10. Beehive

If using the Quick Setup, you must first decide which of the two types of easy connection you wish to create between Beehive and Google Analytics.

If you wish to use the shared API method, see the Connect with Google section of this guide for more info.

If you wish to connect via API but are unsure which method to use (shared API or your own API Project), see the To Share or Not to Share section of this guide.

If you wish to use the Tracking ID only, proceed to the next section.

Tracking IDs are assigned to properties created within a Google Analytics account. If you have not yet created a property in Google Analytics for your site or network, you should do so before proceeding. See the Create a Property section of this guide if you need help creating a property.

If you have created a property but need help locating the Tracking ID, scroll down a bit to the Locating a Tracking ID section below.

Once that property has been created, and if you’re certain you don’t want tracking statistics to appear on the dashboard of your site or network, then click the Add Google Analytics tracking ID link at the bottom of the Welcome to Beehive Pro screen.

On the next screen, enter your Google Analytics Tracking ID into the field provided and click Save Code.

That’s it. Google Analytics will begin collecting and organizing your tracking data. Remember, those stats can only be viewed in Google Analytics.

Tracking IDs are stored within the Property menu of a Google Analytics account, located on the Admin page.

Log in to your Google Analytics account and navigate to the Admin page.

In the Property column, locate and click Tracking Info. In the menu that appears, click Tracking Code, to reveal the Tracking ID.

Copy and save the ID in Beehive and you’re all set. Google Analytics will begin collecting and organizing your tracking data. Remember, those stats will only be available in Google Analytics.

If you wish to re-configure Beehive to display analytics stats on your dashboards, see the Settings section of this guide.

Analytics Profile

Once you have authenticated your Google Analytics account on the Accounts screen, you’ll select the profile (view) you want to use in Beehive here. Simply click the dropdown menu and select the one you need for your site.

If you have set up your own API project for this connection, check the Automatically detect Tracking ID checkbox to have Beehive automatically fetch that for you for the selected view, and add it where needed.

Tracking Statistics

If you need to use a different Tracking ID, or just want to send analytics data from your site to your Google Analytics account, be sure that box is unchecked. Then manually enter the tracking ID in the field below.

Analytics 4

If you’d like to integrate the new Google Analytics 4 with Beehive on your site, add your GA4 Measurement ID in the field provided here.

Google Analytics 4 is the new API from Google that is now the default for all new properties created in your Google Analytics account. But you can also create a new GA4 property from an existing Universal Analytics property and they will be nicely integrated.

To learn all about it and how to set it up if you haven’t already, see the following Google articles:

• Introducing the new Google Analytics
• Upgrade to a Google Analytics 4 property

Admin pages tracking

By default, only the activity on the frontend pages of your site is tracked. However, by enabling this Admin Page Tracking feature, activity in the wp-admin is also tracked.

IP Anonymization

Google does collect IP addresses in order to report geolocation data, but those addresses are never reported and are stored in an anonymous state. When enabled, IP Anonymization modifies collected IP addresses so they cannot be used by Google and allows you to ensure your audience that you are not leaving it up to Google to protect their data.

Multisite Super Admins have an additional option that, when selected, forces all subsites to anonymize IP addresses, as well.

Display Advertising

When enabled, this feature adds Google advertising cookies to your site or network so you can do things like:

• Create Remarketing Audiences based on specific behavior, demographic, and interest data, and share those lists with Google Ads.
• Use demographic and interest data in your Analytics reports.
• Create Segments based on demographic and interest data.

Keep in mind that you may need to update your privacy policy if you wish to enable this feature.

Add your Google Tag Manager container ID (GTM ID) in the field provided and click Save Changes. If you’re not sure where to find your GTM ID, see this Google help doc.

In the Settings section are several built-in variables that you can enable, and you can define your own custom ones as well if needed.

You can use the data in your Google Tag Manager account as you see fit. If you need help with that, see this Google doc: https://support.google.com/tagmanager/answer/6164391

Default

Under the Default tab, you’ll find a number of post-related variables are built-in. Enable the ones you need by clicking the toggle on the left.

Visitors

Under the Visitors tab, you’ll find several variables related to the current visitor’s status. Enable the ones you need by clicking the toggle on the left.

