You can use Custom Dimensions and Metrics in Google Analytics to customize data collection uniquely for your app. Let's take a look at how these work in more detail:
Introduction
Reports in Google Analytics are built from dimensions and metrics. Dimensions are categories of data with different values. For example, The Great Outdoors uses the dimension "Screen Name" to categorize the various screens a user might visit like "Bait Shop" or "Level 3." Metrics are the numerical values that count how many times certain behaviors occur or how many times a particular user attribute is represented during users sessions. For example, you could measure the performance of various screens using the metrics “Screen Views” and “Average Time on Screen” with the dimension “Screen Name.”Custom dimensions
While Google Analytics offers a number of useful pre-set dimensions and metrics, you can create your own custom dimensions or metrics to track data that’s unique to your app. For example, if you’re a game developer, you might want to create a custom dimension to track user experience level by segmenting users based on the highest level they reach. That way, you could compare their overall progress through the app. Or you may want to create a custom metric to track how much virtual currency credit your users have in their accounts. You could use this to compare the behavioral differences of users who have high amounts of virtual currency in their account with those who don’t.Configuration
In order to send custom dimensions and metrics to Google Analytics, you have to first configure the settings for each dimension or metric in your tracking and in the administrative settings of your account. For Custom Dimensions, configuration values include the name of the Custom Dimension, which determines how it appears in your reports; the scope, which specifies to which data the Custom Dimension will be applied; and whether or not the dimension is active and will be processed in reporting.For Custom Metrics, you have to define the metric name that will appear in your reports; the type of metric being collected such as an integer, a time, or a currency value; the minimum and maximum values for the metric; and whether or not it is active for reporting.
Conclusion
The easiest way to access your Custom Dimensions and Metrics data is by adding them to a Custom Report. You can also build Segments with custom dimensions and metrics, just as you can with default Google Analytics dimensions and metrics.Practice Custom Dimensions analysis
The Great Outdoors wants to compare the behavior of beginner Go Fish! users to more advanced users. They’ve set up a custom dimension called “Expertise” with values of “Beginner” (for users still within the first three levels of Go Fish!) and “Advanced” (users who have passed those levels). Let’s create a custom report using the “Expertise” dimension to see what insights we can discover:
To create a Custom Report that allows you to view your Custom Dimensions, you’ll have to open up Google Analytics in a new browser tab. Click “Google Analytics.”
Then, at the top, click the Customization tab.
To create a new custom report, click the New Custom Report button.
Let’s title the custom report “Beginner vs. Advanced Users.” Click “Add dimension.” Now we’ll search for the dimension called “Expertise.” To add it to the report, click Expertise. Now click “Add Metric.” We’ll first search for “Users.” Then click the Users metric. Next, we’ll search for “Average Session Duration.” Then click the “Average Session Duration” metric. Finally, we’ll search for “Screens per session.” To add it, click the “Screens per session” metric. Now click Save.
Google Analytics automatically takes us to the new custom report we just created.
Notice that metrics for the number of users, their average session duration, and screens per session are associated with the “Beginner” or “Advanced” segments of the “Expertise” dimension below. It should come as no surprise that Advanced users have longer sessions on average and view more screens per session than Beginner users. But we still want to know what might motivate some users to become advanced and discourage others to stay at the beginner level.
So let’s investigate by adding “Device Category” as a secondary dimension in this report to see if the devices themselves might be influencing advanced or beginner users. Click on “Secondary Dimension.” Let’s search for “Device Category.” To add it to the report, click the “Device Category” dimension.
Notice that when we added “Device Category,” we can see that advanced users playing the game with tablets have longer average sessions and more screens per session than mobile. This might mean the tablet experience is much better and, therefore, encourages longer and more engaged gameplay. The Great Outdoors developers might want to look at improving the gaming experience on phones or try to promote the tablet version to Beginner players.
This analysis is just one example of how you could use Custom Dimensions to segment your users. But the Custom Dimensions you define will ultimately depend on your own app’s design, technology, and business goals.
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