Author: Megan Ross

Analytics and SEO Dashboards

A dashboard for Google Analytics 4 (GA4) data and a Search Engine Optimization dashboard are now available for Omni CMS websites, Michigan Tech Blogs, and Michigan Tech Events Calendar in Looker Studio. In the GA4 dashboard, you will find charts with analytics for:

  • Page traffic and users
  • Acquisition
  • User demographics
  • Device information
  • 404 hits
  • Vanity URLs
  • Files and outbound links
  • Anchor, call, and email links
  • Buttons, cards, and touts
  • Accordions
  • Pop-ups, forms, and gift box shares
  • Header media and image galleries
  • Lightboxes (pop-up images)
  • Tabs
  • Videos
  • Search terms

The SEO dashboard provides details on traffic coming from Google Search and how that traffic converts to prospective student leads.

HTTP vs HTTPS URLs

When using URLs on webpages, documents, or other files, it is important to pay attention to the first part of the URL—HTTP or HTTPS. This could apply to hyperlinks, iFrame code, embedded images and videos, etc.

The “s” in HTTPS means that the connection is secure. URLs that use HTTP are not secure and malicious parties could steal the data being sent. They may intercept usernames, passwords, or other information filled out in a form; credit card information; or other personal data. For details on how HTTP and HTTPS work, there’s an easy-to-understand article that explains it using a carrier pigeon example.

Preview in Edit vs Preview Tabs

Depending on the content on any given page, the pages within the CMS can take a while to load. In order to speed up the load time, UMC has been implementing processes that may change the quality or accuracy of the view on the Edit tab only. For an accurate preview of the page, use the Preview tab. This preview will not be affected by the noted changes.

The following content may not display exactly as it would on the live page when viewing from the Edit tab:

Crazy Egg Analytics

UMC has a limited subscription to an analytics service called Crazy Egg. This is a great tool to use in conjunction with Google Analytics that can give visual information about user habits on a single page. The reports include a heatmap of user clicks, a scrollmap of how far down the page users are scrolling, confetti showing specific clicks with a secondary dimension, and an overlay option that provides even more details.

Since Crazy Egg is set up on a page-by-page basis it is better suited for your most important pages, such as homepages, and you do have to plan ahead as it must be set to begin gathering data and then runs for up to 60 days. It is a bit harder to use this tool for historical comparisons but is a great tool to use in advance of a site or homepage redesign.

Building a New Website

Omni CMS is available for certain Michigan Tech websites including Tech Forward initiatives, academic departments, administrative departments, official research centers and institutes, and research initiatives/groups/units. All sites within Omni CMS are required to designate at least one web liaison to manage the daily maintenance of the site. At least one backup editor is recommended.

New websites are built in a test environment, within an ou- directory. This will allow the site to be published throughout the build process so stakeholders can preview and approve the site before going live. Sites within the ou- directory can only be accessed with the direct link and are not searchable.

Accordion Snippet

This snippet creates Slider or FAQ styled accordions. Clicking on one of the accordions would open or close that section. Each row in the snippet will create one accordion. Creating three or more accordions within one snippet would automatically add an Expand All/Collapse All link at the top right. If you have more than seven accordions together, it is recommended that you try to split them into multiple categories.

Screen shot of a slider with the first one open.

Screen shot of an FAQ with the last question open.

Web Liaison Role

Each Omni CMS website is required to have at least one designated web liaison to manage the daily maintenance of the site. The liaison is the main contact for the website for suggested edits, corrections, accessibility, etc. They also manage access requests. When a liaison is not designated, the dean, department head, or chair may be contacted in their place and is able to request access and perform other roles of the liaison.