Integrations

Under the Integrations tab, you’ll find variables related to currently supported plugins or services. At this time, WPMU DEV’s Forminator and Hustle plugins are supported. Note that if any plugin is not active, their options will appear greyed out here.

When any of the integration options are enabled for Forminator, and a form/poll/quiz is submitted successfully, Beehive will send a Data Layer event with form/quiz/poll data to GTM. The event names are:

• beehive.forminatorFormSubmit (for Form)
• beehive.forminatorPollSubmit (for Poll)
• beehive.forminatorQuizSubmit (for Quiz)

When integration is enabled for Hustle Leads, and an optin module is successfully submitted, Beehive will send a Data Layer event with module data to GTM. The event name is:

• beehive.hustleModuleSubmit (for all modules)

Custom

Under the Custom tab, you can define your own custom variables if needed. To add a variable, click the Add Variable button, then enter the Name and Value, and click Save Changes.

Verifying data sent to GTM

You can see exactly which data is being sent to your connected GTM account by toggling on the Preview feature in your GTM workspace to open the TagAssistant. Then visit any page on your site and check the output under the Data Layer tab on the TagAssistant screen.

If you have enabled integration options with Forminator, submit a Forminator form/quiz/poll from your site, and you’ll see data similar to the below example, where you can also see all the form field variables along with the defaults and any custom ones you may have added.

If you have enabled the integration with Hustle, an optin module submitted from your site would send data similar to the below example, along with the default and custom variables as well.

To use the shared API, rather than the custom API we recommend, click Connect with Google in the Welcome to Beehive screen or the Settings module in Beehive.

Choose the Google account with which you wish to connect Beehive to Google Analytics.

Click Allow to authorize Beehive to access your Google Analytics account.

Copy and paste the code that Google provides into the field provided and click Authorize.

Beehive is now connected to your Google Analytics account. You can configure the view (profile) you wish to use for this connection under the Google Analytics tab.

To connect Beehive to Google Analytics using a custom API project you created in the Google Developers Console, click Set up API project and enter the Client ID and Client Secret into the fields provided. Then click Authorize.

When you click Authorize, you will be asked to log in to the API project and grant permission for Google Analytics to collect data from this site. Log in with the Google account used to create the project.

Click Allow in the pop up to confirm the connection between Beehive and Google Analytics.

At this point, you have created an API project and given permission for Beehive to pass data to that project. You can configure the view (profile) you wish to use for this connection under the Google Analytics tab.

Here you can determine who can see the data and reports compiled by your analytics account.

Statistics

Select either the user roles or the capability required to view your statistics in the WordPress Dashboard area.

User Roles

To adjust this per user role, click on the Roles tab, then toggle on the ones who you want to be able to view the stats.

• On single sites, the Administrator role will appear at the top, and is enabled by default.
• On multisite networks, the Network Administrator role will appear at the top, and is enabled by default.
• On multisite networks, the roles enabled will apply to every site in the network unless the Allow site admins to overwrite this setting box is checked.

You can fine-tune exactly what you wish selected user roles to be able to view by clicking on the role once toggled, and drilling into the dropdowns to select the specific elements you want.

Capabilities

To adjust this according to a minimum required capability, click on the Capabilities tab. Then enter the capability required to view stats in the admin area. Note there is no fine-tuning available as above for this option.

• On multisite networks, the capability set here will apply to every site in the network unless the Allow site admins to overwrite this setting box is checked.

Settings

This section enables you to specify the user roles or users who can access and adjust the plugin settings.

User Roles

To adjust this per role, click the User Role tab, and select the roles you need.

• On single sites, the Administrator role will be enabled by default.
• On multisite networks, the Network Administrator role will also appear there and be enabled by default.
• On multisite networks, the roles enabled here will apply to every site in the network unless the Allow site admins to overwrite this setting box is checked.

Custom Users

To adjust this per user, click the Custom Users tab. Then select either Exclude or Include and click Add User to add the ones you want to exclude or include from the User Role settings.

• Here again, on multisite networks, the users included/excluded here will apply to every site in the network unless the Allow site admins to overwrite this setting box is checked.

Beehive adds a Statistics tab to the Admin menu. Click the tab to access the Google Analytics Statistics page.

Sites that have not connected Beehive to Google Analytics will see a notification to that effect and a link to the Accounts module, where new connections can be created.

