Advanced segments allow a good Google Analytics user become a Great analytics user – for that matter, a great internet marketer.

I manage PPC campaigns for clients over at this internet marketing company and as such, build many different campaigns with different focuses.  Some are interested in leads, others sales and some understand the importance of “micro conversions” or steps in the overall sales process.  For clients who understand the value of micro conversions (visits to key pages, downloads of white-papers, views of video’s etc), setting up goals around these items is your first step.  With advanced segments, you are able to take aspects of traffic and measure its performance against these goals.

How to Create an Advanced Segment

1. First, have a plan for what element of traffic you want to analyze.  For this example, lets look to segment all “paid” traffic as my client wishes to see how his paid ads are performing in Google, Yahoo and MSN in addition to the paid banner ads.

2. To do this, pull “medium” from the dimensions drop down over into the dotted line box, the condition should be “matches exactly” and then type “cpc” into the box.

3. Click “add or statement” and repeat step 2 but type “banner” in the box where “cpc” was typed before.  NOTE: In order for this segment to result in traffic, your banner ads links need to be tagged properly using Google’s URL builder and the medium function will have needed to be tagged with “banner”

4. Be sure to name the advanced segment – “Paid Traffic” for example would make a nice title.

5. Click “test segment” to ensure your filter is working properly and results in a positive number of visitors.

6. Save the segment and return to the Google Analytics dashboard.

Above the date range, there is a drop down for Advanced Segments, select this and open up the options for Google’s pre-defined Advanced Segments, and (to the right) your new segment.  Select the option from the check box and vola! You should now see how your paid traffic performs in comparison to All traffic (or any other advanced segment you created).

Filter Name: Display Full URL

Filter Purpose: This filter comes in handy when you are tracking multiple sub domains or third party domains in one profile.  Before I continue, if you are attempting to do this, make sure you read how here and understand that you will “break” the site overlay report.  Applying this filter will show you the full URL from you main site, sub domain or third party domain.

Filter Difficulty: Easy

Instructions:

Create a test profile – always a good idea when testing with filters.

Filter Name: Display Full URL

Filter Type: Custom Filter

Advanced

Field A -> Extract A = Referral – (.*)

Field B -> Extract B = User Defined – $A1

Case Sensitive – NO

Filter Credit: Reuben Yeu – Online Marketing and SEO Consultant

Filter Purpose: To ensure URL’s and pages that can be visited/accessed using both upper case and lower case characters are reported as the same page.  For example:

www.analyticscookies.com/Google-Analytics.html

www.analtyticscookies.com/google-analytics.html

are reported as the same page.  Without this filter, Google Analtyics will report these pages as unique, when they should be the same.

Filter Difficulty: easy

Instructions: As with every filter, be sure to create a test profile so as to keep your main site data in tact.

Filter Name:Force Lowercase

Filter Type: Custom Filter, Lowercase

Filter Field: Request URI

Filter Credit: Google

1. Filter Title
2. Filter purpose
3. Filter set up difficulty (easy, medium, hard)
4. Filter set up instructions
5. A screen shot of what the filter looks like
6. A text base list of the values and fields used to enter into the Filter Information screen in Google Analytics
7. Filter credits – I will do my best to credit as many sources that I have seen publish these filters.  I ask for your forgivness in advance if I have missed a credit – please post a comment if you know of where credit should be given.

My assessment is that if you have even a basic understanding of the system and how to implement it, you will pass without issue (a 75% or higher is required to pass).

I found the test seemed to focus a lot on the relationship between Google Analytics and Google AdWords.  There were a lot of questions about linking the two systems together, the importance of doing so and what happens if you don’t turn on “auto tagging” and “apply cost data.”

If you are studying and want to know what to focus on… steer clear of the last section on custom reporting, motion reports etc – there were no questions on these sections on my test (I assume Google randomly selects questions to use in different tests).

Over the coming days and weeks I will be blogging on some analytics basics, which can trip noobs up from time to time – like what a cookie is (fitting given my blog name ).

My certificate: