Using Google Analytics for Catalog Usage Statistics

Presenter: Rebekah Kilzer, OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

What is Google Analytics?
-Tracking software
-Gives Site stats & Site traffic
-FREE for sites with up to 5 million page views/month (Ohio State University had largest enrollment in the USA, and their library gets under 1million page hits/month)
-Great reports with line, bar, pie charts that can be easily emailed or exported

Why use Google Analytics?
-OPAC stats are VERY limited
-Convienant/flexible reporting
-Page or site level data
-Easy to view trends either weekly, monthly, yearly

What kind of information can I get from Google Analytics?
-Can see what search terms students are using via the URL (which contains the entire search string i.e. http://library.uri.edu/search/?searchtype=Y&searcharg=drug+addiction&searchscope=29&sortdropdown=-&SORT=DZ&extended=0&searchlimits=&searchorigarg=Yaddiction
-Can see where users are coming from when they get to your site. Are they getting to the OPAC from the library website? From Google? From a course management system? If you know where they are coming from, you can better tailor your services
-Can get browser information (are they using Firefox or IE?)
-Can get Geographic Information from country to state and even down to city. Are a lot of your users accessing catalog from off-campus? Or even Internationally?
-Utilizes site overlay to see where/what/how often links are being clicked on in a page. For example, if you are thinking of moving the request button, see how many clicks you get before you move (15clicks/day) and after (50clicks/day)

SECURITY CONCERNS:
-Subject to Google's Privacy Policy
-Google does utilize the data you have gathered stripping away all identifiable information. However, Google Analytics is really designed for for-profit companies who use it to track web advertising. Don't think that Google is really interested in its application for libraries.
-MUST POST A PRIVACY STATEMENT ON LIBRARY SITE

Other Uses
-See if access points that you open up, i.e. access point in a content management system or LibGuides, increases usage
-Can get goals and see if patrons are doing/going what you want them to
-Can see if referring sites are being used: Facebook
-Can track on/off campus access via proxy-URL string
-Can track mobile web users via browser

How to Implement
This gets technical and would involve admin access to library website and/or OPAC. It is fairly easy however and if I get some feedback on people wanting to know how to do this, I will post the instructions.