Google Analytics Dashboard for a Web Area

Legacy content

This page is for Universal Analytics (UA). Find a page like this for Google Analytics 4 (GA4)

EPA content related to Google Analytics is changing.

Google's legacy platform, Universal Analytics (UA), will reach end of life in mid-2023 with a one-time extension for contracting clients such as EPA until July 1, 2024. See KB article.

In these Web Analytics pages, content for Universal Analytics is marked "Google Universal Analytics (legacy)."

Content for the new platform, Google Analytics 4, is marked "Google Analytics 4 (GA4)."

On this page:

What the dashboard shows
How to make a dashboard
Emailing the report
- Adding more than one report on an email
Extending the report end date

The EPA standard dashboard shows:

Number of visitors
Time spent on a web area page
Number of pages visited in a web area
Whether the audience is mobile
How people got to the site
- Organic = external search engine
- Referral = linked from another web page
- None = typed in URLs
Social media use
Top 10 HTML pages
Top 10 PDF files
Top external search terms
Top terms used in the search box on the web area pages
Top external referrers
Top internal referrers

How to build a dashboard

Log into Google Analytics. www.google.com/analytics
“Sign In” in upper right and Choose “Google Analytics Premium” which is the one we use for the EPA Contract.
Select the EPA Enterprise View under the EPA Enterprise section.
Go to Dashboards on the left sidebar, and then select Shared.
Select the About EPA Metrics Dashboard dashboard.
Go to the Share button and select Share Template link.

This is an example of a shared template link.

Copy the Share Template URL. Using the CTRL and C keys at the same time will copy the link.
Close the Share Template URL box.
Paste the Template link in the address bar. A box will open:

Images shows where you select EPA Enterprise View and where you would rename the dashboard.

In the drop box titled Select a view, select EPA Enterprise View.
In the box below, enter the name of your web area.
Then select the Create button.

Note: Your dashboard will be created as a Private dashboard. This is okay and will not limit the functionality of your dashboard. You do not need to make it Shared.

The dashboard you just created will open.
To make it so that your dashboard shows the analytics for your web area, edit the first widget (what each of these blocks is called in google analytics) by clicking on the pencil:

Edit the first widget by select the pencil beside the title.

Change the URL from epa.gov/aboutepa to your web area URL. For example, if your site is https://www.epa.gov/endocrine-disruption then change epa.gov/aboutepa to epa.gov/endocrine-disruption
Do this for all the widgets.

Change epa.gov/aboutepa to epa.gov/yourwebarea.

TA DA! You now have a dashboard.

Emailing the report

Now that the dashboard is made, you can have GA email you monthly reports. It can also send daily, weekly, and quarterly reports. Monthly reports are easier to manage.

Select Email from the dashboard tool bar.

Add your email address.
Give the email a meaningful subject and put useful information in the message.
For Frequency, select monthly delivery. For Day of the Month, select the 2nd. It takes overnight to load the data for the previous day, so this way you will get the previous month's data.
Click the Send button. You will now receive the report on a monthly basis in your email inbox.
To send to multiple emails, comma-separate the addresses in the To field.

Add your email address. Pick monthly option. Put in a good description so you know what you're looking at.

Adding more than one report on an email

To add your new dashboard report to an existing report, select "Add to an existing email" in the lower right hand corner of the Email box.
You may add as many reports to an email as you like.

Extending the end date of the report

When you create your monthly report, it will set an expiration date. Select Admin from the left side navigational menu to extend this date.

screenshot of admin button in google analytics menu

Select the Scheduled Emails item on the right.

Be sure these are the options selected for the EPA Enterprise View.

You will see the scheduled email list. You will only see emails you've scheduled with your account.

Click on the Actions button. Select Extend from the menu.

menu for extending the date of the report

Note: Look for the expiration date when you create a monthly report. Then use your Outlook calendar to send yourself a reminder to extend it before it expires.