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GoogleServices/Sources/doku/11_gaTrackingCustomVariables.html
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<!DOCTYPE HTML>
<html><head>
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<title>Custom Variables - Google Analytics - Google Code</title>
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var _tocPath_ = '/html/apis/analytics/_toc.ezt';
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<link href="11_gaTrackingCustomVariables-Dateien/codesite.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet">
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<link rel="search" type="application/opensearchdescription+xml" title="Google Code" href="http://code.google.com/osd.xml">
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<script src="11_gaTrackingCustomVariables-Dateien/ga.js" async="" type="text/javascript"></script></head><body class="gc-documentation">
<div id="gb">
<span>
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</span>
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<div class="gbh" style="left: 0px;"></div>
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<a id="top"></a>
<div id="skipto">
<a href="#gc-pagecontent">Skip to page content</a>
<a href="#gc-toc">Skip to main navigation</a>
</div>
<div id="gc-header">
<div id="logo"><a href="http://code.google.com/">
<img src="11_gaTrackingCustomVariables-Dateien/code_logo.gif" alt="Google Code" style="border: 0pt none; margin: 3px 0pt 0pt;" height="40" width="167">
</a></div>
<div id="search">
<div id="searchForm">
<form id="cse" action="http://www.google.com/cse" accept-charset="utf-8" onsubmit="executeGSearch(document.getElementById('gsearchInput').value); return false;">
<noscript>
<input type="hidden" name="cref" value="http://code.google.com/cse/googlecode-context.xml">
</noscript>
<div id="gsc-search-box">
<input id="gsearchInput" name="q" maxlength="2048" class="gsc-input" autocomplete="off" title="Google Code Search" style="width: 345px;" type="text">
<div id="cs-searchresults" onclick="event.cancelBubble = true;"></div>
<input title="Search" id="gsearchButton" class="gsc-search-button" name="sa" value="Search" type="submit">
<div class="greytext">e.g. "adwords" or "open source"</div>
</div>
</form>
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<div id="codesiteContent">
<a id="gc-topnav-anchor"></a>
<div id="gc-topnav"><img id="gc-star" src="11_gaTrackingCustomVariables-Dateien/star_off.gif" height="15" width="15">
<h1 class="mozilla">Google Analytics</h1>
<ul id="docs" class="gc-topnav-tabs">
<li id="home_link">
<a href="http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/" title="Google Analytics home page">Home</a>
</li>
<li id="docs_link">
<a href="http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/index.html" class="selected" title="Official Google Analytics documentation">Docs</a>
</li>
<li id="faq_link">
<a href="http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/gdata/gdataFAQ.html" title="Answers to frequently asked questions about Google Analytics">FAQ</a>
</li>
<li id="articles_link">
<a href="http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/gdata/gdataArticlesCode.html" title="Focused articles and tutorials for Google Analytics developers">Articles</a>
</li>
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<a href="http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/groups/groups.html" title="Google Analytics developer forum">Forum</a>
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<a href="http://www.google.com/analytics/tos.html" title="Google Analytics terms of service">Terms</a>
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<div class="g-unit g-first" id="gc-toc">
<link href="11_gaTrackingCustomVariables-Dateien/local_extensions.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css">
<ul class="treelist tlw-nested-only tlw-processed tlw-instance-0">
<li>
<ul>
<li style="padding-top: 0pt; padding-bottom: 0pt;">
<div class="tlw-title tlw-branch"><a href="javascript:void(0)" class="tlw-control" title="Expand Overview"><img src="11_gaTrackingCustomVariables-Dateien/cleardot.gif" alt="Expand Overview" class="tlw-control tlw-plus"></a><span class="tlw-title"><strong>Overview</strong></span></div><ul style="display: none;" id="0-sub-0">
<li><a href="http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/concepts/gaConceptsOverview.html">Functional Overview</a></li>
<li><a href="http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/concepts/gaConceptsAccounts.html">Accounts &amp; Profiles</a></li>
<li><a href="http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/concepts/gaConceptsCookies.html">Cookies</a></li>
<li><a href="http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/concepts/gaConceptsDomains.html">Domains &amp; Directories</a></li>
<li><a href="http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/concepts/gaConceptsSampling.html">Sampling</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="dottedLine"></div>
<div class="sectionTitle"><span class="sectionFont">Tracking Code</span></div>
<ul class="treelist tlw-nested-only tlw-processed tlw-instance-1" style="margin-top: -15px;">
<li>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/tracking/home.html">Home</a></li>
<li style="padding-top: 0pt; padding-bottom: 0pt;">
<div class="tlw-title tlw-branch"><a href="javascript:void(0)" class="tlw-control" title="Collapse Getting Started"><img src="11_gaTrackingCustomVariables-Dateien/cleardot.gif" alt="Collapse Getting Started" class="tlw-control tlw-minus"></a><a href="http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/tracking/asyncTracking.html">Getting Started</a></div><ul style="display: block;" id="1-sub-0">
<li><a href="http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/tracking/asyncUsageGuide.html">Async Usage</a></li>
<li><a href="http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/tracking/asyncMigrationExamples.html">Async Migration</a></li>
<li><a href="http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/tracking/gaTrackingEcommerce.html">Ecommerce Tracking</a></li>
<li style="padding-top: 0pt; padding-bottom: 0pt;">
<div class="tlw-title tlw-branch"><a href="javascript:void(0)" class="tlw-control" title="Expand Event Tracking"><img src="11_gaTrackingCustomVariables-Dateien/cleardot.gif" alt="Expand Event Tracking" class="tlw-control tlw-plus"></a><a href="http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/tracking/eventTrackerOverview.html">Event Tracking</a></div><ul style="display: none;" id="1-sub-1">
<li><a href="http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/tracking/eventTrackerGuide.html">Implementing</a></li>
<li><a href="http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/tracking/eventTrackerWrappers.html">Extending</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a href="http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/tracking/gaTrackingSite.html">Cross-Domain Tracking</a></li>
