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Web & Marketing Analytics

Web and marketing analytics encompasses the tools and methods for measuring website effectiveness, traffic source performance, and cross-channel attribution. The discipline combines analytics platforms (GA, Yandex Metrica), tag management (GTM), UTM tracking, and attribution modeling.

Key Facts

  • Analytics is not a numbers profession - it's a way of thinking about causal chains
  • Web analyst tasks: set up data collection, build reports on KPIs, analyze traffic sources, analyze funnel, form and test hypotheses
  • UTM tags are the standard for traffic source tracking in URLs
  • Google Tag Manager eliminates developer dependency for tracking setup
  • Cross-channel (end-to-end) analytics connects ad spend with actual revenue across all channels
  • Attribution models determine how credit is distributed across touchpoints

Patterns

Key Web Metrics

Metric Description
ROI/ROMI Return on advertising investment
Revenue Total income
Average Order Value Mean transaction size
LTV Revenue over user's lifetime
Retention Rate % returning users
Bounce Rate % sessions with single pageview / no interaction
Pages per Session Content consumption depth
Conversion Rate (CR) % completing target action

UTM Tags

URL parameters for traffic source tracking: 

site.com/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=summer_sale

Parameter Purpose Examples
utm_source Traffic source google, yandex, vk
utm_medium Channel type cpc, email, banner
utm_campaign Campaign name summer_sale
utm_term Keyword (search) running_shoes
utm_content Ad variant (A/B) blue_button

Web Analytics Tools

Google Analytics (GA4): event-based tracking, audience/acquisition/behavior/conversion reports, goals and funnels, segments and custom dimensions. BigQuery export for raw data.

Yandex Metrica: session replay (Webvisor), click/scroll/movement heatmaps, form analytics, funnels, segments. Deep integration with Yandex Direct.

Hotjar: heatmaps, session recordings, feedback polls, conversion funnels. UX research focused.

Google Tag Manager (GTM)

Tag management system - no developer needed for tracking code: - Triggers: page view, DOM ready, click, scroll, form submit, custom event - Variables: CSS selectors, data layer values, URL parts - Preview and debug mode for testing before publish

DataLayer push example: 

dataLayer.push({
  'event': 'purchase',
  'ecommerce': {
    'transaction_id': 'T12345',
    'value': 25.42,
    'currency': 'USD'
  }
});

Traffic Source Categories

  • Organic search (SEO)
  • Paid search (PPC/contextual advertising)
  • Social media (organic + paid)
  • Email marketing
  • Direct traffic
  • Referral traffic
  • Display advertising

Attribution Models

Model Credit Distribution Use Case
Last click 100% to last touchpoint Default, most common
First click 100% to first touchpoint Discovery channel analysis
Linear Equal across all touchpoints Fair overview
Time decay More credit to recent Consideration-heavy products
Position-based 40/20/40 first/middle/last Balanced first+last emphasis

Cross-Channel Analytics

End-to-end analytics = connecting all data sources: - CRM (deals, revenue) - Ad platforms (Google Ads, Yandex Direct, Facebook) - Web analytics (GA, Metrica) - Call tracking (phone leads) - Email platforms

Gotchas

  • GA4 is event-based (not session-based like Universal Analytics) - this fundamentally changes how data is structured
  • UTM parameters are case-sensitive - utm_source=Google and utm_source=google create separate entries
  • Bounce rate definition differs between GA versions and should not be compared across tools
  • Attribution models can give dramatically different results for the same data - always understand which model is in use
  • Webvisor/session recordings raise privacy concerns - ensure GDPR/privacy compliance in your region

See Also