Track and stack your Hub site metrics
A bit about web analytics
If you manage an ArcGIS Hub site, you probably have questions like:
- How are people finding my Hub site?
- How is my site performing compared to my other websites?
- Where are visitors coming from?
- Are they visiting from a desktop computer or a mobile device?
- How are most users accessing my site- anonymously, as staff, community or in other capacities?
- What are the most common keywords that people use to search?
- What datasets are being downloaded?
Web analytics can provide answers and insights into these questions and help you work more efficiently.
Analytics provided by Hub
You can track usage of your Hub site by leveraging tools that provide web analytics, giving you access to valuable information about site visitors and activity. Hub currently supports Google Universal Analytics (UA), Google Analytics 4 (GA4), Siteimprove, and Adobe Analytics.
These tools provide detailed data presented in dashboards, reports, and other modes, and can assist you streamlining content and improving your site. Smart use of web analytics can help you more clearly understand visitor needs and behaviors, maintain an effective and engaging site, and make decisions that are driven by the latest metrics.
Universal Analytics is being deprecated in July 2023. Site editors can configure the new GA4 option alongside the legacy UA option on the same site to facilitate moving to GA4. Read the blog post: Google Analytics 4 in ArcGIS Hub for details.
How to set up tracking
Site owners and core team members can apply a Google Analytics 4 (GA4) measurement ID, a Siteimprove code, and Adobe Analytics tracking to a site. This information is not fed into your site's dashboard. Also, you can configure web analytics even if activity tracking has been disabled on the site.
- Open up a site in edit mode.
- Click Settings on the side panel.
- Open the Tracking and Consent section.
Note: You can remove a tracking ID, by deleting the ID and other details provided in the field(s).
4. For Google Analytics, turn on Google Analytics or Google Analytics and provide your UA Tracking ID or GA4 Measurement ID.
Note: To find your Google measurement ID, open your Google Analytics account and select Admin in the sidebar. Under Property, choose Tracking Info (UA) and select Data Streams (GA4) to view Web stream details. You can find your measurement ID at the top of the section- it starts with G.
If you want to learn more about GA 4, check out this recent Esri Community post announcing: Support for Google Analytics 4 Now Available in ArcGIS Hub.
5. For Adobe Analytics, turn on Adobe Analytics and provide your Tracking server, SSL tracking server (optional), and Report suite ID.
Hub utilizes Custom Traffic Variables, also called props (s.prop) or property variables, when sending Hub site usage data to Adobe Analytics. To properly visualize Hub site usage traffic in Adobe Analytics, you need to provide a Report Suite that is specifically configured to use the following Custom Traffic Variable data mappings:
Note: Property mappings cannot be changed or customized at this time. For assistance with configuring Report Suites or Custom Traffic Variables, please refer to Adobe's documentation: https://experienceleague.adobe.com/docs/analytics-learn/tutorials/administration/manage-report-suite....
6. For Siteimprove analytics, turn on Siteimprove and provide your Siteimprove code.
Note: Find your Siteimprove Analytics account code. Be sure to enter only the last part of the Siteimprove code (the part that corresponds to "XXXXX").
7. Choose Save.
A Consent notice is optional to notify site visitors of usage tracking. If you are using a Google Analytics Tracking ID, you may be required to provide your own usage disclaimer and privacy policy link.
In closing
Do you have questions or ideas to share with others related to Hub site metrics? Reach out to us on the ArcGIS Hub Community page. We would love to hear how you are using web analytics on your Hub sites. Now you are ready to TRACK the numbers, STACK the metrics, and BACK your decisions. Then you can PACK your site with powerful content!