/strong> of these four dimensions is to add more information to Google Analytics data sets about the user journeys<\/strong> that take place on your site. Being able to segment and chop the data on a hit-by-hit basis (Hit Timestamp), group them into sessions (Session ID), sort by GA user (Client ID), and finally analyze cross-device paths (User ID), makes so much sense from an analytics point-of-view. It\u2019s amazing that these dimensions are not readily available in Google Analytics\u2019 data sets. They are<\/strong> available in the BigQuery export<\/a>\u2026<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Original source<\/strong>: Link<\/a><\/p>\n Custom Dimension scope<\/strong>: Hit<\/p>\n Hit Timestamp outputs the local<\/strong> time (i.e. visitor\u2019s browser time) of the hit in standardized format. An example would be Note! It might actually be wiser to just send the UNIX timestamp ( Thanks to Tuomas Salste<\/strong><\/a> for pointing out some bugs in the code!<\/em><\/p>\n Custom JavaScript variable<\/strong>: {{Hit timestamp}}<\/p>\n Contents<\/strong>:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Original source<\/strong>: Link<\/a><\/p>\n Custom Dimension scope<\/strong>: Session<\/p>\n Session ID is a random, unique string (GUID) which is scoped to the entire session. This means that all hits of the same session can be queried with the same ID. This, in turn, means that you have a way of aggregating all related hits directly in the data reports, rather than having to infer them using segments, for example.<\/p>\n You can add Session ID only to your Page View tag, but there\u2019s no harm in including it in every single one of your GA tags. In fact, I actually recommend just adding it to the Google Analytics Settings variable you use for all your tags, because it\u2019s possible that not all of your sessions will have a pageview in them (if the session breaks, and a new one starts without reloading a page).<\/p>\n Custom JavaScript variable<\/strong>: {{Random GUID}}<\/p>\n Contents<\/strong>:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Original source<\/strong>: Link<\/a><\/p>\n Custom Dimension scope<\/strong>: User<\/p>\n Client ID is the anonymous cookie identifier<\/a> that Google Analytics assigns to every single browser instance of any given web visitor. It\u2019s how GA calculates the Users<\/strong> metric in views which don\u2019t have the User ID feature enabled (more on this in the next chapter).<\/p>\n Sending the Client ID as a Custom Dimension to Google Analytics is absolutely necessary. It\u2019s the only way to get row-by-row reports split by user, and it\u2019s the only way to query for data collected from any anonymous user.<\/p>\n The Client ID is collected using Custom JavaScript variable<\/strong>: {{customTask – Client ID}}<\/p>\n Contents<\/strong>:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Original source<\/strong>: Link<\/a><\/p>\n Custom Dimension scope<\/strong>: User<\/p>\n User ID is an identifier that you have somehow linked to the logged in user. Typically it\u2019s a pseudonymized key written into Because there are so many ways to implement User ID, depending on how your backend produces the identifier, I do not have a generic guide on how to generate the value. Thus the instructions below apply only to a very specific use case, where the User ID is written to the Also, because you are collecting data from logged in users, make sure whatever solution you implement is compliant with the privacy legislation and regulations of your region.