Step-by-Step Instructions for Non-Branded Custom Segmentation
in GA's new Multi Channel Funnels Section
Multi Channel attribution is amazing, to say the least. In the immortal words of Avinash Kaushik, “You will have an orgasm!” If you weren’t there for Mozcon, I’m sorry. Don’t let it happen again, but you can always get the video of his presentation when it comes out.
Much like the way I felt on Christmas day 1996, I couldn’t wait to play with a brand new system whose inner workings I knew almost nothing about: the Nintendo 64. Rand will corroborate my story. Today, it’s the new Multi Channel Funnels segmentations in Google Analytics, Version 5 (trumpets please, Avinash).
Below, you’ll find some Michelangelo-esque screenshots of how we (the Slingshot R&D guys) broke down some custom segmentation and compared them to show differences between:
- Non-branded, organic, first interaction
- All non-branded organic interactions
- All conversions
To create a custom Conversion Segment, simply click the link, as shown in this screenshot:
To create the First Interaction Organic, Non-Branded Segment, select the following:
- Include [First Interaction] [Medium] [Containing] [Organic]
- Next, select [Add a conversion path option]
And for the love of all that is Mozzy, go to the “and” section to add this piece. Use “or” and you won’t know North from a Bear-o-dactyl.
- Exclude [Any Interaction] [Keyword] [Matching RegExp] [fill in your branded terms here]
Done? Awesome. Next.
To create the All Organic, Non-Branded segment, select the following:
- Include [Any Interaction] [Medium] [Containing] [Organic]
- Next, use “add” not the “or” option [Add a conversion path option]
- Exclude [Any Interaction] [Keyword] [Matching RegExp] [fill in your branded terms here]
Done? You’re the best. Now grab your chopsticks, eat some Cheetos, and enjoy the graph!
Delicious… the graph, I mean. If at some point you decide you’re tired of looking at all those conversions (what is wrong with you? Oh right, you’re a Mozzer), you can pick and choose the specific conversions you’d like to see.
Gratuitous screenshot for your enjoyment.
Nice post, it's good to see the multi-channel funnel visualized in way that displays the data over time and gives you a nice comparison.
Oh snap...I was wondering how to do this!
Beautiful, can't wait to set this up on a few accounts. SEO is very much about the non-branded segment. I will now try to eat some Cheetos with chopsticks. Did you write a tutorial for that too?
Great post mate - there's some really good/useful information here.
Ah! This is a useful tutorial. Thanks for posting this. I will be adding branded terms to my analytics shortly.
This is a good post, easy to follow.
The only thing with excluding brand keywords for any interaction is that you will lose some conversions that originated with a non brand organic search and then were assisted or converted with a brand search. This could happen often as a lot of return visitors will remember the site name, not necesarily the keyword they originaly found you for. Depending on what you are looking to report on, for the first example you could exclude the brand on the 'first interaction' rather than 'any' so you can still track those originating from non branded keywords which are then assisted/converted later on with brand
creditdan - I also got the 'An Illegal state...' message, had to try a few times to get it to work. New Analytics still in Beta
Stu's tweak is much more useful for me, and for well known brands in general.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for sharing this useful piece of info. Google Analytics has always been a pain in my... brain :)
P.S: Oatmeal always makes me ROFL!
Nice post and i already test this new multi-channel funnel and i have some advices on here. For [fill in your branded terms here] are ok, just if you use one branded keyword. I try to use somethig like [branded keyword 1-branded keyword 2] but doesn't work for me. But, this: branded keyword 1|branded keyword 2|branded keyword 3. This last version worked for me using multiple words for every branded keyword.
I have been astonished by the amount of data that the multi-channels funnel reports brings forth. Very nice post!
very informative, a report on non-branded conversions is a great gut-check on how your SEO campaign is going
btw that bear-o-dactyl poisoned my brain
This is exactly what we need, now if we could only get it implemented and prove how well things are working before the budgeting and planning for next year is over. Great post Evan!
Hmmm...am I still giving out those vibes about missing out on Mozcon??!! ;)
All jokes aside, this is a great post Evan. Thanks for the step by step!
I'm sure I should feel guilty that I now don't need to "read the instruction guide" before playing with this new toy, but truth is I don't!
Thanks again.
Hello,
I followed the above instructions and used a string of my top branded keywords in the MatchingRegExp box:
keyword|keyword|keyword|keyword|keyword|keyword|keyword|keyword|keyword|
Is this correct?
I then made a segment named "Branded Interactions" and did this:
Include, Any Interaction, Keyword, Matching RegExp
Then pasted my branded keyword list again like so:
keyword|keyword|keyword|keyword|keyword|keyword|keyword|keyword|keyword|
Am I correct that this will show me only the conversions coming from those keywords?
Any help would be appreciated!
Hey Foxtrot,
The way you have this segment set up looks great. However, there are a couple things to note:
-A Matching RegEx with this keyword string: computer|laptop|keyboard|charger will include conversions coming from any keyword phrase with these keywords included. Ex: the segment will also include conversions from "cheap computers," "where can i find a charger," "laptops," etc.
-A Matching RegEx with this keyword string: ^computer$|^laptop$|^keyboard$|^charger$ will include conversions coming from only those keywords, "computer," "laptop," "keyboard," "charger." If you don't want to put an anchor before and after each keyword, you could also use this RegEx: ^(computer|laptop|keyboard|charger)$
-There is no need to put a pipe after your last keyword in the RegEx.
Hope this helps!
Great post, I love it. Did anyone got actually actionable insights from using Multi Channel funnels? I'd love to see someone write a case study on this!
Can paste a comma seperated list of keywords into the [Matching RegExp] box or do I have to use a pipe between each one? I have a list of about 25 keywords.
Thank you for this! I'm slightly bummed that it doesn't show any AMAZING stuff from this year but that's because our SEO has rocked the past year. I'm going to see how far back we can go. :)
I keep gettingAn illegal state has occurred.The request resulted in an inappropriate state. Reload the page to see whether the problem persists.
Anybody else getting this?
Yeah having the same problems
We didn't run into this problem, but I'd love to try and help you guys out. Would you be able to send me screenshots and describe when it happens?
Great posting...this will be a real measurement for conversion and SEO campaign sucess.
Nice post :) very usefull