Google Analytics and Doofinder
Doofinder integrates seamlessly with Google Analytics 4, enabling you to track user behavior and activity on your website. This integration provides valuable insights to help you make data-driven decisions and enhance your business performance.
How to Configure GA4
This option is only available with the Single Script. To take advantage of the latest features, like this simplified Google Analytics integration, update your script.
- Go to your Doofinder Admin Panel > Account > Integrations.
- Access Google Analytics > click on "Configure".
- You will be redirected to Store Settings.
- Enable the "Send data to Google Analytics" switch. Your store will now start sending data to GA4.
This option will only function if Google Analytics is already active on your store. If it is not properly configured, no data will be sent. You can verify the setup by opening your website and checking the Console tab in your browser’s DevTools.
Doofinder Events
Doofinder sends three custom events to GA4:
- doofinder_search: When performing a search on the website using Doofinder.
- doofinder_view_item: When a user visits a product on the website.
- doofinder_checkout: When a user proceeds to the checkout page after buying a product (without specifying the item).
Data: hash-id (Search Engine) and query term.
Data: hash-id and product page url.
Data: hash-id and url of the checkout page (configured in Sales Data configuration).
The rest of the events, like click or page_view, belong to GA. You can have a look at GA events in this link.
How and where to view the collected data will depend on the configuration of your GA dashboard, dimensions, reports, etc.
How does Doofinder send Search Events to Google Analytics?
The Live Layer triggers a "doofinder_search" event to Google Analytics for every query, as long as there's no subsequent query within a one-second debounce period. For clarity, suppose we search for "shoes"; if we type "shoe" and wait a second before adding "s," two "doofinder_search" events will be dispatched to GA4 with the value 'shoe' and another with 'shoes.'
Why the differences between Doofinder Statistics and doofinder_search Events?
There's a difference in how searches are counted between GA4 and the admin stats. This difference stems from variations in how searches are recorded in Doofinder due to data processing before storage. For a query to qualify as a search, it must meet specific conditions, primarily:
- Time lapse between queries
- Similarity between queries
Just to clarify, if we search for "shoes," but type "shoe" and wait a second before adding "s," only one search will be saved in Doofinder stats due to the similarity between the two queries, "shoe" and "shoes." However, if there's a significant delay between the two queries, two searches would be saved in Doofinder Stats. For instance, searching "shoe," waiting 10 seconds, and then typing "s" would result in recording two searches: "shoe" and "shoes."