<\/p>\n Data Layer variable<\/strong>: {{DLV – userId}}<\/p>\n Contents<\/strong>: Data Layer Variable Name – <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n The next set of Custom Dimensions are just smart<\/strong> things to add to your data collection. Since they are included in this guide, they aren\u2019t queriable by default in GA\u2019s reporting interface.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Original source<\/strong>: Link<\/a><\/p>\n Custom Dimension scope<\/strong>: Hit<\/p>\n Hit Type tells you explicitly what the type<\/em> of hit collected in Google Analytics was. So it would be You should add the variable to every single Google Analytics tag in your container. The variable needs to be added using Custom JavaScript variable<\/strong>: {{customTask – Hit type}}<\/p>\n Contents<\/strong>:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Custom Dimension scope<\/strong>: Hit<\/p>\n Full Referrer is simply the value of JavaScript variable<\/strong>: {{document.referrer}}<\/p>\n Contents<\/strong>: Global Variable Name – <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Original source<\/strong>: Link<\/a><\/p>\n Custom Dimension scope<\/strong>: Hit<\/p>\n You can send the payload length of every single Google Analytics hit by adding this hit-scoped Custom Dimension to every single tag in your container. The idea is that you can monitor if you are approaching the 8192<\/strong> byte limit, since hits that equal or surpass that limit will not get sent to Google Analytics<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The solution is added using Custom JavaScript variable<\/strong>: {{customTask – Hit payload length}}<\/p>\n Contents<\/strong>:<\/p>\n![\"13](\"https:\/\/www.simoahava.com\/images\/2018\/05\/13-useful-custom-dimensions.jpeg#ZgotmplZ\")
<\/p>\n
\n X<\/span><\/p>\n
\n The Simmer Newsletter<\/strong>\n <\/p>\n1. Improve granularity<\/h2>\n
![\"Improve](\"https:\/\/www.simoahava.com\/images\/2018\/05\/granularity.jpg#ZgotmplZ\")
<\/p>\n1.1. Hit Timestamp<\/h3>\n
2018-05-29T15:04:51.361+03:00<\/code> (year-month-dayThour:minutes:seconds.milliseconds timezone_offset). Since it\u2019s hit<\/strong> timestamp, it\u2019s important that you add this Custom Dimensions to every single Google Analytics tag that fires on your site. Easiest way to do it is to add it to a Google Analytics Settings variable<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n
new Date().getTime()<\/code>) instead of a preformatted date\/time string as below. That way it\u2019s easier to apply normalizations and transformations to the value when passed to a data warehouse, for example. But the preformatted option is better if you\u2019re just interested in viewing the data in Google Analytics.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\nfunction<\/span>() {\n \/\/ Get local time as ISO string with offset at the end\n<\/span> var<\/span> now = new<\/span> Date<\/span>();\n var<\/span> tzo = -now.getTimezoneOffset();\n var<\/span> dif = tzo >= 0<\/span> ? '+'<\/span> : '-'<\/span>;\n var<\/span> pad = function<\/span>(num, ms) {\n var<\/span> norm = Math<\/span>.floor(Math<\/span>.abs(num));\n if<\/span> (ms) return<\/span> (norm 10 ? '00'<\/span> : norm 100 ? '0'<\/span> : ''<\/span>) + norm;\n return<\/span> (norm 10 ? '0'<\/span> : ''<\/span>) + norm;\n };\n return<\/span> now.getFullYear() \n + '-'<\/span> + pad(now.getMonth()+1<\/span>)\n + '-'<\/span> + pad(now.getDate())\n + 'T'<\/span> + pad(now.getHours())\n + ':'<\/span> + pad(now.getMinutes()) \n + ':'<\/span> + pad(now.getSeconds())\n + '.'<\/span> + pad(now.getMilliseconds(), true<\/span>)\n + dif + pad(tzo \/ 60<\/span>) \n + ':'<\/span> + pad(tzo % 60<\/span>);\n}\n<\/code><\/pre>\n<\/div>\n![\"Hit](\"https:\/\/www.simoahava.com\/images\/2018\/05\/hit-timestamp.jpg#ZgotmplZ\")
