Virtual Pageviews — Ways to Measure so Much More With Analytics

Using virtual page views inside Google Analytics can give you the deepest information about Web site activity that you’ve received since analytics began. Obviously, we get more improved results and ways of tracking with each passing year, but virtual page views was a change that has had as much impact as the start of analytics itself.

For some time, analytics have allowed you to create event tracking — actions within your pages that you want specific data for — but the addition of virtual pageviews and even more detailed event tracking now allows Web site owners to get granular and create data about certain actions that can be used to make design, marketing, and site architectural decisions.

Google has a great video about the difference in their newly launched Conversion University. Basically, to create a virtual pageview you have to call the following JavaScript method:

pageTracker._trackPageview(‘/The-Name-Of-Your-VIRTUAL-Page’);

Now we can track the viewing of a Flash video inside a page, an abandonment of a form and what field caused it, and a click off a link on a page (this is better than just seeing it in the exit data). You can create a virtual pageview anywhere that you can call a JavaScript method. This virtual pageview will show up everywhere in the Content reports section that a “real” pageview will.

Wherever you use CSS to create changes to a page, you can track its usage.

If you want to know if a certain action (e.g., viewing a movie on your site) leads to conversion, then you can employ virtual pageviews and funnels. Set a virtual pageview for the click to play the video, create a goal — say a sign up or any other action that calls a particular page which becomes your goal page — then simply create a funnel where the virtual pageview is the first step and is a required step, and step two is getting to the goal page. This can have all sorts of applications.

If you’re going to stay in front of the constantly changing space that is our industry, take some time and explore what Google’s Conversion University has to offer. From advanced segmentation to high-end filters, there’s a wealth of knowledge to be gained.