Google Analytics in HarvardSites Drupal

HarvardSites uses Google Analytics 4 (GA4) to measure how site visitors find and use your site. 

  • Each HarvardSites website domain has its own GA4 property that is provisioned when the site launches. 

  • As a pilot, we are creating Site Level Analytics report using Google Data Studio (formerly Looker Studio), a reporting and data visualization tool that receives Google Analytics data and displays traffic patterns across your site.

    • We are creating Data Studio reports on a limited basis while we implement analytics reporting using a more robust, flexible, and accessible solution.

  • The pre-built Site Level Analytics report is organized into easy‑to‑scan pages like Executive Summary, Audience & Traffic Sources, Content Engagement, and Sharing & External Links.

  • Your can export content from the report (to Google Sheet for example) for easier review and data analysis.

If you’re new to analytics, think of it as a way to quantitatively (in numbers and charts) understand real visitor behavior after your site is live—what pages people view, which links they select, and how they arrive at your content. Analytics helps you monitor performance, diagnose issues, and evaluate whether your content strategy is working.

How to request a Site Level Analytics report

  • Contact ithelp@harvard.edu to request your HarvardSites Drupal site Analytics. Please specify your site's URL with your request.
    • The report is shared as unlisted, or "anyone with the link." You will be able to share the report with your colleagues without needing Google accounts.
    • Only site members/administrators can request a report.

What is tracked in the report?

Executive Summary

  • Key Metrics: Total Users, Views (page views), Sessions, Engagement Time, Average Session Duration, and % change vs. previous period.
  • Traffic Trends: Users visiting your site over time.
  • Top Viewed Content & Engagement: Pages visited, number of page views, users, session duration.
  • Top Site Search: What are people searching for on the site, and what website pages are they searching from.
  • File Downloads: Files that site visitors are downloading.
  • How Users Find Your Content: Traffic sources (referrals, organic search, email, etc.) and a breakdown of user devices (desktop vs mobile)
  • 404 Page Views (Page Not Found): Visitors trying to access pages that are not found. This is useful to surface broken/missing URLs.

Audience & Traffic Sources

  • Top Traffic Sources: Sources (sites) sending traffic to your site.

  • Top Channels: Channel groups (direct links, search, referral, email, etc.) sending traffic to your site.

  • Where Users Are Located: Countries and cities where traffic is coming from.

  • Devices: Desktop vs Mobile users.

  • Browsers: Browsers used to visit your site.

Content Engagement

  • Scroll Depth: How deep are people scrolling on your pages.

  • Content Selected: How site visitors are engaging with content on your site.

  • CTAs Selected: Calls to Action (CTAs) visitors are clicking on.

  • Navigation Selected: Menu items visitors are clicking on.

  • Tab Selected: How visitors are interacting with tabs.

  • Accordion Item Interactions: How visitors are interacting with accordions.

  • Video: How visitors are interacting with video content.

  • Announcement Banner Selected: How visitors are interacting with announcement banners.

Sharing & External Links

  • Contact Link Clicks: Contact links that visitors are clicking on.

  • External Link Clicks: Links to external sites that visitors are clicking.

  • Social Shares: Social shares by platform.

See also: