Building Metrics with Google Data Studio

Using our fully-functional free trial Datazoom account and the free version of Google Analytics with Google Data Studio you can build a number of metrics to help you understand your users' experience. The examples below provide some simple steps to get you started. Please review and complete our Google Analytics Connector setup steps before you begin. This will ensure that you can take advantage of the Datazoom free trial while utilizing Google Data Studio to understand your data.

There are a number of differences between the free version of Analytics vs the paid version, Analytics 360. You can review the latest comparison here.

The details on Google Analytics quotas and limitations are outlined here. For this example, the limits we care about are as follows:

• 200,000 hits per user per day
• 500 hits per session
• 20 custom dimensions and metrics

Keep these restrictions in mind as you review your data in Google Data Studio.

Connecting Data Studio to Analytics

You should have a Google Analytics account and have deployed the requisite Global Site Tag (gtag.js) as per Google's instructions before you begin. 

Follow the steps outlined in the Connect to Google Analytics document. Once you've successfully completed the steps, you will see the following screen:

Click the "Refresh Fields" icon on the bottom left of your Data Source page in case there are any new custom dimensions or metrics that need to be included.

Creating the Metrics

You should have already created a Collector for your video player and have its configuration deployed. 

You should have already created a Google  Analytics and have it as part of your Data Pipe with with "timeSinceLastFluxData" and "Play Request" selected and enabled.

Create a metric for the number of minutes watched

1. Click the + next to "ADD A FIELD"
2. Enter Minutes Viewed in the upper left under "Field Name"
3. Enter timeSinceLastFluxData/60000 then click "Save" in the lower right

Create a metric for the number of play requests

1. Click the + next to "ADD A FIELD"
2. Enter Play Requests in the upper left under "Field Name"
3. Enter COUNT_Distinct(CASE WHEN Event Action = "Play_Request" THEN sessionViewId ELSE "" END) then click "Save" in the lower right

Building the Report

Now that we've created two metrics, let's use them. Click the "CREATE REPORT" button. You will see the following:

Click "ADD TO REPORT". This will bring up a new report screen. From here you can begin to build visualizations using the metrics just created. Be sure to give your report a name so you can find it easily later. Click "Untitled Report" in the upper left to rename the report.

Click on the "Add a Chart" item in the toolbar and select the left icon under "Table".

Enter "title" in the search field in the far right under "Available Fields". Click and drag the resulting "title" onto the green dimension "Medium" to replace it.

Enter "Minutes Viewed" in the search field in the far right under "Available Fields". Click and drag the resulting "Minutes Viewed" onto the blue metric "Pageviews" to replace it.

Click on the "Add a Chart" item in the toolbar and select the left icon under "Scorecard".

Enter "Play Requests" in the search field in the far right under "Available Fields". Click and drag the resulting "Play Requests" onto the blue metric "Pageviews" to replace it.

Continue using the tools in Data Studio to add a Date Filter and begin adjusting the size and layout of the report to your liking.

Click the "VIEW" button in the upper right to be taken to the report.

You can now view the number of minutes viewed by Title and the number of Play Requests in that time period.

These are additional examples of the types of reports you can build using the free trial Datazoom account and the free version of Google Analytics with Google Data Studio. Follow the steps below to download a copy of this example.

Download and setup an example dashboard

1. Click here to visit our Example dashboard. 
   
2. Click "USE TEMPLATE"  and follow the prompts to add the template to your Google account