topic Difficult Google Analytics stats analysis due to multiple URLs for each page. in Archive

Difficult Google Analytics stats analysis due to multiple URLs for each page.

stuseo — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 12:49:47 GMT

Hi guys,

I assist on the SEO for www.animalmagicpetsupplies.co.uk. Despite being extremely competetive and constistantly achieving 2500 hits each month, we're concerned that ePages may be restricting the number of orders received due to basic limitations of the software.

My initial concerns were that during the purchase process the domain changes to www.btowstore.com. I know this is necessary due to SSL certificate limitations, however this will put a lot of people off. We've also had reports of visitors finding the site to be unavailable or not load, and just recently we've found that links keep repointing themselves to btowstore.com - I'm not talking about when you navigate to the registration/checkout pages, rather all of teh links on the homepage recently changed and pointed to a btowstore.com login page every time you accessed the site via the correct domain.

To try and investigate, I installed Google Analytics, however I've since discovered:

There isn't just one complicated URL and one short (canonical) URL, there's about 6 or 7 URLs for every page depending on your route through the site. Which means that it's impossible to see peoples routes through the site or clearly see the most accessed pages because of all the random URLs each page is accessed by;
When the shopping basket is loaded, it's called in with scripting which means it has no static URL. So Google Analytics can't see when people go to their shopping basket.

I'm finding it very difficult to analyse what's going wrong, and the eTracker stats are so basic they're next to useless. We even tried contacting eTracker regarding an upgrade to the paid services (or at least a demo) but they never responded.

How does everyone else here find their orders? Is there anything anyone could recommend for the site? How easy do you find it to analyse the data in Google Analytics for your ePages shop?

Currently, despite excellent rankings and high traffic, with limited orders I firmly believe there's an issue with the checkout process and if I can't solve this I'll be recommending they change supplier. I've tried contacting BT and ePages but was told by BT that "that e-commerce is not supported" in EShops (says it all!). I was then told to contact sales. No thanks!

I'd really appreciate some comments or feedback.

Regards,

Stuart Clark.

Re: Difficult Google Analytics stats analysis due to multiple URLs for each page.

mattspchelp — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 18:01:34 GMT

No Offence to Bt but as a Support Technician i would use a shopping cart like http://www.brightpearl.co.uk/ they are the fastest growing shopping cart system in the passed year, very very quick at setup and support, also no restrictions really.

PS: i receive "Domain www.animalmagicpetsupplies.co.uk. not found" when attempting to visit your site

Re: Difficult Google Analytics stats analysis due to multiple URLs for each page.

stuseo — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 11:48:17 GMT

Thanks Matt, I'll take a look at that 🙂 I've started window-shopping other CMS' due to the problems we've come across with ePages, but trying to find a very cheap provider that's able to help with the transfer and import of the site may well prove problematic. We're also looking at Magento and Actinic.co.uk.

I know it's a bit early for too many responses but the responses I get back from the forum will pretty much shape my recommendations now, especially as BT have refused any form of support when I've attempted to contact them. They insisted the domain couldn't even be used as an email address and again told us to contact sales... So far any attempt to contact them has just resulted in me being told to call their sales line. Really not impressed.

> PS: i receive "Domain www.animalmagicpetsupplies.co.uk. not found" when attempting to visit your site

Thanks for the heads up! For some reason a '.' has crept in at the end of the link, it should be plain www.animalmagicpetsupplies.co.uk

Re: Difficult Google Analytics stats analysis due to multiple URLs for each page.

ESHOPISNTEASY — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 12:59:21 GMT

We are having the same issue with the mutiple URLs also tried and tried to get through to support. Someone once emailed me back asking for more details, I replied straight away but they have never come back - even after resending the email 5 times! we are also looking elsewhere.

Re: Difficult Google Analytics stats analysis due to multiple URLs for each page.

Fiona — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 16:02:01 GMT

Hi We asked the EPages team to have a look at this, they have said that you are using your own google analytics snippet. If you used the one provided by ePages you would have the ability to track GoogleAnalytics goals, like the basket or completion of an order. Kind Regards Fiona BT Business Forum Moderator

Re: Difficult Google Analytics stats analysis due to multiple URLs for each page.

CherryHintonBlu — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 18:43:08 GMT

Thanks for that Fiona, I think a number of people are struggling with this one.

Are there any instructions please on how to use the Google Analytics snippet provided by ePages? Just a pointer in the right direction would be helpful.

Re: Difficult Google Analytics stats analysis due to multiple URLs for each page.

stuseo — Mon, 23 May 2011 14:01:13 GMT

Hi there,

Thanks for contacting ePages, however I've not come across any references to them supplying a Google Analytics snippet, I use the Google Analytics snippet provided by Google. Where exactly are we meant to be able to obtain this?

