So this is the case. You have this uber cool website, with lots of different content types in the first directory segment. For example:
http://www.domain.com/this-is-a-hotel-profile
The problem is that you want to identify this as a hotel profile page, and wanted to be able to differentiate with other pages such as /myprofile or /this-is-a-user-profile on Google Analytics. The solution, is really plain ol’ simple.
First, locate this keyword:
_gaq.push([‘_trackPageview’]);
Or usually in a standard Google Analytics template
_gaq.push([‘_setAccount’,’UA-XXX-1’],[‘_trackPageview’]);
All you have to do is manipulate the _trackPageview into these:
_gaq.push([‘_trackPageview’, ‘/hotel/this-is-a-hotel-profile’]);
or
_gaq.push([‘_trackPageview’, ‘/user/this-is-a-user-profile’]);
And voila! Your Google Analytics report will show /hotel/ and /user/, and you can do anything with it, such as creating custom segments.
The question is, why bother renaming the analytics rather than renaming the website’s URL? You should read this: http://searchengineland.com/supercharge-your-urls-for-maximum-seo-impact-14006
- The fewer the parameters in your dynamic URL, the better. One or two parameters is much better than seven or eight. Avoid superfluous/nonessential parameters like tracking codes. (ed: parameters is the thing after ?, such as ?var1=val1&var2=val2)
- A static looking URL (containing no ampersands, equals signs, or question marks) is more search optimal than a dynamic one.
- Having keywords in the URL is more optimal than no keywords. (ed: always have keywords in the URL)
- A keyword in the filename portion of the URL is more beneficial than in a directory/subdirectory name. (ed: filename portion is domain.com/this-is-a-hotel-profile rather than domain.com/hotel/this-is-a-hotel-profile)
- Hyphens are the preferred word separator, although underscores are gaining acceptance over times past . So if you have multiple-word keyword phrases in your URLs, I’d recommend using dashes to separate them. (ed: Always use DASH, not underscore)
- Stuffing too many keywords in the URL looks spammy. Three, four, or five words in a URL looks perfectly normal. A little longer and it starts to look worse to Google, according to Matt Cutts . (ed: Maximum 5 keywords in the url. Limit it with word limiter function)
- The domain name is not a good place for multiple hyphens, as it can make your URL look spammy. Although that said, sometimes a domain name should have a hyphen, as thedomain faux pas ‘arsecommerce.com’ demonstrates (you may not get this joke if you don’t recognize Queen’s English!).
So, don’t believe anyone who claims to be an SEO expert, if they didn’t know about this technique. Consult with someone reliable. *PointingAtMyself*