Visitors

The Visitors panel displays traffic and activity data across multiple metrics, and using the available filters, will display comparative data over selected time frames.

The data for each metric during the currently selected time frame is displayed along the bottom of the panel. Click any metric to view a chart detailing that metric’s activity over time.

These metrics are defined as:

• Sessions – The number of unique user sessions during the selected time frame. A session is defined as a group of user interactions with your website that takes place within a given time frame.
• Users – The number of unique individual users who interacted with a site during the selected time frame.
• Pageviews – The number of pages that were fully loaded into a browser at the request of users. A user who views five pages in one session will result in a single session and five pageviews.
• Pages/Session – The average number of pages users viewed during a single session.
• Average Time – The average amount of time users spent interacting with a site during a single session.
• Bounce rate – A bounce occurs when a user leaves a site shortly after arriving without interacting with any elements on the page. The bounce rate is the number of these events as a percentage of all sessions during the selected time frame.

Time Frame Filter

Use the time frame filter to display data for a variety of periods, including custom data ranges.

Changing the time frame will refresh the data for every chart on the Statistics page, so all charts display data for the same period.

Compare to last period

Select the Compare to last period option, and then click a metric to see a comparison of the current data for that period and the data for the time frame preceding the current time frame.

For example, the lighter-colored line in the image below shows a site’s pageview data for the last 30 days, while the bolder line shows the same metric for the 30 days immediately preceding the last 30 days.

Mediums, Search Engines, and Top pages

Beehive displays key Search Engine Optimization data in three circle charts directly below the Visitors data.

These charts show traffic data in the following categories:

• Medium – The various sources for site traffic: organic, direct, referral, and so on.
• Social Networks – Traffic that was referred to a site from a social network.
• Search Engines – A ranking of search engines based on the amount of traffic derived from those sources.

Top Countries

The Top Countries chart uses color coding to show, geographically, where traffic is coming from to a site and the number of visitors from each country during the selected time frame.

Top Pages

A list of a site’s most visited pages and the number of visitors who viewed the pages during the selected time period, as well as the average amount of time users spent on that page and the percent change since the previous period.

The list contains links to the listed pages. Click any link to view that page.

The Beehive Statistics widget provides access to site traffic statistics directly from the dashboard of any site with Beehive activated and connected to Google Analytics.

For sites that are not connected to Google Analytics, Beehive will display a notification to that effect. Click the link provided or go to the Accounts module to connect Beehive to Google Analytics.

Widget Tools and Tabs

Use the tools and tabs at the top of the widget to access the desired statistical data or view.

The tools include:

• See all stats – Click to open the Statistics page where a detailed report of site traffic data can be found.
• Refresh data – Click to pull in fresh data from Google Analytics.
• Time frame filter – Click the drop-down menu to apply a custom time frame and display data for the selected period only. The selected time frame will apply to all metrics viewed until the time frame is changed.

The tabs include:

• General stats – Each panel within the General Stats tab can be clicked to see a more detailed display of that data.
• Audience – The Audience tab displays data related to users’ behavior while on a site: numbers of unique users, sessions, page views, and page per session.
• Top Pages and Views – A list of a site’s most visited pages, along with the number of visitors, the average time users spend on those pages, and whether the pages are trending up or down.
• Traffic – This tab displays the leading sources of a site’s traffic geographically, by search engine, medium, and social network.

Click Enable APIs and Services to access the Google library of APIs.

Enable the Google Analytics API

Use the search tool to locate the Google Analytics API or scroll to the bottom of the page where it’s located and click Google Analytics API.

Click Enable.

If you are prompted to create credentials, ignore the request, and exit the prompt. Google requires OAuth 2.0 credentials for API connections, but it is better to add all the required APIs before creating those credentials.

Enable Google People API

In a similar way to how you enabled the Google Analytics API, click the Enable APIs & Services button to access the Google API Library.

Type “people” into the search tool to quickly locate Google People API, then select it and click Enable to add it to the project.

Enable Google Analytics Reporting API

Finally, add the Google Analytics Reporting API in the same way. Click Enable APIs and Services to return to the API Library. Search for “reporting”, select and Enable the Google Analytics Reporting API.

Once the three required APIs are added to the project, it’s time to create the OAuth Client ID.

