google analytics goals

October 1, 2006 2:36 AM

Ive just begun using google analytics with different flash-sites. Now how do i set up goals in the admin-system and have them correspond with the names i set up in the flash files?

(I cant use URLs because i use a single flash-file for the whole site)

posted by FidelDonson to Computers & Internet (5 answers total)

You can't analyse anything your Web server raw logs don't contain. If those names show up in your logs, I'd be surprised, but have a look, and go from there.
posted by paulsc at 8:29 AM on October 1, 2006

I don't think Google Analytics works from raw Web server log files. I'm pretty sure it's things included in the pages/flash files that report back to Google.
posted by mendel at 9:05 AM on October 1, 2006

GA is basically what was previously known as Urchin on Demand. If you are munging URL's except through mod-rewrite or similar loggable mechanisms, GA needs JavaScript help from your Web page to log Flash events. Which is another way of saying, "If it ain't in the server logs, you can't analyse it."
posted by paulsc at 9:17 AM on October 1, 2006

You can't analyse anything your Web server raw logs don't contain.

So just to summarize, that's untrue. By setting the action of your flash button to call back to GA using JavaScript, GA will track clicks all the myriad clicks around inside your Flash app, though in your server logs it will likely appear as only one hit, to your big Flash movie file.
posted by ChasFile at 11:52 AM on October 1, 2006

Response by poster: OK - having straightened out the basics of logging users from flash and ChasFile is right about that - lets now proceed to my question :-)
Anyone know how to use GA goals in connection with logging names set up in flash-actions?
posted by FidelDonson at 1:28 PM on October 1, 2006