<li><a href="http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/tracking/gaTrackingTraffic.html">Traffic Sources</a></li>
<li style="padding-top: 0pt; padding-bottom: 0pt;">
<div class="tlw-title tlw-branch"><a href="javascript:void(0)" class="tlw-control" title="Collapse Visitor Configuration"><img src="11_gaTrackingCustomVariables-Dateien/cleardot.gif" alt="Collapse Visitor Configuration" class="tlw-control tlw-minus"></a><a href="http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/tracking/gaTrackingVisitors.html">Visitor Configuration</a></div><ul style="display: block;" id="1-sub-2">
<li class="selected"><a href="http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/tracking/gaTrackingCustomVariables.html">Custom Variables</a></li>
<li class="deprecated"><a href="http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/tracking/gaTrackingVisitorSegments.html">Custom Visitor Segments</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a href="http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/tracking/gaTrackingOverview.html">Traditional Snippet</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li style="padding-top: 0pt; padding-bottom: 0pt;">
<div class="tlw-title tlw-branch"><a href="javascript:void(0)" class="tlw-control" title="Expand Tracking Reference"><img src="11_gaTrackingCustomVariables-Dateien/cleardot.gif" alt="Expand Tracking Reference" class="tlw-control tlw-plus"></a><a href="http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/gaJS/gaJSApi.html">Tracking Reference</a></div><ul style="display: none;" id="1-sub-3">
<li>Global Objects
<ul>
<li><a href="http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/gaJS/gaJSApi_gat.html">_gat</a></li>
<li><a href="http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/gaJS/gaJSApi_gaq.html">_gaq</a></li>
</ul>
</li><li>Tracker Objects
<ul class="treelist tlw-processed tlw-instance-2">
<li><a href="http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/gaJS/gaJSApiBasicConfiguration.html">Basic Configuration</a></li>
<li><a href="http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/gaJS/gaJSApiCampaignTracking.html">Campaign Tracking</a></li>
<li><a href="http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/gaJS/gaJSApiDomainDirectory.html">Domains &amp; Directories</a></li>
<li><a href="http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/gaJS/gaJSApiEcommerce.html">Ecommerce</a></li>
<li><a href="http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/gaJS/gaJSApiEventTracking.html">Event Tracking</a></li>
<li><a href="http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/gaJS/gaJSApiSearchEngines.html">Search Engines and Referrers</a></li>
<li><a href="http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/gaJS/gaJSApiWebClient.html">Web Client</a></li>
<li><a href="http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/gaJS/gaJSApiUrchin.html">Urchin Server</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li style="padding-top: 0pt; padding-bottom: 0pt;">
<div class="tlw-title tlw-branch"><a href="javascript:void(0)" class="tlw-control" title="Expand Libraries"><img src="11_gaTrackingCustomVariables-Dateien/cleardot.gif" alt="Expand Libraries" class="tlw-control tlw-plus"></a><span class="tlw-title">Libraries</span></div><ul style="display: none;" id="1-sub-4">
<li><a href="http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/tracking/gadgetTracking.html">Gadgets</a></li>
<li><a href="http://code.google.com/chrome/extensions/trunk/tut_analytics.html">Chrome Extensions</a></li>
<li><a style="text-decoration: none;" href="http://code.google.com/mobile/analytics/docs/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Mobile</span><span class="new">&nbsp;&nbsp;Updated</span></a> (Labs <img src="11_gaTrackingCustomVariables-Dateien/labs-11.png" alt="in Labs" style="padding: 0pt; margin: 0pt;">)</li>
<li style="padding-top: 0pt; padding-bottom: 0pt;">
<div class="tlw-title tlw-branch"><a href="javascript:void(0)" class="tlw-control" title="Expand Flash/Flex (Labs )"><img src="11_gaTrackingCustomVariables-Dateien/cleardot.gif" alt="Expand Flash/Flex (Labs )" class="tlw-control tlw-plus"></a><span class="tlw-title"><a href="http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/tracking/flashTrackingIntro.html">Flash/Flex</a> (Labs <img src="11_gaTrackingCustomVariables-Dateien/labs-11.png" alt="in Labs" style="padding: 0pt; margin: 0pt;">)</span></div><ul style="display: none;" id="1-sub-5">
<li><a href="http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/tracking/flashTrackingSetupFlash.html">Flash Setup</a></li>
<li><a href="http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/tracking/flashTrackingSetupFlex.html">Flex Setup</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a href="http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/tracking/silverlightTrackingIntro.html">Silverlight</a> (Labs <img src="11_gaTrackingCustomVariables-Dateien/labs-11.png" alt="in Labs" style="padding: 0pt; margin: 0pt;">)</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>
<a href="http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/tracking/gaTrackingTroubleshooting.html">Troubleshooting</a>
</li>
<li><a href="http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/gaJS/changelog.html">Changelog - ga.js</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="dottedLine"></div>
<div class="sectionTitle"><span class="sectionFont">Management API <span style="letter-spacing: normal;">(Labs <img src="11_gaTrackingCustomVariables-Dateien/labs-11.png" alt="in Labs" style="padding: 0pt; margin: 0pt;">)</span></span></div>
<ul class="treelist tlw-nested-only tlw-processed tlw-instance-3" style="margin-top: -15px;">
<li>
<ul class="treelist tlw-processed tlw-instance-4">
<li><a href="http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/mgmt/home.html">Home</a>
</li><li style="padding-top: 0pt; padding-bottom: 0pt;">
<div class="tlw-title tlw-branch"><a href="javascript:void(0)" class="tlw-control" title="Expand Getting Started"><img src="11_gaTrackingCustomVariables-Dateien/cleardot.gif" alt="Expand Getting Started" class="tlw-control tlw-plus"></a><a href="http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/mgmt/mgmtDeveloperGuide.html">Getting Started</a></div><ul style="display: none;" id="3-sub-0">
<li><a href="http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/mgmt/mgmtAuthentication.html">Authorization</a></li>
<li><a href="http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/mgmt/mgmtProtocol.html">Protocol</a></li>
<li><a href="http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/mgmt/mgmtJava.html">Java</a></li>
<li><a href="http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/mgmt/mgmtJavascript.html">Javascript</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a href="http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/mgmt/mgmtFeedReference.html">Feed Reference</a></li>
<li><a href="http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/mgmt/mgmtLibraries.html">Libraries &amp; Examples</a></li>