I'm sorry but I really feel the ePages system is appalling. Everytime my client make a change to their homepage, epages places links pointing to the CMS logging page, the analytics don't work and they aren't fixing anything.

Re: Difficult Google Analytics stats analysis due to multiple URLs for each page.

stuseo — Mon, 23 May 2011 15:20:52 GMT

I've logged in, looked through every single setting screen and searched the help pages. There's no Google Analytics code that they give out - or can you tell me where to find it if there is?

Screenshot below to prove my point about there being no information, despite what they told you BT.

Re: Difficult Google Analytics stats analysis due to multiple URLs for each page.

stuseo — Mon, 23 May 2011 15:22:39 GMT

Ah - I may have found it: Marketing > Google Analytics - I'll give that a try and let you know how I get on...

Re: Difficult Google Analytics stats analysis due to multiple URLs for each page.

graemewilliams — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 08:23:54 GMT

Google Analytics was integrated into the BT version of ePages with the recent software upgrade earlier this month. This makes it easier to implement and should improve the quality of statistical info. I've posted a tutorial on my blog which should help (http://epagesdesign.wordpress.com/2011/05/24/google-analytics-ecommerce-and-goals/.)

Google Analytics aside, from what I can see the problems with your lack of orders may not be anything to do with the software you are using, or difficulty with interpreting GA stats. I think your problems are with the presentation and content of your website. The navigation is confusing, you have empty categories, the site is formatted all wrong (it seems too wide for the template you are using), your T&Cs and Privacy pages are empty, etc, etc. There is quite a lot of room for improvement and the lack of a published T&Cs will not do much to gain customer trust.

I think your website is using the Media Portal (Blue) template. My own website (www.rikkismusic.com) actually started out life using the exact same template. However, I've only made a few simple tweaks but I think it is clear to see what can be achieved. I'm willing to help you improve this if needed.

Re: Difficult Google Analytics stats analysis due to multiple URLs for each page.

stuseo — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 13:33:30 GMT

Thanks Graeme, your feedback is very helpful and gratefully received! I do believe there are problems with the look and the site, something I'm talking to the client about and I've advised them regarding the terms and conditions - unfortunately they're still looking at this but I hope to receive some news back soon.

Fantastic news about better integration of ePages and Google Analytics! I followed your instructions last week (sorry for not posting back, things were a little busy at the time) and already the Google Analytics data looks a little better - I'll be looking more closely over the next few weeks when GA has had time to collect more data.

www.rikkismusic.com looks fantastic and I'm inspired by the fact it's ePages driven! In fact I'm extremely impressed by the look and feel you've managed to put together. I'm hoping that I'll be able to work with Animal Magic to change the look of their site as well.

Re: Difficult Google Analytics stats analysis due to multiple URLs for each page.

graemewilliams — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 21:00:27 GMT

hi stuseo

I was little bit worried about the comments in my earlier post. I thought you might see them too critical. I'm glad you saw them for what they were, i.e. constructive criticism.

Regarding ePages, I don't have any experience with other eCommerce solutions, but I think it is an excellent platform for small businesses. It's easy to knock up a decent looking website and the check out process is robust (a major consideration).

Thanks for your comments about my site. I'm quite proud of it but I'm always looking to develop it further. If you want some real inspiration for what can be achieved then take a look at this site:

http://www.endlessbeauty.fr/

I was stunned when I first saw this. I couldn't believe it was ePages so I contacted the site owner. He assured me it is built using the standard ePages solution that you and I are both using with BT (albeit with some advanced HTML/CSS coding).

Re: Difficult Google Analytics stats analysis due to multiple URLs for each page.

bonzaman — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 21:02:51 GMT

Hi,

Yes, I have seen this site before after reading posts on epages forum and was impressed with the center menu which I would like to emulate. Not sure if this is custom created or from a preset template? The Endless Beauty website is running on epages 6.10.1 while BT eShop customers are running on a newer version 6.11.1 so should have access to all features this site is using. If anyone finds out how the menu was created then please post on this thread! (o:

Thanks

KMC

http://www.thekitchensite.co.uk

Re: Difficult Google Analytics stats analysis due to multiple URLs for each page.

bonzaman — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 21:31:53 GMT

Found out that the nice menu located on the homepage of http://www.endlessbeauty.fr/ was created using a JQuery Mega Menu technique.

Some examples here to inspire you...

http://www.kreativegarden.com/2010/05/21/jquery-mega-drop-down-menus-small-roundup/

Thanks

http://www.thekitchensite.co.uk