Subject: Google Webmasters Tools & Analytics
Improvement Suggestions
posted by GerrySchenk on Sunday, January 17th 2010 @ 2:53 PM
Recently I opened a similar thread, not realizing that there was already one here attempting to address this issue. As I read more about this in the forums, this thread highlights the fact that this particular feature request is almost three years old now. Perhaps if we can get more people adding their comments, it'll provide some momentum for Bo and the crew to actually implement.
For my contribution, I'd like to describe what is required by Google in order to utilize their tools and then make recommendations on how it could be implemented by FTH without compromising their need to maintain security.
To start, I would hope that there are no arguments about the value of the Google suite of tools. Having some access to the tools myself, I found a couple of the features that are particularly useful are the ability to understand where the search requests originated and the other is the search terms that are being used to find us. As I've just gotten into Google Analytics, it would appear that I am just starting to scratch the surface of what it's capabilities are.
In order to use Google tools & Analytics, Google requires validation that you're the domain owner and they need installation of java script on the pages that you want to track.
There are two validation techniques that Google allows, the first is a meta tag which needs to be installed in the header section of your home page. Below is an example of a header tag:
<meta name="google-site-verification" content="W2M3d3Pv6XlXgXau4DYDZ5MSaOvNDQUgQproEV8i3TY" />
We're unable to implement this validation method due to FTH security policy which prohibits any modifications to the header.
Recommendation: include a field under website settings called "Google Validation Code" where the validation code can be entered. Then FTH could include this meta tag as a standard part of the template which they populate using the information that is provided in the user supplied "Google Validation Code" field. Utilizing the method means that no direct access to the headers would need to be provided.
The other validation method is the existence of 0 byte file with a unique filename in the root directory. I'd recommend against this as it's simple enough to enable the meta tag. For those interested, the file name looks like this googlebde8dz81bu9859w7.html and it needs to be accessible via the root of your domain name.
For Google Analytics, they require the implementation of a java script, with your domain's Web Property ID. The Web Property ID consists of a 9 digit number. An example of a Web Property ID is UA-132679393-1. Other than the unique identifier, it's implemented through a standard java script. Here is what the Google supplied java script looks like:
<script type="text/javascript">
var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : "http://www.");
document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E"));
</script>
<script type="text/javascript">
try {
var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-132679393-1");
pageTracker._trackPageview();
} catch(err) {}</script>
For each domain, the only difference is the unique identifier bolded above.
Recommendation: similar to the recommendation above, include a field under website settings called "Google Analytics Web Property ID" where the identifier can be entered. Then FTH could include the java script listed above as part of the standard template and then simply insert the unique identifier into the appropriate part of the script.
I can't see how adding these mechanisms for validation and tracking can be that complicated considering that FTH is already doing something similar today with the "Custom Domain Name", "Page Title", etc. In addition, making the meta tag and java script part of the standard template should alleviate any security concerns that FTH has.
Seeing how often this feature has been requested, it would be appreciated if Bo and the FTH crew could weigh in on whether this feature is even being considered. If not, then these posts will be considered noise and we can all move on and work on other things that will hopefully improve our clubs.
regards,
->Gerry Schenk
VP PR - Richmond Toastmasters
Club Coach - Deltones Toastmasters | 
