George Sly
By: George Sly- Bayshore Solutions’ Programmer
One of the many aspects of developing a modern website is implementing tracking using Google Analytics (GA). As a developer I work closely with our Internet marketing team to ensure that our customer’s websites properly allow them to track users and deliver accurate, measurable results. In order to make sure Google Analytics tracking is set up properly, I use a very helpful Chrome extension call Google Analytics Debugger.
What makes this extension so helpful is that it allows me as a developer to see the tracking beacons (the information that websites send to Google Analytics) for any item that we want to track. On a regular basis, I add Analytics code to sites for tracking things like page views, external links, and downloads. Instead of having to wait a day or so to see if I am tracking these items in Analytics I can use GA Debugger to watch my tracking beacons get sent in real time. As soon as the tracking code is in place I can open up the console with GA Debugger and know that our Internet marketers will be receiving all the information they need.
This extension is free and developed by Google, so it is also trustworthy and secure. If you have the Chrome web browser installed, you can start using GA Debugger in a few minutes.
All you need to do is:
Open up your Chrome settings,
Select extensions from the options on the left. Follow the link to get more extensions,
Search for GA Debugger, select it and click the ‘Add to Chrome’ button.
The extension will download and once it is installed all you have to do is turn it on by clicking the GA Debugger icon that will appear to the right of the URL bar.
To view tracking beacons, open up the console by hitting F12 on your keyboard and select the console tab. You might have to refresh but as soon as the Analytics code activates you should see the information that is being sent to Analytics.
GA Debugger is just one of the many tools I use every day at Bayshore Solutions to ensure that I am delivering quality solutions to our clients and provide accurate Web Analytics to inform better Internet marketing strategies. This simple but powerful extension is a very interesting and interactive way to see how websites are tracked – and beyond that, it is a great quality assurance tool.
George Sly is a Programmer at Bayshore Solutions—a Tampa Web Design, Web Development, and Internet Marketing Company.