<li><a href="http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/mgmt/changelog.html">Changelog</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="dottedLine"></div>
<div class="sectionTitle"><span class="sectionFont">Export API <span style="letter-spacing: normal;">(Labs <img src="11_gaTrackingCustomVariables-Dateien/labs-11.png" alt="in Labs" style="padding: 0pt; margin: 0pt;">)</span></span></div>
<ul class="treelist tlw-nested-only tlw-processed tlw-instance-5" style="margin-top: -15px;">
<li>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/gdata/home.html">Home</a></li>
<li style="padding-top: 0pt; padding-bottom: 0pt;">
<div class="tlw-title tlw-branch"><a href="javascript:void(0)" class="tlw-control" title="Expand Getting Started"><img src="11_gaTrackingCustomVariables-Dateien/cleardot.gif" alt="Expand Getting Started" class="tlw-control tlw-plus"></a><a href="http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/gdata/gdataDeveloperGuide.html">Getting Started</a></div><ul style="display: none;" id="5-sub-0">
<li><a href="http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/gdata/gdataAuthentication.html">Authorization</a></li>
<li><a href="http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/gdata/2.0/gdataProtocol.html">Protocol</a></li>
<li><a href="http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/gdata/2.0/gdataJava.html">Java</a></li>
<li><a href="http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/gdata/2.0/gdataJavascript.html">Javascript</a></li>
<li style="padding-top: 0pt; padding-bottom: 0pt;">
<div class="tlw-title tlw-branch"><a href="javascript:void(0)" class="tlw-control" title="Expand Version 1.0"><img src="11_gaTrackingCustomVariables-Dateien/cleardot.gif" alt="Expand Version 1.0" class="tlw-control tlw-plus"></a><span class="tlw-title">Version 1.0</span></div><ul style="display: none;" id="5-sub-1">
<li><a href="http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/gdata/1.0/gdataProtocol.html">Protocol</a></li>
<li><a href="http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/gdata/1.0/gdataJava.html">Java</a></li>
<li><a href="http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/gdata/1.0/gdataJavascript.html">Javascript</a></li>
</ul></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li style="padding-top: 0pt; padding-bottom: 0pt;">
<div class="tlw-title tlw-branch"><a href="javascript:void(0)" class="tlw-control" title="Expand Feed Reference"><img src="11_gaTrackingCustomVariables-Dateien/cleardot.gif" alt="Expand Feed Reference" class="tlw-control tlw-plus"></a><a href="http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/gdata/gdataReference.html">Feed Reference</a></div><ul style="display: none;" id="5-sub-2">
<li><a href="http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/gdata/gdataReferenceAccountFeed.html">Account Feed</a></li>
<li><a href="http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/gdata/gdataReferenceDataFeed.html">Data Feed</a></li>
<li><a href="http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/gdata/gdataCommonQueries.html">Common Queries</a>
</li><li><a href="http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/gdata/gdataExplorer.html">Query Explorer</a></li>
</ul></li>
<li><a href="http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/gdata/gdataReferenceDimensionsMetrics.html">Dimensions &amp; Metrics</a></li>
<li><a href="http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/gdata/gdataLibraries.html">Libraries &amp; Examples</a></li>
<li style="padding-top: 0pt; padding-bottom: 0pt;">
<div class="tlw-title tlw-branch"><a href="javascript:void(0)" class="tlw-control" title="Expand Changelog &amp; Issues"><img src="11_gaTrackingCustomVariables-Dateien/cleardot.gif" alt="Expand Changelog &amp; Issues" class="tlw-control tlw-plus"></a><span class="tlw-title">Changelog &amp; Issues</span></div><ul style="display: none;" id="5-sub-3">
<li><a href="http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/gdata/changelog.html">Changelog</a></li>
<li><a href="http://code.google.com/p/gdata-issues/issues/list?can=2&amp;q=label:API-Analytics&amp;colspec=API+ID+Type+Status+Priority+Stars+Summary&amp;cells=tiles">Issue Tracker</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="dottedLine"></div>
<div class="sectionTitle"><span class="sectionFont">Website Optimizer <span style="letter-spacing: normal;">(Labs <img src="11_gaTrackingCustomVariables-Dateien/labs-11.png" alt="in Labs" style="padding: 0pt; margin: 0pt;">)</span></span></div>
<ul class="treelist tlw-nested-only tlw-processed tlw-instance-6" style="margin-top: -15px;">
<li>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/gwo/index.html">Getting Started</a></li>
<li><a href="http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/gwo/commonTasks.html">Common Tasks</a></li>
<li><a href="http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/gwo/feedReference.html">Feed Reference</a></li>
<li><a href="http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/gwo/gwoFAQ.html">FAQ</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<a class="hidden" href="#gc-topnav-anchor">More Google Analytics resource links</a>
</div>
<div style="position: relative;" class="g-unit" id="gc-pagecontent">
<script type="text/javascript">CODESITE_docEarlyProcessing();</script>
<h1 class="page_title">Custom Variables</h1>
<p>Custom variables are name-value pair tags
that you can insert in your tracking code in order to refine Google Analytics
tracking. With custom variables, you can define additional segments to apply
to your visitors other than the ones already provided by Analytics. This document
describes custom variables and how you can set them up.</p>
<table class="columns">
<tbody><tr>
<td>
<ol class="toc" id="toc-list">
<li><a href="#overview">Overview</a></li>
<li><a href="#setup">Using Custom Variables</a></li>
</ol>
</td>
<td>
<ol class="toc">
<li><a href="#examples">Example Use Cases</a></li>
<li><a href="#usage">Usage Guidelines</a></li>
</ol>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<h2 id="overview">Overview</h2>
<p>
You'll get the most out of custom variables if you understand
the basic visitor interaction model used in Google Analytics. In this model,
the visitor interacts with your content over a period of time, and the engagement
with your site is broken down into a hierarchy. </p>
<p><img src="11_gaTrackingCustomVariables-Dateien/visitorSessionInteraction.png" style="padding-left: 10px;" align="right">The
diagram illustrates this model for a single visitor to your site, where each
block represents the number of user sessions and interactions from that particular
user. </p>
<p>Each level in this model is defined as follows:
</p><ul>
<li><strong>Visitor</strong>—the client that visits the site, such
as the browser or mobile phone operated by a person.</li>
<li><strong>Session</strong>—the period of time during which the visitor
is active on the site.</li>
<li><strong>Page</strong>—activity
on the user's behalf which sends a GIF request to the Analytics servers.
