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Google

  • Google Analytics Setup

    MightyMerchant supports the Google Analytics statistics package (which was previously known as Urchin) . With Google Analytics you can have access to extensive statistics about the traffic on your website. You can also track multiple domains.

    Here's what you need to do to get started:

    1. From the Google home page (http://google.com) click on Business Solutions (it's at the bottom of the page), then click Google Analytics.

    2. Click on "Access Analytics." If you already have a Google account, just enter your Google account Email and Password.

    3. If you do not have a Google account, click on the link that reads "Sign up for a new Google Account." Walk through the Google Account setup (you will use an email address and password of your choosing). You'll see a form to sign up for Analytics at the bottom of the page. Click Continue, then hit the large button "Sign Up."

    4. You'll enter your website URL and agree to some official language. After you add a domain, you will be given some code that is specific to that domain. Copy and paste this information into an email and send it to us so we can install it on your site. If we host multiple sites for you, please indicate which site the code is for.

    We recommend giving MightyMerchant access to your Analytics data so we can help you troubleshoot any issues that arise. If you prefer not to, you can skip to step 6.

    5. Click the GEAR icon. Click the USERS link. Add us as a user with the email mightymerchant@gmail.com.

    6. 24 hours after the code is added you will be able to track site statistics through your Google Analytics account. To access your account, go to http://google.com , click Sign In, then sign in, then click My Account, then Analytics.

  • Sharing Google Analytics Data

    Although it is certainly not a requirement, we encourage you to give our support staff access to your analytics data so we can help you understand the traffic patterns on your site.

    Here is what you need to do:

    1. Log into your Google Analytics account and view the profile for your website.

    2. Click the Gear icon in the top right corner.

    3. Click the Users tab.

    3. Click "+ New User"

    4. Enter mightymerchant@gmail.com for the email address and "Administrator" for the Role. Then click the Create User button.

  • Webmaster Tools Setup

    1. Go to www.google.com/webmasters/

    2. Sign in with your Google Account login info.

    3. Click to Add a Site and enter the URL. (include the "www.")

    4. Select the "Upload and HTML File" verification method.

    5. Send the file info to MightyMerchant Tech Support ( webhelp@heroweb.com )

    6. Once MightyMerchant has installed the file, click to verify your site.

  • Google Analytics Ecommerce

    Google Analytics Ecommerce Tracking is an advanced capability of Google Analytics. Using the Ecommerce tracking information will give you a wealth of information about the ecommerce activity that occurs on your site. These instructions assume that you have already signed up for Google Analytics. If not, follow the instructions on this page: Signing up for Google Analytics.

    Initial Ecommerce Tracking Setup



    1. Log into your Google Analytics Account.

    2. Click "Edit" next to your website profile.

    3. Click "Edit" in the "Main Website Profile Information" section.

    4. Click "Yes" next to "E-Commerce Website" and click "Save Changes".

    Setting Up a Session ID Filter



    MightyMerchant uses "session ids" to track a user's order as they move through your website. In order for your Google Analytics data to be more accurate, these session ids need to be filtered out of the results.

    1. Click "Analytics Settings" and on the next screen, click "Filter Manager".

    2. Click "Add Filter".

    3. Enter these settings:

    Filter name: Session

    Filter type: Custom filter

    Click the Search and Replace radio button

    Filter Field: Request URI

    Search String: /home/mm5_[0-9]+/ (replace "mm5" with your store id)

    Replace String: /home/mm5/ (once again, replace "mm5" with your store id)

    Case Sensitive: click No.

    4. Click Save Changes.

    (Optional) Giving MightyMerchant Access to Google Analytics



    We recommend giving MightyMerchant access to your Analytics data so we can help you troubleshoot any issues that arise. You do not have to do this step if you prefer not to.

    1. In the "Users wtih Access to Profile" section click "Add User".

    2. Enter mightymerchant@gmail.com for the email address and "View Reports Only" for the Access type. Then click Finish.

    Defining Funnels and Goals



    We recommend taking advantage of the Google Analytics Funnels and Goals tracking. You can set up and adjust funnels and goals at any time.

    We have included some pointers on a separate page: Funnel and Goals setup.

