Vanilla Analytics Overview - HL Vanilla Community
<main> <article class="userContent"> <p>Your <strong>Higher Logic Vanilla</strong> (<strong>Vanilla</strong>) community includes several out-of-the-box analytics tools to help you <em>track</em>, <em>measure</em>, and <em>report on</em> the activity and health of your community. When you can identify the strengths and weaknesses of your community, you can be more successful at developing strategies that will enable you to reach your community's goals.</p><h2 data-id="analytics-options">Analytics options</h2><p>Vanilla has three analytics options; the one available in your Vanilla community is dependent on <em>when </em>you became a Vanilla customer and/or your <em>plan level</em>.</p><ul><li><strong>Vanilla Statistics </strong>is our most basic analytics feature. It is available as the default (and only) option for our older customers on our Basic and lower plans. </li><li><strong>Advanced Analytics</strong> is the default option for our more recent customers, featuring a more robust suite of analytics data.</li><li><strong>Analytics BETA</strong> (an updated version of Advanced Analytics) is our most feature-rich analytics offering. It is the default option for all new Vanilla customers, and is available to all cloud customers who have Advanced Analytics as part of their subscription. </li></ul><p>📝 <strong>NOTE</strong>: We recommend placing third-party tracking within your site in the <code class="code codeInline" spellcheck="false" tabindex="0">Dashboard > Appearance > Branding & Assets > Style Guides > Edit a Theme</code>. If you have any questions, contact Vanilla Support.</p><h2 data-id="vanilla-statistics">Vanilla Statistics</h2><p><strong>Vanilla Statistics </strong>enables Administrators to review basic community activity over specific time periods. </p><p><strong>📝 NOTE</strong>: This version of Vanilla's analytics is only used by our older customers on our Basic and lower plans; it has since been replaced by <strong>Advanced Analytics</strong>/<strong>Analytics BETA</strong>.</p><p>To access Vanilla Statistics:</p><ol><li>Access the Dashboard.</li><li>Navigate to the <strong>Analytics</strong> tab.</li></ol><div class="embedExternal embedImage display-large float-none"> <div class="embedExternal-content"> <a class="embedImage-link" href="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/3ZDRWI2KPAD4/analytics-example.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener ugc" target="_blank"> <img class="embedImage-img" src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/3ZDRWI2KPAD4/analytics-example.png" alt="analytics_example.png" height="400" width="957" loading="lazy" data-display-size="large" data-float="none"></img></a> </div> </div> <h3 data-id="vanilla-statistics-overview">Vanilla Statistics overview</h3><ul><li>At the top left, you can view chart data in four categories: <strong>users</strong>, <strong>discussions</strong>, <strong>page views</strong>, and <strong>comments</strong>.</li><li>You can then <strong>filter </strong>this data by day/month and and define a specific time period using the calendar menu.</li><li>Below the chart, you can view other data, like a list of <strong>active users</strong> and <strong>popular discussions</strong>.</li></ul><div class="embedExternal embedImage display-large float-none"> <div class="embedExternal-content"> <a class="embedImage-link" href="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/13O9RBN0D4FY/full-chart-example.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener ugc" target="_blank"> <img class="embedImage-img" src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/13O9RBN0D4FY/full-chart-example.png" alt="full_chart_example.png" height="772" width="1176" loading="lazy" data-display-size="large" data-float="none"></img></a> </div> </div> <h2 data-id="advanced-analytics">Advanced Analytics</h2><p><strong>Advanced Analytics</strong> enables Administrators to review more advanced insights into their community activity over specific time periods.</p><p>To access Advanced Analytics:</p><ol><li>Access the Dashboard.</li><li>Navigate to the <strong>Analytics</strong> tab.</li></ol><div class="embedExternal embedImage display-large float-none"> <div class="embedExternal-content"> <a class="embedImage-link" href="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/80UF4G6LBBBK/adv-analytics-example.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener ugc" target="_blank"> <img class="embedImage-img" src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/80UF4G6LBBBK/adv-analytics-example.png" alt="adv_analytics_example.png" height="735" width="1124" loading="lazy" data-display-size="large" data-float="none"></img></a> </div> </div> <p>In the left panel, in the <strong>Analytics </strong>menu, you can select several analytics categories:</p><ul><li>Engagement</li><li>Posting</li><li>Resolved</li><li>Traffic</li><li>Q&A</li><li>Knowledge</li></ul><p>Select these categories to view and filter their associated data.