This is typically characterized by a pageview, but it can include:
<ul>
<li>a pageview</li>
<li>an event (e.g. click on a movie button)</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p>These three levels of interaction make up the <em>scope</em> of visitor engagement.
This is important to custom variables because each custom
variable is restricted to a particular scope.
For example, you might want to know the number of sessions where visitors removed
an item from their shopping cart. For that particular case, you would define
the custom variable to the session level, so that the entire session for that
visitor is flagged as one in which items were removed from online carts.</p>
<p class="backtotop"><a href="#top" class="backtotop">Back to Top</a>
</p><h2 id="setup">Using Custom Variables</h2>
<p>Because you can set up a variety of custom variables to track user activity
for your site, you'll most commonly create your own JavaScript
utilities to manage them. Your script will use the basic method
for creating a custom variable as follows:</p>
<p><code>_setCustomVar(index, name, value, opt_scope)</code></p>
<p>This method accepts four parameters:
</p><ul>
<li><strong>index</strong>—The slot for the custom variable. <strong>Required.</strong> This is
a number whose value can range from <code>1</code> - <code>5</code>,
inclusive. A custom variable should be placed in one slot only and not be
re-used across different slots.</li>
<li><strong>name</strong>—The name for the custom variable. <strong>Required.</strong> This is a
string that identifies the custom variable and appears in the top-level <em>Custom
Variables</em> report
of the Analytics reports.</li>
<li><strong>value</strong>—The value for the custom variable. <strong>Required.</strong> This is
a string that is paired with a name. You can pair a number of values with
a custom variable name. The value appears in the table list of the UI for
a selected variable name. Typically, you will have two or more values for
a given name. For example, you might define a custom variable name <code>gender</code> and
supply <code>male</code> and <code>female</code> as two possible values.</li>
<li><strong>opt_scope</strong>—The scope for the custom variable. <em>Optional.</em> As
described above, the scope defines the level of user engagement with your
site. It is a number whose possible values are <code>1</code> (visitor-level),
<code>2</code> (session-level), or <code>3</code> (page-level). When left
undefined, the custom variable scope defaults to page-level interaction.</li>
</ul>
<p>The following code snippet illustrates how you might set a custom variable
for tracking those visits where users
removed items from their shopping cart. Here, the <code>_setCustomVar()</code> method
is called just before a <code>_trackEvent()</code> method, so that it gets
delivered in the GIF request sent by the <code>_trackEvent()</code> method.
It uses the name <code>Items Removed</code> with the value <code>Yes</code> in
order to define that activity from the website users. In addition, it would
make sense to also set a default custom variable
for <code>Items Removed</code> and <code>No</code>. In this way, you would
have a count of visits where items were removed from shopping carts, and a
count of visits that didn't include item removal.</p>
<p><strong>Async Snippet</strong> (recommended)</p>
<pre class="prettyprint"><span class="pln">&nbsp;_gaq</span><span class="pun">.</span><span class="pln">push</span><span class="pun">([</span><span class="str">'_setCustomVar'</span><span class="pun">,</span><span class="pln"><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="lit">1</span><span class="pun">,</span><span class="pln"> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="com">// This custom var is set to slot #1. &nbsp;Required parameter.</span><span class="pln"><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="str">'Items Removed'</span><span class="pun">,</span><span class="pln"> &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="com">// The name acts as a kind of category for the user activity. &nbsp;Required parameter.</span><span class="pln"><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="str">'Yes'</span><span class="pun">,</span><span class="pln"> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="com">// This value of the custom variable. &nbsp;Required parameter.</span><span class="pln"><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="lit">2</span><span class="pln"> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;</span><span class="com">// Sets the scope to session-level. &nbsp;Optional parameter.</span><span class="pln"><br>&nbsp; &nbsp;</span><span class="pun">]);</span><span class="pln"><br>&nbsp;_gaq</span><span class="pun">.</span><span class="pln">push</span><span class="pun">([</span><span class="str">'_trackEvent'</span><span class="pun">,</span><span class="pln"><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="str">'Shopping'</span><span class="pun">,</span><span class="pln"> </span><span class="com">// category of activity</span><span class="pln"><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="str">'Item Removal'</span><span class="pun">,</span><span class="pln"> </span><span class="com">// Action</span><span class="pln"><br>&nbsp; &nbsp;</span><span class="pun">]);</span></pre>
<div class="tog-box">
<p class="tog-header"><img class="tog-img" src="11_gaTrackingCustomVariables-Dateien/plus_sm.gif"> <strong>Traditional (ga.js) Snippet</strong></p>
<div style="display: none;" class="tog-content">
