Can I track slideshow views?
Yes! SmartSlides lets you track slideshow views with Google Analytics. Below, you can find the steps on how to set up Google Analytics with your Pixellu SmartSlides account:
If you're already using Google Analytics to track slideshows with a Universal Analytics Property Identifier (UA code)
If you're already tracking SmartSlides events with Google Analytics and are not using the new Google Analytics 4 Property Identifier, you can simply add the Google Analytics 4 Property alongside the already existing Universal Analytics Property Identifier. Having them both connected to SmartSlides will ensure that Google Analytics will continue tracking data after July 1st, 2023, with GA4 (when Google suspends the Universal Analytics system from processing data), as well as keep access to data that was tracked in the past before completely migrating to the new GA4 system.
Note: Google will remove existing data tied to the Universal Analytics system but has stated that this data will remain accessible for the foreseeable future. To know when Google completely purges this data linked to your Google Analytics account, please keep an eye here for when they release this information. Having both identifiers linked to your SmartSlides account helps ensure you keep access to this data until Google fully removes it, as well as records future data with the new GA4 property after July 1st, 2023.
For the majority of users, Google created a GA4 property identifier automatically ( see here) and should include a majority of the same settings. However, if the new GA4 property does not contain the same settings, we can recommend checking to ensure the same specifications are set to ensure the same data is recorded. To locate the new GA4 property identifier, please follow these steps outlined by Google. If Google has not created a GA4 property identifier automatically within your account, a completely new property for SmartSlides would need to be created by following the steps in the section below titled "If you're setting up Google Analytics for the first time."
Once you have located the GA4 property identifier, copy and paste it to the Google Analytics section under your SmartSlides preferences, as shown here (ID code that starts with " G-"):
If you're setting up Google Analytics for the first time
If you would like to link SmartSlides to Google Analytics to start tracking metrics for slideshows, a new property would need to be created for SmartSlides. To create a new property to link Google Analytics and SmartSlides, please follow these steps outlined by Google.
Once a property has been created, the SmartSlides URL would then need to be entered under the Data Streams tab (see here). You can retrieve the SmartSlides URL within your SmartSlides Preferences, as shown here:
Note: The exact URL would need to be entered into Google Analytics followed by ".smartslides.com" to help ensure the connection between Google and SmartSlides is valid.
Once this Data Stream has been created, the last step is to copy and paste the Google Analytics property identifier into your SmartSlides account to complete the linkage process. You can locate the GA4 Property Identifier under the same Data Stream tab when viewing the SmartSlides property details. Simply copy and paste this code into the Google Analytics tab within SmartSlides, as shown below (ID code that starts with "G-"): And that's it! Please note that it may take up to 48 hours for the linkage to be completed. If you have any questions or need assistance, don't hesitate to reach out to us at support@pixellu.com, we'd love to help!
SmartSlides View Counter
In addition to Google Analytics, while hovering your mouse over the desired slideshow, you will also be able to see the number of slideshow views that the slideshow has recorded in the bottom-left corner of the slideshow thumbnail:
