Filters in Google Analytics: Quick Tips to Make Data Actionable

Theo Bennett - July 8, 2014

Did you know that you don’t have to accept the way data appears in Google Analytics (GA)?   If you don’t like the way data populates in GA, change it!

Take, for example, topic targeting in Google AdWords which can show keywords like “docvertical::1074” What does docvertical::1074 mean?  I don’t know either!

In the Admin section of GA, navigate to your testing view (aka profile) and find the filter settings.

With a simple search and replace filter, GA will replace any value you specify with one that you provide. So in the example below; I’ve replaced the docvertical mumbo jumbo with the actual topic.  So instead of docvertical::1074, the keyword reports will now show “Topics: Travel > Tourist Destinations > Beaches & Islands”.

That makes a lot more sense, doesn’t it?

Remember that you should always have an unfiltered view in which you never apply filters and any new filters you create should be done in your testing view and then, once validated, promoted to the desired analysis view.

Happy Analyzing!