<\/p>\n1.2. Session ID<\/h3>\n
function<\/span> () { \/\/ Public Domain\/MIT\n<\/span> var<\/span> d = new<\/span> Date<\/span>().getTime();\n if<\/span> (typeof<\/span> performance !== 'undefined'<\/span> && typeof<\/span> performance.now === 'function'<\/span>){\n d += performance.now(); \/\/use high-precision timer if available\n<\/span> }\n return<\/span> 'xxxxxxxx-xxxx-4xxx-yxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx'<\/span>.replace(\/[xy]\/g<\/span>, function<\/span> (c) {\n var<\/span> r = (d + Math<\/span>.random() * 16<\/span>) % 16<\/span> | 0<\/span>;\n d = Math<\/span>.floor(d \/ 16<\/span>);\n return<\/span> (c === 'x'<\/span> ? r : (r & 0x3<\/span> | 0x8<\/span>)).toString(16<\/span>);\n });\n}\n<\/code><\/pre>\n<\/div>\n![\"Session](\"https:\/\/www.simoahava.com\/images\/2018\/05\/random-guid.jpg#ZgotmplZ\")
<\/p>\n1.3. Client ID<\/h3>\n
customTask<\/code> (guide here<\/a>), so you do not add it to tags using the Custom Dimensions<\/strong> settings. Instead, you add it to Fields to set<\/strong> -> customTask<\/code> (see screenshot below). Be sure to read my guide on customTask<\/code><\/a> to understand how this mechanism works.<\/p>\nfunction<\/span>() {\n var<\/span> clientIdIndex = 3<\/span>; \/\/ Change this number to the actual Custom Dimension index number\n<\/span> return<\/span> function<\/span>(model) {\n model.set('dimension'<\/span> + clientIdIndex, model.get('clientId'<\/span>));\n };\n}\n<\/code><\/pre>\n<\/div>\n![\"customTask](\"https:\/\/www.simoahava.com\/images\/2018\/05\/customtask-client-id.jpg#ZgotmplZ\")
<\/p>\n1.4. User ID<\/h3>\n
dataLayer<\/code> using an identifier attached to the user in your CRM or some other server-side user registry.<\/p>\ndataLayer<\/code> when the page is loaded. But you could just as well have your web server write the User ID in some other global variable, or even in a browser cookie.<\/p>\nuserId<\/code><\/p>\n![\"User](\"https:\/\/www.simoahava.com\/images\/2018\/05\/user-id.jpg#ZgotmplZ\")
<\/p>\n2. Good all-around Custom Dimensions<\/h2>\n
![\"Useful](\"https:\/\/www.simoahava.com\/images\/2018\/05\/useful-dimensions.jpg#ZgotmplZ\")
<\/p>\n2.1. Hit Type<\/h3>\n
event<\/code> for Events, pageview<\/code> for Pageviews, timing<\/code> for Timing hits, etc. You can use this to build segments (e.g. sessions where the first hit was an event), or to add more granularity to path analysis.<\/p>\ncustomTask<\/code>. Be sure to read my guide on customTask<\/code><\/a> to understand how this mechanism works.<\/p>\nfunction<\/span>() {\n var<\/span> hitTypeIndex = 5<\/span>; \/\/ Change this number to the actual Custom Dimension index number\n<\/span> return<\/span> function<\/span>(model) {\n model.set('dimension'<\/span> + hitTypeIndex, model.get('hitType'<\/span>));\n };\n}\n<\/code><\/pre>\n<\/div>\n![\"hit](\"https:\/\/www.simoahava.com\/images\/2018\/05\/customtask-hit-type.jpg#ZgotmplZ\")
<\/p>\n2.2. Full Referrer<\/h3>\n
document.referrer<\/code> added as a hit-scoped Custom Dimension to every single Google Analytics tag in your container. This will let you analyze what the previous page<\/strong> of any given hit was. This makes a lot of sense for pageview tracking, and it makes a lot of sense for hits that start sessions, since you can now analyze the referral information for sessions that came via some other source than a referral hit.<\/p>\ndocument.referrer<\/code><\/p>\n![\"document](\"https:\/\/www.simoahava.com\/images\/2018\/05\/document-referrer.jpg#ZgotmplZ\")
<\/p>\n2.3. Payload Length<\/h3>\n
customTask<\/code>. Be sure to read my guide on customTask<\/code><\/a> to understand how this mechanism works.<\/p>\n