  • Google Analytics Funnels and Goals

    Setting Up a Session Filter

    Note: all eCommerce customers should enable this setting, even if they will not be using Funnels and Goals.
    1. Click "Analytics Settings" and on the next screen, click "Filter Manager".
    2. Click "Add Filter".
    3. Enter these settings:
    • Filter name: Session
    • Filter type: Custom filter
    • Click the Search and Replace radio button
    • Filter Field: Request URI
    • Search String: /home/mm5_[0-9]+/ (replace "mm5" with your store id)
    • Replace String: /home/mm5/ (once again, replace "mm5" with your store id)
    • Case Sensitive: click No.
    4. Click Save Changes.


    Setting Up an IP Exclusion Filter

    MightyMerchant recommends that you set up two IP Exclusion Filters to indicate the IP addresses that MightyMerchant uses. We often visit our client websites to assist with site updates, evaluation of features and troubleshooting. Because of this the tracking data generated by Google can be skewed if these IPs are not excluded from the reports.

    1. Click "Analytics Settings" and on the next screen, click "Filter Manager".
    2. Click "Add Filter".
    3. Enter these settings:
    • Filter name: MightyMerchant Office 1
    • Filter type: Exclude all traffic from an IP address
    • Enter the IP Address in the following format
      75\.150\.43\.137
    Click Finish. Repeat the process for the second filter below:
    • Filter name: MightyMerchant Office 2
    • Filter type: Exclude all traffic from an IP address
    • Enter the IP Address in the following format
      63\.224\.195\.19

    When finished check your Filter Manager. You should see something similar to the image below.

    Setting Up Your Funnels and Goals

    1. Click "Analytics Settings" and then click "Edit" next to the website profile you would like to edit.

    You have four conversion goals you can utilize for each website profile. You can customize the goals and funnels any way you wish. Typically you would track the final steps in the checkout process. Or, you might want to track the activity from a particular page on your site to determine how often users continue through from that page to place an order.

    2. Enter these settings:
    • Goal URL: (please refer to the picture below)
    • Goal Name: Thank You Page
    • Active Goal: click "On"
    3. (optional) To define a funnel, enter a series of pages leading up to the Goal url. For example:
    • Step 1: URL - smartlist_84 Name: Pricing Page
    • Step 2: URL - checkout Name: Contact Info
    4. Select 'Regular Expression Match' in the 'Additional Settings' section.

    Checking Your Funnel/Goal Statistics.

    Google Analytics data is typically updated every 24 hours. To check your Funnels and Goals:

    1. Click View Reports.
    2. Select Marketer from the View menu.
    3. Click Defined Funnel Navigation
    4. Select Executive from the View menu.
    5. Click Conversion Summary.

    Setting Up Google AdWords Conversion Tracking.

    1. Login to your Google AdWords account.
    2. From the Google AdWords account main page, select the Conversion Tracking link.
    3. Click Create a New Action.
    4. Name it, choose the type of action (Purchase, Sign up, Lead, Page View, etc), and an optional value of the action. (NOTE: This dollar figure is purely for reporting purposes and of limited value.)
    5. Describe where the action is completed. Choose either http or https as appropriate. Most purchase confirmations will be on the secure server, https.
    6. Click Save Action & Get Code.
    7. Click inside the code box and use Control A to select all. Important! Make sure you get the complete code! It should end with a tag!
    8. Go to your site's Myadmin panel, and click the settings link.
    9. Copy the code into your site's Ad Tracking HTML box at the bottom of the settings page.
    10. Click Save.
    11. Go back to the Google AdWords Conversion Tracking screen.(Refresh the page, if you are still there from before.)
    12. Under status, you should see a link to Verify Code. Click it.
    13. In the box where it asks for a URL, enter the page URL to your Order confirmation page (Thank you page).

      http://www.--yourdomain--.com/home/--storeid--/thankyou

      Replace --yourdomain-- with your domain name and --storeid-- with your storeid.

      Hit the Verify link.
    14. If everything went correctly, you will see a successful confirmation. If it fails to verify, first check to see that the complete code is in place in the Myadmin settings panel. If the code is complete and correct, and it still doesn't verify, contact your MightyMerchant support representative for troubleshooting.

