Data granularity enhancements in Google Analytics to better understand visitor behaviour

Abstract

In recent years, Google Analytics has become the most important data analytics tool of the trade for marketing managers, e-commerce specialists, search engine optimisation consultants and webmasters worldwide. For the marketing analyst, however, the tool also has clear limitations, as it is impossible to obtain direct access to its database, which contains the data gathered to provide the reports with which everyone is familiar. Nonetheless, it is possible to increase the granularity of the data using a few lines of JavaScript code. This code is used to replicate part of the logic of the Google Analytics database and to access the underlying data needed to generate more elaborate statistics and, thus, acquire crucial information on the purchasing behaviours and habits of customers and users online.