<pre class="prettyprint"><span class="pln">&nbsp;pageTracker</span><span class="pun">.</span><span class="pln">_setCustomVar</span><span class="pun">(</span><span class="pln"><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="lit">1</span><span class="pun">,</span><span class="pln"> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="com">// This custom var is set to slot #1. &nbsp;Required parameter.</span><span class="pln"><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="str">"Items Removed"</span><span class="pun">,</span><span class="pln"> &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="com">// The name acts as a kind of category for the user activity. &nbsp;Required parameter.</span><span class="pln"><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="str">"Yes"</span><span class="pun">,</span><span class="pln"> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="com">// This value of the custom variable. &nbsp;Required parameter.</span><span class="pln"><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="lit">2</span><span class="pln"> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;</span><span class="com">// Sets the scope to session-level. Optional parameter.</span><span class="pln"><br>&nbsp; &nbsp;</span><span class="pun">);</span><span class="pln"> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; <br>&nbsp;pageTracker</span><span class="pun">.</span><span class="pln">_trackEvent</span><span class="pun">(</span><span class="pln"><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="str">"Shopping"</span><span class="pun">,</span><span class="pln"> </span><span class="com">// category of activity</span><span class="pln"><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="str">"Item Removal"</span><span class="pln"> </span><span class="com">// Action</span><span class="pln"><br>&nbsp; &nbsp;</span><span class="pun">);</span></pre></div>
<p>Once you have set up custom variables, you can use the
<a href="http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/gaJS/gaJSApiBasicConfiguration.html#_gat.GA_Tracker_._deleteCustomVar"><code>_deleteCustomVar(index)</code></a>
method to remove your custom variables.</p>
<p class="backtotop"><a href="#top" class="backtotop">Back to Top</a>
</p><h2 id="examples">Example Use Cases</h2>
<p>Custom variables can be implemented in many different ways, depending upon
your website model and business needs. The examples explore different use cases,
where each one illustrates a different level of scope:</p>
<ul id="use-case-list">
<li><a href="#pageLevel">Page-level Custom Variables</a></li>
<li><a href="#sessionLevel">Session-level Custom Variables</a></li>
<li><a href="#visitorLevel">Visitor-level Custom Variables</a></li>
</ul>
<h3 id="pageLevel">Page-level Custom Variables</h3>
<p>Use page-level custom variables to define a collection of page-level
activities by your users. </p>
<p>For example, suppose you manage the website for an
online newspaper, where visitors view many different articles. While it is
easy to determine which particular articles are the most popular, you can now
also use custom variables to determine which <em>sections</em> of
the newspaper are popular. This is done by setting a custom variable at the
page level for each article, where the section for that article is set as
a custom variable. For example, you might have sections such as <em>Life &amp; Style</em>, <em>Opinion</em>,
and <em>Business</em>. You could set a custom variable to track all your articles
by section.</p>
<p><strong>Async Snippet</strong> (recommended)</p>
<pre class="prettyprint"><span class="pln">_gaq</span><span class="pun">.</span><span class="pln">push</span><span class="pun">([</span><span class="str">'_setCustomVar'</span><span class="pun">,</span><span class="pln"><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="lit">1</span><span class="pun">,</span><span class="pln"> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="com">// This custom var is set to slot #1. &nbsp;Required parameter.</span><span class="pln"><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="str">'Section'</span><span class="pun">,</span><span class="pln"> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="com">// The top-level name for your online content categories. &nbsp;Required parameter.</span><span class="pln"><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="str">'Life &amp; Style'</span><span class="pun">,</span><span class="pln"> &nbsp;</span><span class="com">// Sets the value of "Section" to "Life &amp; Style" for this particular aricle. &nbsp;Required parameter.</span><span class="pln"><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="lit">3</span><span class="pln"> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;</span><span class="com">// Sets the scope to page-level. &nbsp;Optional parameter.</span><span class="pln"><br>&nbsp; &nbsp;</span><span class="pun">]);</span></pre>
<div class="tog-box">
<p class="tog-header"><img class="tog-img" src="11_gaTrackingCustomVariables-Dateien/plus_sm.gif"> <strong>Traditional (ga.js) Snippet</strong></p>
<div style="display: none;" class="tog-content">
<pre class="prettyprint"><span class="pln">pageTracker</span><span class="pun">.</span><span class="pln">_setCustomVar</span><span class="pun">(</span><span class="pln"><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="lit">1</span><span class="pun">,</span><span class="pln"> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="com">// This custom var is set to slot #1. &nbsp;Required parameter.</span><span class="pln"><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="str">"Section"</span><span class="pun">,</span><span class="pln"> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="com">// The top-level name for your online content categories. &nbsp;Required parameter.</span><span class="pln"><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="str">"Life &amp; Style"</span><span class="pun">,</span><span class="pln"> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;</span><span class="com">// Sets the value of "Section" to "Life &amp; Style" for this particular aricle. &nbsp;Required parameter.</span><span class="pln"><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="lit">3</span><span class="pln"> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;</span><span class="com">// Sets the scope to page-level. &nbsp;Optional parameter.</span><span class="pln"><br>&nbsp; &nbsp;</span><span class="pun">);</span><span class="pln"> <br>pageTracker</span><span class="pun">.</span><span class="pln">_trackPageview</span><span class="pun">();</span></pre></div>
<p>Let's continue with this example and suppose that you not only want to tag
the section for a particular article, but also the sub-section. For example,
the <em>Life &amp; Style</em> section for your newspaper might have a number
of sub-sections
as well, such as <em>Food &amp; Drink</em>, <em>Fashion</em>, and <em>Sports</em>.
So, for a particular article, you can track both the section and the sub-section.