  • Google Analytics URL tagging

    If you are using marketing channels to promote your website, information about where your visitors are coming from can be of immense value. By "tagging" the URLs in each channel, you can use Google Analytics to see not only where your visitors are coming from but also the specific campaign, search keyword, and ad variation within.

    UTM Tagging

    UTM tags are Analytics' built-in tool to recognize traffic sources. UTM stands for Urchin Traffic Monitor ('Urchin' is the original name of Google Analytics). To learn how to tag your URLs, use the Google Analytics URL builder or just follow the simple instructions below.

    There five tags you can use:
    1. utm_source (the location of the link, such as google, facebook, newsletter, etc),
    2. utm_medium (such as cpc, feed, banner_ad, email, etc),
    3. utm_term (the keyword the user used, if available),
    4. utm_content (this is where you can differentiate between ad variations, if desired), and
    5. utm_campaign (different search campaigns within the account).
    If you are using a URL like this, http://www.corgi-world.com/treats.htm, you could tag it as below:
     
    http://www.corgi-world.com/treats.htm?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=corgi+chews&utm_content=ad2&utm_campaign=treats
    The first tag is preceded by a question mark, and the rest by an ampersand.
    Here is another sample URL, from a different marketing source and pointing to a different page:

    http://www.corgi-world.com/leashes.htm?utm_source=shopzilla&utm_medium=shopping+feed&utm_content=promo&utm_campaign=leashes

    Because shopzilla cannot pass along the exact term the customer used, we simply omit the utm_term tag. Feel free to fill in the tags with whatever text is most helpful to you (but the tag name, i.e. utm_source, must be exactly as shown).

    Now, through Google Analtyics, you will be able to parse your traffic numbers by these different tags.

    Google AdWords Auto-Tagging

    If you are advertising with Google AdWords, there is another (and simpler), method to tracking clicks in Analytics, simply by selecting an option within your Google AdWords account.
    1. In your AdWords account, select My account > Preferences
      AdWords Account Preferences
    2. Second, find where it says "Tracking, Auto-tagging" and click Edit
      Google AdWords Auto-tagging
    3. Next, select the check-box next to "Destination URL Auto-tagging" and click Save changesDestination URL Auto-tagging
    You are done!  Now, for each keyword and ad you create in your AdWords account, Google will automatically append your URL with a tag that Analytics can read.
     
    It will not hurt to use Auto-tagging in conjunction with the UTM tagging described above.

    Learn more about tracking at Google Analytics Help Center

  • Filtering Your IP Address from Google Analytics

    1. In your web browser, go to whatismyip.com

    2. Copy your current ip address

    3. Log into your Google Analytics Account at analytics.google.com

    4. Click "Edit" in the Actions column.

    5. Scroll to the bottom to the section called "Filters Applied to Profile" and click "Add User".

    6. Name the Filter something like "Exclude Traffic From Home." Then select "Exclude all traffic from an IP Address."

    7. Paste your ip address. Put a backslash character in front of each period:

    26\.43\.123\.66

    8. Then save your changes.

  • Tracking a Google Site Map from your Google Account

    Google offers some detailed statistics related to how frequently Googlebot visits your site and what pages it is spidering. MightyMerchant has the ability to generate a site map that gets updated every day. To track your Google Site Map:

    1. Log into your Google Account.

    2. If you don't already have webmaster tools enabled in your account, go to this link:

    https://google.com/webmasters/tools/siteoverview

    3. Enter your site name in the Add entry box and click OK.

    4. Click "Verify Your Site".

    5. Choose the "Upload an HTML File" verification method.

    6. Send the url for the uploaded file (you will see it in the middle of the page) to MightyMerchant tech support.

    7. Once we install the file, click the Verify button at the bottom of the page.

  • Google Product Search

    Google Product Search is Google's comparison shopping engine. The listings show up on the Google Products page, and also within Google's main search engine results. Users can search for specific products and view prices from retailers who offer the products. Participating retailers provide Google with a "feed" file of all their products and pertinent data.
     
    On Google Products:
     
     
    On Google's main search results:

     
    Unlike most other shopping engines on the web, Google does not charge a fee when your products are clicked on. Listing the products from your site on Google Products can be a great way to increase traffic to your store and overall sales.
     
    Just as Google does with your site for regular web search, Google Product Search uses the wording and terminology in your feed file to determine how relevant your products are to each user's search query.  A well-worded feed is crucial to get good exposure from your products.

