How view page-level custom variables in Google Analytics

Analytics_iconKudos to my colleague Carlos Hinojosa who discovered that to view a page-level custom variables in Google Analytics, you need to specify explicitly the metric and dimensions in a custom report. That is the reason why the default dashboard will not show page-level custom variables, yup, we get stuck for a while in this point!!.

Anyway, to create a custom report to see a page-level custom variable all you need to do is, in Google Analytics, under the Customization tab, click +New Custom Report and fill the next fields as follow:

Under Report Content section:

  • Metric Groups: Add PageViews option, is under Users group, to get the # of visits.

pageviews

  • Dimension Drilldowns: Add the desired custom variable, in our scenario, is the #4, then, since the purpose of the report is to get the values of the variable, you need to select as a nested dimension, the value of the selected custom variable.

custom_variable_valueIs recommended to add the custom report to a specific view, but is optional. Finally, the fields of your new report should looks like:

custom_reportClick on Save, and if all was selected correctly, the report should display the data, once is captured by Google anaylicits, of course, like the following screenshot:

custom_report_view

Tip: You can use: Google Analytics Debugger to check in real time if your custom variable is working and to not wait until the values ​​are reflected in the report.

This extension loads the debug version of the Google Analytics Javascript for all sites you browse using Google Chrome.  It prints useful information to the Javascript console. These messages include error messages and warnings which can tell you when your analytics tracking code is set up incorrectly.  In addition, it provides a detailed breakdown of each tracking beacon sent to Google Analytics.

Example

Google_Analytics_DebuggerNote: In our scenario we wanted to be sure that the custom variable # 4 be sent.

I really hope you find this information useful.