You could set an additional custom variable to track all your articles by sub-section.</p>
<p><strong>Async Snippet</strong> (recommended)</p>
<pre class="prettyprint"><span class="pln">_gaq</span><span class="pun">.</span><span class="pln">push</span><span class="pun">([</span><span class="str">'_setCustomVar'</span><span class="pun">,</span><span class="pln"><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="lit">2</span><span class="pun">,</span><span class="pln"> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="com">// This custom var is set to slot #2. &nbsp;Required parameter.</span><span class="pln"><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="str">'Sub-Section'</span><span class="pun">,</span><span class="pln"> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="com">// The 2nd-level name for your online content categories. &nbsp;Required parameter.</span><span class="pln"><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="str">'Fashion'</span><span class="pun">,</span><span class="pln"> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="com">// Sets the value of "Sub-section" to "Fashion" for this particular article. &nbsp;Required parameter.</span><span class="pln"><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="lit">3</span><span class="pln"> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;</span><span class="com">// Sets the scope to page-level. &nbsp;Optional parameter.</span><span class="pln"><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;</span><span class="pun">]);</span></pre>
<div class="tog-box">
<p class="tog-header"><img class="tog-img" src="11_gaTrackingCustomVariables-Dateien/plus_sm.gif"> <strong>Traditional (ga.js) Snippet</strong></p>
<div style="display: none;" class="tog-content">
<pre class="prettyprint"><span class="pln">pageTracker</span><span class="pun">.</span><span class="pln">_setCustomVar</span><span class="pun">(</span><span class="pln"><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="lit">2</span><span class="pun">,</span><span class="pln"> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="com">// This custom var is set to slot #2. &nbsp;Required parameter.</span><span class="pln"><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="str">"Sub-Section"</span><span class="pun">,</span><span class="pln"> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="com">// The 2nd-level name for your online content categories. &nbsp;Required parameter.</span><span class="pln"><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="str">"Fashion"</span><span class="pun">,</span><span class="pln"> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="com">// Sets the value of "Sub-section" to "Fashion" for this particular article. &nbsp;Required parameter.</span><span class="pln"><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="lit">3</span><span class="pln"> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;</span><span class="com">// Sets the scope to page-level. &nbsp;Optional parameter.</span><span class="pln"><br>&nbsp; &nbsp;</span><span class="pun">);</span><span class="pln"> <br>pageTracker</span><span class="pun">.</span><span class="pln">_trackPageview</span><span class="pun">();</span></pre></div>
<p>In this example, you set two simultaneous page-level custom variables for
a single page. For any single page, you can track up to five custom variables,
each with a separate slot. This means that you could assign 3 additional custom
variables on this same page. For all articles on your website, you can set
up an array of page-level custom variables to track them by a variety of sections
and sub-sections. For more information on how to correctly use page-level custom
variables, see <a href="#usage">Usage
Guidelines</a> below.</p>
<p class="backtotop"><a href="#top" class="backtotop">Back to Top</a>
</p><h3 id="sessionLevel">Session-level Custom Variables</h3>
<p>Use session-level custom variables to distinguish different visitor experiences
across sessions. </p>
<p>For example, if your website offer users the ability to login, you can use
a custom variable scoped to the session level for user login status. In that
way, you can segment visits by those from logged in members versus anonymous
visitors. </p>
<p><strong>Async Snippet</strong> (recommended)</p>
<pre class="prettyprint"><span class="pln">_gaq</span><span class="pun">.</span><span class="pln">push</span><span class="pun">([</span><span class="str">'_setCustomVar'</span><span class="pun">,</span><span class="pln"><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="lit">1</span><span class="pun">,</span><span class="pln"> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="com">// This custom var is set to slot #1. &nbsp;Required parameter.</span><span class="pln"><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="str">'User Type'</span><span class="pun">,</span><span class="pln"> &nbsp; </span><span class="com">// The name of the custom variable. &nbsp;Required parameter.</span><span class="pln"><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="str">'Member'</span><span class="pun">,</span><span class="pln"> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;</span><span class="com">// Sets the value of "User Type" to "Member" or "Visitor" depending on status. &nbsp;Required parameter.</span><span class="pln"><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;</span><span class="lit">2</span><span class="pln"> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="com">// Sets the scope to session-level. &nbsp;Optional parameter.</span><span class="pln"><br>&nbsp; &nbsp;</span><span class="pun">]);</span></pre>
<div class="tog-box">
<p class="tog-header"><img class="tog-img" src="11_gaTrackingCustomVariables-Dateien/plus_sm.gif"> <strong>Traditional (ga.js) Snippet</strong></p>
<div style="display: none;" class="tog-content">
<pre class="prettyprint"><span class="pln">pageTracker</span><span class="pun">.</span><span class="pln">_setCustomVar</span><span class="pun">(</span><span class="pln"><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="lit">1</span><span class="pun">,</span><span class="pln"> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="com">// This custom var is set to slot #1. &nbsp;Required parameter.</span><span class="pln"><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="str">"User Type"</span><span class="pun">,</span><span class="pln"> &nbsp; </span><span class="com">// The name of the custom varaible. &nbsp;Required parameter.</span><span class="pln"><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="str">"Member"</span><span class="pun">,</span><span class="pln"> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;</span><span class="com">// Sets the value of "User Type" to "Member" or "Visitor" depending on status. &nbsp;Required parameter.</span><span class="pln"><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;</span><span class="lit">2</span><span class="pln"> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="com">// Sets the scope to session-level. &nbsp;Optional parameter.</span><span class="pln"><br>&nbsp; &nbsp;</span><span class="pun">);</span><span class="pln"><br>pageTracker</span><span class="pun">.</span><span class="pln">_trackPageview</span><span class="pun">();</span></pre></div>
<p>Suppose you wanted to track both the user type and whether
a purchase attempt occurred for a given session. If we assume that every page
offers the user the ability to login, we would want to reserve slot #1 for
the <em>User Type</em> custom variable and use another slot for the purchase attempt:</p>
<p><strong>Async Snippet</strong> (recommended)</p>
<pre class="prettyprint"><span class="pln">_gaq</span><span class="pun">.</span><span class="pln">push</span><span class="pun">([</span><span class="str">'_setCustomVar'</span><span class="pun">,</span><span class="pln"><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="lit">2</span><span class="pun">,</span><span class="pln"> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="com">// This custom var is set to slot #2. &nbsp;Required parameter.</span><span class="pln"><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="str">'Shopping Attempts'</span><span class="pun">,</span><span class="pln"> </span><span class="com">// The name of the custom variable. &nbsp;Required parameter.</span><span class="pln"><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="str">'Yes'</span><span class="pun">,</span><span class="pln"> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="com">// The value of the custom variable. &nbsp;Required parameter.</span><span class="pln"><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;</span><span class="com">// &nbsp;(you might set this value by default to No)</span><span class="pln"><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="lit">2</span><span class="pln"> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;</span><span class="com">// Sets the scope to session-level. &nbsp;Optional parameter.</span><span class="pln"><br>&nbsp; &nbsp;</span><span class="pun">]);</span></pre>