</p><p>Check out the article below to learn more about Advanced Analytics. </p><div class="js-embed embedResponsive" data-embedjson="{"body":"Advanced Analytics Overview Advanced Analytics, available on certain plans as an add-on, give you further insights into your community. Metrics: A single number that quantify something for the selected date range. Leaderboards: Tables showing the ranking of specific items for the selected date range. The “previous”…","photoUrl":"https:\/\/us.v-cdn.net\/6030677\/uploads\/VWGAXAF5OFCO\/microsoftteams-image.png","url":"https:\/\/success.vanillaforums.com\/kb\/articles\/38-advanced-analytics","embedType":"link","name":"Advanced Analytics - Vanilla Success"}"> <a href="https://success.vanillaforums.com/kb/articles/38-advanced-analytics" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc"> https://success.vanillaforums.com/kb/articles/38-advanced-analytics </a> </div><h2 data-id="analytics-beta">Analytics BETA</h2><p>With Vanilla’s updated analytics experience you can:</p><ul><li><strong>run out-of-the-box reports</strong> to measure the health and activity of your Vanilla communities and</li><li><strong>build custom analytics dashboards</strong> to create your own reporting and visualize the data that matters most to you.</li></ul><p>To access Analytics BETA:</p><ol><li>Access the Dashboard.</li><li>Navigate to the <strong>Analytics</strong> tab.</li></ol><div class="embedExternal embedImage display-large float-none"> <div class="embedExternal-content"> <a class="embedImage-link" href="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/CWFE3F69N6JZ/analyticsbeta-example.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener ugc" target="_blank"> <img class="embedImage-img" src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/CWFE3F69N6JZ/analyticsbeta-example.png" alt="analyticsBETA_example.png" height="930" width="870" loading="lazy" data-display-size="large" data-float="none"></img></a> </div> </div> <p>Check out the article below to learn more:</p><div class="js-embed embedResponsive" data-embedjson="{"body":"Overview With Vanilla’s updated Analytics experience you can: run out-of-the-box reports to measure the health and activity of your Vanilla communities and build custom Analytics dashboards to create your own reporting and visualize the data that matters most to you. Enabling the Analytics Experience Update Our updated…","photoUrl":"https:\/\/us.v-cdn.net\/6030677\/uploads\/VWGAXAF5OFCO\/microsoftteams-image.png","url":"https:\/\/success.vanillaforums.com\/kb\/articles\/433","embedType":"link","name":"Analytics BETA - Vanilla Success"}"> <a href="https://success.vanillaforums.com/kb/articles/433" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc"> https://success.vanillaforums.com/kb/articles/433 </a> </div><h2 data-id="analytics-api">Analytics API</h2><p>You can also query the analytics and leaderboards via our API. Note that doing so is technically complex and should be done by an experienced developer.</p><p>📝 <strong>NOTE</strong>: For information and assistance, contact your CSM.</p><h2 data-id="google-tag-manager-and-google-analytics">Google Tag Manager and Google Analytics</h2><p>You can complement your Vanilla analytics with Google Tag Manager and Google Analytics by adding in the Google Tag Manager embed code. To learn more, check out the article below:</p><div class="js-embed embedResponsive" data-embedjson="{"body":"Set up Google Tag Manager Set up Google Tag Manager for webpages by following Google's \"set up and install\" steps watch the following video. Add Google Tag Manager code to Foundation theme The information in this section is applicable to Foundation themes and those looking to measure Google Analytics activity in the…","photoUrl":"https:\/\/us.v-cdn.net\/6030677\/uploads\/VWGAXAF5OFCO\/microsoftteams-image.png","url":"https:\/\/success.vanillaforums.com\/kb\/articles\/136","embedType":"link","name":"Google Tag Manager & Vanilla Forums - Vanilla Success"}"> <a href="https://success.vanillaforums.com/kb/articles/136" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc"> https://success.vanillaforums.com/kb/articles/136 </a> </div><h2 data-id="vanilla-statistics-vs.-advanced-analyticsanalytics-beta">Vanilla Statistics vs. Advanced Analytics/Analytics BETA</h2><p><strong>Vanilla Statistics</strong> is useful in a technical sense, in that the <em>page views</em> data is a true total of how many times a page was accessed, regardless of whether it was accessed by a <em>person </em>or a <em>bot</em>—in other words, this stat is also including web crawlers into the data.</p><p>On the other hand, <strong>Advanced Analytics </strong>and <strong>Analytics BETA </strong>provide a better indication of your community's overall health—they're more sophisticated and filter out web crawlers and bots in order to provide actual user data.</p> </article> </main>