Google requires informed user consent for most of its data collection APIs. In the case of Beehive, Google requires an OAuth 2.0 Client ID which, in turn, requires that users grant consent to the data collection via a consent screen. First, we will configure the consent screen, then the Client ID.

There are many routes through the OAuth credential screens, but the following path is the most direct.

First, navigate to your Google API Project Dashboard by clicking Google APIs in the upper left corner. Once there, click the Credentials tab.

Then click Create Credentials and select OAuth client ID from the dropdown menu.

Configure the Consent Screen

Google requires users’ consent to having their data collected via a popup consent screen and requires Admins to provide information that will appear on that screen.

Click Configure Consent Screen to proceed.

Depending on the user data being collected and its intended use, some Admins may be required to provide more information than others. Beehive Admins are required to identify the type of data being collected, the application’s name, the email address for support requests, and an authorized domain.

This is an example of what a configured Beehive consent screen looks like.

The following guidance will help you complete the required consent screen fields.

User Type – If you choose the Internal mode, access will be limited to G Suite users within your organization and doesn’t require verification. External is available to anyone with a Google Account.

Click Create once you have chosen your User Type.

Application Type – Select Public, if you want to allow any Google account to connect to Beehive. You’d want this option to enable clients or subsite admins to connect with their Google accounts using this same API. Select Internal if you want to limit access to only users within your organization, or if you are using a GSuite account for this API.

Application Name – This name that will appear on consent screens indicating who is requesting users’ data. Google requires that the name accurately reflect your application and be consistent with the application name users see elsewhere. You can include your site or company name with the application name, but be careful not to use a name that suggests your application is from Google or any entity other than your own.

Support email – By default, the Google account you signed in with will appear as the support email. Later, you can create a user with an email address specifically for support requests.

Scopes for Google APIs – We do not recommend adding scopes to your Beehive API project. If you require additional scopes, see the Scopes and Verification section below before adding them. Otherwise, no action is needed in this section.

Authorized domains – Type your domain name into this field and hit return. Google requires that authorized domains be top-level domains only, such as example.edu, mysite.com, etc. Subdomains, such as analytics.example.com, cannot be an authorized domain; however, once an authorized domain is added, Admins can use any of its subdomains or pages elsewhere, as needed. Enter your domain into the field provided, and if it is accepted, the domain name will appear above the field.

When ready, click Save to preserve the information and exit the page.

Go back to the Credentials tab in your Google APIs & Services dashboard and click the Create Credentials, select OAuth client ID from the dropdown menu, as you did before.

Create Client ID

Complete the Create OAuth Client ID form as instructed below and click Create.

Application type – Select Web application and a series of settings relevant to web applications will appear.

Name – Here you are actually naming the credentials associated with this project. The name can be anything that works for you.

Authorized Javascript origins – All the javascript required for Beehive to function is contained in the app, so Admins can ignore this field.

Authorized redirect URIs– You must add the URI of the site being connected twice, once with a slash (/) at the end, and once without a slash (/) at the end.

You can quickly copy your URI redirects by navigating to the Accounts tab in Beehive. Under the Set up API Project section, you will notice a dropdown area for URI Redirects. Click on the row or the arrow to expand the section and you will be able to easily copy both of the URIs required for this step in the process.

When you are ready, click Create and Google will generate your credentials.

You can copy your Client ID and Client Secret key directly from this module or you can locate them at a later stage in your Credentials tab, as discussed below.

Locating Your Client Secret and Client ID

The Credentials screen contains a list of the Client IDs for all your Google API projects. Each Client ID will have an associated Client Secret, which can be viewed by clicking the name of the project or the pencil icon.

When you open the Client ID page, the Secret Key may not appear immediately. If not, simply refresh the page, and the key should appear beneath the Client ID.

The Client ID for this project cannot be changed, but users can reset the Client Secret as necessary by clicking Reset Secret.

If you followed our advice and connected the network using the Google Analytics API and did so from Network Admin, every subsite can now connect using the simple Connect with Google method.

When you visit Beehive > Accounts in any subsite admin, you’ll see a notification that Beehive is connected at the network level, but the subsite admin can connect to their own account should they wish to by using the simple Connect with Google method.

Click Connect with Google, then follow the directions in the Connect with Google chapter above.