<div class="tog-box">
<p class="tog-header"><img class="tog-img" src="11_gaTrackingCustomVariables-Dateien/plus_sm.gif"> <strong>Traditional (ga.js) Snippet</strong></p>
<div style="display: none;" class="tog-content">
<pre class="prettyprint"><span class="pln">pageTracker</span><span class="pun">.</span><span class="pln">_setCustomVar</span><span class="pun">(</span><span class="pln"><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="lit">2</span><span class="pun">,</span><span class="pln"> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="com">// This custom var is set to slot #2. &nbsp;Required parameter.</span><span class="pln"><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="str">"Shopping Attempts"</span><span class="pun">,</span><span class="pln"> </span><span class="com">// The name of the custom variable. &nbsp;Required parameter.</span><span class="pln"><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="str">"Yes"</span><span class="pun">,</span><span class="pln"> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="com">// The value of the custom variable. &nbsp;Required parameter.</span><span class="pln"><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;</span><span class="com">// &nbsp;(you might set this value by default to No)</span><span class="pln"><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="lit">2</span><span class="pln"> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;</span><span class="com">// Sets the scope to session-level. &nbsp;Optional parameter.</span><span class="pln"><br>&nbsp; &nbsp;</span><span class="pun">);</span><span class="pln"><br>pageTracker</span><span class="pun">.</span><span class="pln">_trackPageview</span><span class="pun">();</span></pre></div>
<p class="backtotop"><a href="#top" class="backtotop">Back to Top</a>
</p><h3 id="visitorLevel">Visitor-level Custom Variables</h3>
<p>Use visitor-level custom variables to distinguish categories of visitors across
multiple sessions.</p>
<p>For example, if your websites offers premium content to paying subscribers,
you can set a visit-level custom variable to analyze which users are paying
members, at which level of payment, and which users are using the free level
of service for the site. You would likely set this custom variable as a one-time
function, since the value would persist across the life of the visitor cookie.</p>
<p><strong>Async Snippet</strong> (recommended)</p>
<pre class="prettyprint"><span class="pln">_gaq</span><span class="pun">.</span><span class="pln">push</span><span class="pun">([</span><span class="str">'_setCustomVar'</span><span class="pun">,</span><span class="pln"><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="lit">1</span><span class="pun">,</span><span class="pln"> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;</span><span class="com">// This custom var is set to slot #1. &nbsp;Required parameter.</span><span class="pln"><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="str">'Member Type'</span><span class="pun">,</span><span class="pln"> &nbsp; &nbsp;</span><span class="com">// The name of the custom variable. &nbsp;Required parameter.</span><span class="pln"><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="str">'Premium'</span><span class="pun">,</span><span class="pln"> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;</span><span class="com">// The value of the custom variable. &nbsp;Required parameter.</span><span class="pln"><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="com">// &nbsp;(possible values might be Free, Bronze, Gold, and Platinum)</span><span class="pln"><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="lit">1</span><span class="pln"> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="com">// Sets the scope to visitor-level. &nbsp;Optional parameter.</span><span class="pln"><br>&nbsp;</span><span class="pun">]);</span><span class="pln"> </span></pre>
<div class="tog-box">
<p class="tog-header"><img class="tog-img" src="11_gaTrackingCustomVariables-Dateien/plus_sm.gif"> <strong>Traditional (ga.js) Snippet</strong></p>
<div style="display: none;" class="tog-content">
<pre class="prettyprint"><span class="pln">pageTracker</span><span class="pun">.</span><span class="pln">_setCustomVar</span><span class="pun">(</span><span class="pln"><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="lit">1</span><span class="pun">,</span><span class="pln"> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;</span><span class="com">// This custom var is set to slot #1. &nbsp;Required parameter.</span><span class="pln"><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="str">"Member Type"</span><span class="pun">,</span><span class="pln"> &nbsp; &nbsp;</span><span class="com">// The name of the custom variable. &nbsp;Required parameter.</span><span class="pln"><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="str">"Premium"</span><span class="pun">,</span><span class="pln"> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;</span><span class="com">// The value of the custom variable. &nbsp;Required parameter.</span><span class="pln"><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="com">// &nbsp;(possible values might be Free, Bronze, Gold, and Platinum)</span><span class="pln"><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="lit">1</span><span class="pln"> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </span><span class="com">// Sets the scope to visitor-level. &nbsp;Optional parameter.</span><span class="pln"><br>&nbsp;</span><span class="pun">);</span><span class="pln"><br>pageTracker</span><span class="pun">.</span><span class="pln">_trackPageview</span><span class="pun">();</span><span class="pln"> </span></pre></div>
<h2 id="usage">Usage Guidelines</h2>
<p>This section describes the differences between the different types of custom
variables and how to use them correctly:</p>
<ul id="usage-list">
<li><a href="#varTypes">Custom Variable Types</a></li>
<li><a href="#mixedTypes">Mixing Variable Types</a></li>
<li><a href="#recommended">Recommended Practices</a></li>
</ul>
<h3 id="varTypes">Custom Variable Types</h3>
<p>All custom variable types can be defined for a combined length of:</p>
<blockquote>
<p><strong>64 bytes inclusive of the name and the value</strong></p>
</blockquote>
<p>This means that the length of the string used for the <code>name</code> and the length
of the string used for the <code>value</code> must not exceed 64 bytes.</p>
<p>The table
below defines the key characteristics
of the
different
variable types. Bear in mind that there are certain restrictions <strong>when
the same slots are used by different variables</strong>. </p>
<p class="backtotop"><a href="#top" class="backtotop">Back to Top</a>
</p><table border="0" width="100%">
<tbody><tr>
<th scope="col">&nbsp;</th>
<th scope="col">Duration</th>
<th scope="col">When sharing a slot with other variables</th>
<th scope="col">Number allowed</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th scope="row">Page-level</th>
<td valign="top"><p>A single pageview, event,
or transaction call.</p></td>
<td valign="top">The last page-level variable to be called on a page is the
one applied to that page.</td>
<td valign="top"><p>For any web property (collection of pages), many unique page-level
variables can be set and slots can be re-used. Limited only by the number
of hits in a given session.</p>
<p>For any single page, you can set up to 5 simultaneous custom variables.</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th scope="row">Session-level</th>
<td valign="top"><p>The session
of the visitor. </p></td>
<td valign="top"><p>The last session-level variable called in a session
is the one used for that session. <br>
<strong>Example</strong>:
If <code>login=false</code> for slot #1 at the beginning
of the session and <code>login=true</code> for slot #1 later on, the session is
set to <code>true</code> for <code>login</code>.</p>
<p>Over-rides any previously-set page-level variable called <em>in the
same session</em>.<br>
<strong>Example</strong>: If slot #1 is first used for <code>category=sports</code> and
then for <code>login=true</code> for
a session, <code>category=sports</code> will not be recorded for that
session. </p></td>
<td valign="top"><p>For any web property, you can create as many distinct session-level
custom variables as can be defined with a 64-byte key-value pair limit
(up to the 50K unique aggregate level limit that exists across GA today).</p>
<p>For any given user session, you can set up to 5 session-level variables.</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th scope="row">Visitor-level</th>
<td><p>The life of the visitor cookie.<br>
<br>
When set, applies to all visits onward (but not to previous visits or current
visit). </p></td>
<td><p>The last visitor-level variable set for a visitor is the one
applied to the visitor.