    We make it easy for MightyMerchant customers to participate in this program. For a small monthly fee, we will set up your Google Products account, format a feed file of your products, submit it to Google regularly, monitor your traffic and sales, and make ongoing optimizations to your feed's wording to help your products get the best exposure possible. We will send you a monthly progress report of your traffic and sales from your Google Products feed. Contact us to request a Google Products feed.

    If you would like to do the setup and optimization of the feed yourself, you can still request an easy feed export of your site products for a smaller monthly fee. Simply contact us to request the feed, then you can proceed to set up your Google Products account. We will contact you when your feed is ready and you can schedule your Google Products feed.

    Questions?  Let us know!

    More information on Google Products

  • Setting Up a Google Products Account

    1.If you do not yet have a Google Products account, visit www.google.com/merchants to create one. If you use any other Google services such as Gmail or Analytics, you can log into Google Products with the same username and password.
     
    2. If you see this,
     
    then click the "General Settings" link to verify your Site URL.
    A. Once you are in your General Settings page, click Verify this URL
     
    B. If you have a Google Analytics account and are logged into Google Products with the same username and password, chose the "Link to your Google Analytics account" option.
    If you do not, or this option does not work, click "Upload a HTML file to your server".  Download the file and send it to MightyMerchant Tech Support ( webhelp@heroweb.com ) and wait for us to install the file.
     
    C. Click "Claim this URL" and you are ready to upload your data feed.

    Continue on to learn How to Schedule Your Google Product Feed

  • How To Schedule Your Google Product Feed

    If you have arranged for an automated Google Products feed export from your MightyMerchant store, the below steps will let you upload your file to Google.
     
     
    2. Log into your MightyMerchant site manager (go to www.--your-domain--/myadmin.php). Click 'catalog > data feeds' or 'site content > data feeds' (depending on your site manager version). You'll be able to access your new feed, see the feed name and copy the url to the feed.
     
    3. Sign in to your Google Products account and click the link to go to the "Google Merchant Center". You'll see a screen similar to this.


    4. Click the "Data Feeds" link.
     

    5. Click the "New Data Feed" button.
     


    6. Enter the name of the file that is listed in your site manager and click "Save Changes".
     


    You'll see your new feed listed.

    7. Feeds can be uploaded either manually or at scheduled intervals. To manually upload your feed, first download it from the site manager and save to your hard drive. Then click the "Manual Upload" link, locate the file and click "upload".
     
    8. To schedule your feed, click the "Create" link.
     


    9. Copy and paste the link that is provided in your site manager into the "Url of file" box. Choose your schedule (we recommend weekly) and click 'Schedule'. Your feed will be automatically generated and updated.

    If you have more than one feed listed in your site manager, repeat steps 4 - 9 for each feed (most customers will have only one).

    For more support on using Google Merchant Center, click here.

  • Verifying Your Google Product Feed

    In September 2011 Google made some significant changes to their data feed requirements. MightyMerchant has made the appropriate updates to our feed templates, but if you manage your feed yourself it is important that you log-in to your Google Products account to be certain that your feed is running properly. MightyMerchant customers using our Managed Feed Service need take no action. Here is the break-down of our Managed Feed Service vs Automated Feed Service.

    We recommend you check on your Google feed regularly. Going through these steps every month will help you stay on top of any feed import or data quality issues that may crop up. 

    Any or all of the following tasks can help you verify that your products are displaying properly in Google Products:

    1. If you are not receiving status emails from Google each time your feed is imported (daily, weekly, or monthly, depending on what you set), than you need to specify a technical contact email with Google.  Log-in to the Google Products Merchant Center and input a contact email address under "Settings > General". These emails will tell you if all of your products were successfully uploaded, but there are other potential errors that can arise that will not be reflected in these status report emails.

    2. Visit Google Products and search for the following: site:mywebsite.com (with your site name instead of mywebsite).



      If your products do not display, then something has gone wrong with the latest data import. If some of your products do show up, continue with the checklist below to make sure you don't have any errors or warnings that are preventing a full import.

