Question

I am implementing Google Analytics for a customer that has part of their site on a subdomain on another SSL encrypted site. For example, let’s say that their URL is http://www.first-site.com and they have a contact form located at https:// http://www.second-site.com/first-site/. Also, several other sites that run Google Analytics have part of their site on different subdomains of http://www.second-site.com.

(Current code for both pages in both domains is listed below)

The Analytics is running and it is tracking both domains and the cookie information is being passed in the URL from one domain to the other, however when I look at the cookie, the visitor ID changes when I go from one to the other. Is this supposed to happen?

Also, the Real Time Analytics report shows a new visitor when I go from one domain to the other. Does this mean that the cross domain code isn’t working? I thought that the visitorID in the cookie would be the same from domain to domain.

Any help would be greatly appreciated and any tips for testing the cross domain analytics would be appreciated, too.

Tracking code for http://www.first-site.com: (actual UA number has been replaced)

<script type="text/javascript">

var _gaq = _gaq || [];
_gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-XXXXXXXX-1']);
_gaq.push(['_setDomainName', 'first-site.com']);
_gaq.push(['_trackPageview']);
_gaq.push(['_setAllowLinker', true]);
_gaq.push(['_setAllowHash', false]); 

(function () {
    var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true;
    ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js';
    var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s);
})();

</script>

Code for https:// http://www.second-site.com/first-site/ :

 <script type="text/javascript">

var _gaq = _gaq || [];
_gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-XXXXXXXX-1']);
_gaq.push(['_setCookiePath', '/first-site/']);
_gaq.push(['_trackPageview']);


(function() {
var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true;
ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js';
var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s);
})();

</script>

Here is an example URL from a linked page: https:// http://www.second-site.com/first-site/apply.htm?_utma=226662157.1705427553.1330793721.1330793721.1330802012.2&_utmb=226662157.1.10.1330802012&_utmc=226662157&_utmx=-&_utmz=226662157.1330793721.1.1.utmcsr=(direct)|utmccn=(direct)|utmcmd=(none)&_utmv=-&__utmk=195995183

Answer 1

You need _gaq.push(['_setAllowLinker', true]) on the second site as well.

Also make sure that the _trackPageview comes after all other calls.

If you do that you should start to see the visitor the visitorId being the same.

Also note that not all __utma cookie needs to be the same. You just need to check the second number after the first dot. If that is the same than it’s probably working. The __utmz cookie also should have the same referrals.

Note that you don’t need _setAllowHash anymore. It’s deprecated now. And you probably don’t need _setCookiePath, unless you have a very good reason to that, and the only good reason is if you have other cookies on second domain that you want to isolate.