In Google Analytics, Dashboards and Custom Reports* are the tools you use to visualize your data. Default dashboards are available in every view, and they are very useful, but unless you filter them, they will display data from ALL UB web pages and are not very flexible.
A far easier and longer lasting way to see the precise data you want, from your web pages only, is to create a custom dashboard or report. A simple monthly Custom Report template is available in every View in our Analytics Master Property. You can copy it and configure it to show the data you want. Other templates are available in the Training section.
(To see just your pages' data in a default dashboard, you can apply an Advanced Search filter.)
Below is information on dashboards and reports, how to find them, and how to use them in Google Analytics.
* All custom configured Reports and Dashboards (e.g. Templates) are located in the Customization section, in the left sidebar.
UB's Universal Analytics Master Property shows you traffic data from the entire buffalo.edu domain. This gives us critical insight into our users’ behavior, including how traffic flows between individual pages (which is typical for most users).
It is easy to filter this data to see only your own site's pages (e.g. arts-sciences.buffalo.edu/). You simply need to either:
A Custom Report is a fast and easy way to track, and consistently report on metrics. These types of reports also allow you to drill into the data.
A Dashboard is a built upon widgets and provides a static view of web traffic at a specific date. You cannot drill into the data.
A standard Monthly Dashboard template is shared with all users in your Google Analytics view (UBWeb1>Master Property>choose your view). To use it:
Dashboard & Report Templates
Looking for a specific report template? Contact dcthelp@buffalo.edu and let us know what kind of report you’re trying to create. If we don’t already have a template we can create one for you.
Several other templates for Dashboards and Custom Reports are available from the link below, including some that help you track:
To use these templates:
In Google Analytics, all reports and dashboards are accessed from the Customization drop down in the left sidebar. Once you import a dashboard or custom report, follow these instructions to find it again.
The reports or dashboards you have created or imported, and those that have been shared with you, will be listed.
Share a Dashboard
Share a Custom Report
Share a PDF report:
Share a live, customizable report or template:
When someone shares a dashboard or report, they will generally do so by emailing you a link. To import a shared dashboard or report:
The report/dashboard will then appear in your Google Analytics account under Customization in left sidebar.
A custom dashboard is useful if you need a quick snapshot of specific metrics but you don’t need to dig into the numbers too deeply. Dashboards are static reports; you can’t drill down into the data.
3. To change the layout of the dashboard, click Customize Dashboard in the top right of the report
4. To edit charts and tables, click the Edit pencil in the top right of each widget.
5. To add a widget, click “Add a widget” in the top/mid-left of the screen, beneath the Dashboard title.
How to add or change widgets in a Google Analytics dashboard.
After importing a Custom Report you will need to configure it to show only the data you need.
Be sure to change the date range as required.
To get New vs. Returning User analytics for specific pages, you will need to set up a custom report.
1. Log in to Google Analytics and navigate into UB Web 1 + Master Property + your view.
2. Go to Audience + Behavior + New vs Returning.
This is the default report – you need to edit it and add a page filter. Filtering only by the Advanced filter does not work.
3. Click 'Edit' (top right).
4. In the report that loads, adjust the name as desired.
5. Then delete all of metrics except the first row of Summary: Users + New Users + Sessions + Bounce Rate + Pages/Session. The rest is usually not of interest and will obscure the general usage data. But you can of course customize what is shown as you desire.
6. Click 'Add Dimension'.
7. Type "page" in the search box, then choose 'Page'.
8. Go to Filters + Add filter. Type "page" and choose 'Page'. Then instead of 'Exact', choose 'Regex'. Paste the URL path for your site into the box; e.g. www.buffalo.edu/hunter-james-kelly-research-institute (do not include http:// or .html).
9. Click Save.
Your new report will load. It will always be available in this view under Customization + Custom Reports.
10. Each time you load the report, change the date range as desired.
Every view in Google Analytics comes with a standard set of “default dashboards” - you can see them in the left sidebar. They are preconfigured dashboards for:
While it isn’t as versatile as a Custom Report, it’s easy to get a quick snapshot of your website traffic by applying an Advanced Search filter to Google Analytics’ default dashboards. First, decide what data you want to see, then:
See Regex for a list of regular expressions for major UB schools and units.
Regex (Regular expressions) is a powerful filtering tool that gives you a higher level of control over the data you see in your Google Analytics reports. Using Regex you can filter broadly or narrowly to pages or other criteria by matching patterns in your Analytics data. There are some simple Regex expressions that can help you parse data, but most often, you will use Regex to filter Google Analytics to show only data from your web pages. See Advanced Search filter for more information.