</p>
<p>Over-rides previously-set custom variable types called <em>in the same
session</em>.</p></td>
<td valign="top"><p>For any web property, you can create up to five distinct
visitor-level variables.</p></td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<p class="backtotop"><a href="#top" class="backtotop">Back to Top</a>
</p><h3 id="mixedTypes">Mixing Variable Types</h3>
<p>When you use multiple page-, session-, and visitor-level custom variables
for your web property, you need to carefully determine the re-use of slots. If
a situation arises on your website where a page or session-level custom variable
<em>uses the same slot at the same time</em> a page-level variable is set, only the
session-level (or page-level) variable will be recorded.</p>
<p>The following scenarios illustrate a mix of page, session, and visitor level
variables set by activity from a single user on the same browser. In each (1)
or (2) indicates a particular slot used by the custom variable and S: indicates
the scope.</p>
<h4>Case 1 - One visit, three pageviews</h4>
<table border="0">
<tbody><tr>
<th><strong>Visit 1</strong></th>
<td><strong>Page 1</strong><br>
(1) S:page-level <br>
<code>section=opinion</code></td>
<td><strong>Page 2</strong><br>
(1) S: session-level<br>
<code>login=true</code></td>
<td><strong>Page 3</strong><br>
(1) S: session-level<br>
<code>converted=true</code></td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<p>The report for visits would be: </p>
<ul>
<li># visits for section=opinion: 0</li>
<li># visits for login=true: 0</li>
<li># visits for converted=true: 1</li>
</ul>
<p>Here the final page calls a session-level variable that re-uses the same slot,
and it receives precedence. </p>
<h4>Case 2 - Three visits</h4>
<table border="0">
<tbody><tr>
<th><strong>Visit 1</strong></th>
<td><strong>Page 1</strong><br>
(1) S:visitor-level <br>
<code>gender=male</code></td>
<td><code></code></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Visit 2</th>
<td>(2) S:session-level <br>
<code>converted=false</code></td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Visit 3</th>
<td>(1) S:page-level <br>
<code>section=opinion</code></td>
<td><strong>Page 2</strong><br>
(2) S:session-level <br>
<code>converted=false</code></td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<p>The report for visits would be: </p>
<ul>
<li># visits for section=opinion: 1</li>
<li># visits for gender=male: 2</li>
<li># visits for converted=false: 2</li>
</ul>
<p>Here the page-level variable is called after a visitor-level variable that
used the same slot. In this order, the visitor-level variable does not over-write
the page-level variable. </p>
<p class="backtotop"><a href="#top" class="backtotop">Back to Top</a>
</p><h4>Case 3 - Three visits, one page</h4>
<table border="0">
<tbody><tr>
<th><strong>Visit 1</strong></th>
<td><strong>Page 1</strong><br>
(1) S:visitor-level <br>
<code>gender=male</code></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Visit 2</th>
<td>(2) S:session-level <br>
<code>converted=false</code></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Visit 3</th>
<td>(1) S:page-level <br>
<code>section=opinion</code></td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<p>The report for visits would be: </p>
<ul>
<li># visits for section=opinion: 1</li>
<li># visits for gender=male: 2</li>
<li># visits for converted=false: 1</li>
</ul>
<p>This is a variation from the previous case, where the final visit sets only
one CV and re-uses a slot called in the first visit.</p>
<h3 id="recommended">Recommended Practices</h3>
<ul>
<li><strong>Do not use duplicate key names across slots.</strong></li>
<li><strong>You have up to 5 simultaneous custom variables for use in a single
request (e.g. pageview or event call).</strong><br>
The
sum of all your custom varaiables cannot exceed 5 in any given request (i.e.
you cannot have 5 visitor and 5 session custom variables set simultaneously).</li>
<li><strong>Call the <code>_setCustomVar()</code> function when it can be set prior
to a pageview or event GIF request.</strong><br>
In certain cases this might not be possible,
and you will need to set another <code>_trackPageview()</code> request <em>after</em> setting
a custom variable. This is typically only necessary in those situations where
the user triggers a session- or visit-level custom var, where it is not possible
to bundle that method with a pageview, event, or ecommerce tracking call.</li>
<li><strong>Use a slot matrix to track large numbers of custom variables.</strong><br>
If you have complex tracking requirements, where you have a mix of page-
and session-level variables that might collide,
you should build a slot matrix to ensure that session-level variables do not
inadvertently over-ride page-level variables.</li>
<li><strong>Consider using Event Tracking for certain applications, rather
than custom variables.</strong><br>
For
example, suppose you have an online music store and you want to track both
login sessions, purchase attempt sessions, and sessions where music samples
were played. It would make sense to use Event Tracking to track the number
of attempts to play music rather than using session-level variables to
achieve this. Here, you could use the 4th value parameter of the event
tracking call to pass in session data from your own cookies. </li>
<li><strong>Don't use session-level variables to track behavior you can track
with page-level variables.</strong><br>
For example, suppose you track login status and shopping
attempt status by sessions, and your site offers a "Members'
special" page
that you also want to track. Since a page-level custom variable will show the
number of visits to that particular variable, you will already have available
the number of visits that included that page at least once. </li>
</ul>
<p class="backtotop"><a href="#top" class="backtotop">Back to Top</a>
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