    3. Log-in to your Google merchant center, click "Data Feeds", then click on the link under "Status". This will list any errors or warnings that may exist.  Errors are problems with a feed item that means that product is unable to be shown on Google Products; it must be resolved before that item can be imported. Warnings are non-critical issues, such as items missing suggested data elements. Items with warnings will still show up in search, but may be improved with the addition of more data for the item.

      If you need help fixing errors or warnings with your datafeed, contact HEROweb and we can work with you to address the issues. To expedite matters, please copy and paste the text of the errors/warnings listed in the Google Merchant Center.

    4. Keep in mind that Google has different feed requirements for different categories. For example, items in the "Apparel" category must have Gender, Age Range, Size and Color specified in the feed.  Visit Google's Attribute Requirement Summary page for full details of what is required for your products.

    5. When your feed is importing correctly and with no errors or warnings, your next step is to work on enhancing your listings for best possible placement. Visit Google Products again and search for some of your items by name. If they do not show up near the top of the page, you can do some SEO (Search Engine Optimization) work yourself to help your products move up in the ranks.

      Visit our Do-It-Yourself SEO page for tips on increasing your products' placements both in Google regular search and in Google Products.  SEO is a long-term process that you should continually be working on to help your products be optimized as much as possible for the terms your target-audience are searching for on Google.

  • Fixing Google Base Feed Errors

    Google has recently made changes to the product data requirements for Google Base and you may have started receiving notifications of errors in your Google Base Feed.

    You will receive these messages even if only one item has an error. Most of the time the errors will be related to missing product information, like product number or description. Items with errors will not be uploaded to Google Base.

    Here's what you need do:

    1. Click the link in the email you receive from Google. The link will look something like this:

    For more details on the status of your data feed, go to
    base.google.com/base/showfeed?fid=123456

    This page will show you which lines in the data have information that is missing.

    2. To view the data in your Google Base Feed file, log into your Site Manager, go to "settings" > Google Base Feed and click to submit the feed.

    You can then right-click to download the file to your computer, then open it in a spreadsheet program such at Excel.

    Check the spreadsheet lines that were in the error report in step 1, then update those products with the missing information.

    Note: If you have a large amount of products and are unable to do the manual feed in step 2, let us know and we will provide an alternate link.

  • Setting Up Google Adword Tracking

    To add Google Adword Tracking to your Website:

    1. Log into your Google Adwords Account.

    2. Under Campaign Management, click "Conversion Tracking".

    3. Click "Create a new action".

    Use the following settings:

    Enter "Sales Conversion" for the name.

    Select "Purchase/Sale" for the type of action.

    You can keep the action value amount blank.

    Keep the Language as US

    Set the conversion page security level to "https"

    You can select custom tracking indicators.

    Click Save Action & Get Code.

    4. The tracking code will be displayed. Copy and Paste it to the Settings page in your Site Manager.

    Within 24 hours, Google should start tracking your conversion.

  • Upgrading Your Google Product Feed

    In April 09 HEROweb/MightyMerchant released a new method of interfacing your site with Google Base, Google's product feed and shopping engine. The new method allows you to schedule the frequency of your feed uploads.

    To switch to the new method:

    1. Log into your Site Manager and click "Settings" and then "Google Base"

    2. Delete all the setting information and then click "Upload Product Data"

    These steps will prevent MightyMerchant from sending the old feed file each week.

    Now go to Google and log into your Google Base account.

    3. Click your site's Settings tab and then "FTP account".

    4. Delete the login information and click "Save Changes".

    5. Click the "Items" tab. Then click "Data feeds".

    6. Click "New Data Feed".

    7. Enter the Country, the type of products (usually Products) and the file name.

    8. Set the name of your data feed as supplied by HEROweb/MightyMerchant technical support. The feed will be an "Xml" file.

    9. Click "Register data feed"

    Feeds can be uploaded either manually or at scheduled intervals:

    10. If you choose to do a manual upload, click "upload file" right next to "Manual". Make sure that you select the same file that you registered under.

    If you would like to set a scheduled upload of the feed, you have the option to set the scheduled time to as often as you would like:

    1. First, click "create" which is right next to "Schedule".

    2. In the pop-up box, select the frequency, day and time you want the feed to be downloaded. Then set your timezone.

    3. Next, type in the url of the feed.

    4. Click "Schedule".

    You will now see the last upload date and status of your data feed.
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