Adding text message goals to Universal Analytics

To properly track CallRail activity within Universal Analytics, you must set up a goal. Events are also available to track within Universal Analytics, but will not capture the information we send correctly.

Goals track actions that affect revenue, such as arriving at a certain page. Events track visitor behavior, such as video views and button clicks.

Getting started

For this tutorial, we’ll assume that you’ve already linked your CallRail account to your Universal Analytics account. If you haven’t, follow the instructions in this support article first, then return to this article to complete setup.

Create a text message goal

CallRail's integration with Universal Analytics is company-dependent in your account. Use these instructions to create a text message goal that reports all text messages received by each tracking number in the company you’ve integrated with Universal Analytics.

1. Log into your Google Analytics account.
   
   
2. Click ADMIN on the bottom of the left sidebar.
   
   
   
   
3. Choose the Account and Property where you'd like to create your goal.
   
   
   
   
4. Click Goals under the View tab.
   
   
5. Select + NEW GOAL at the top of the page.
   
   
   
   
6. In the Goal setup step, select Custom, then click Continue.
   
   
   
   
7. On the Goal description step, enter a Goal Name and select Event. Then click Continue.
   
   
   
   
8. In the Goal details step, set Category Equals to Text Message. The "Event value as the Goal Value" switch can be set to "Yes" or "No" without interfering with your reporting.
   
   
   
   
9. Click Save to activate your goal.

Set a goal for first-time text message interactions

If you’d like to isolate your first-time text message interactions with a customer, you can create a regular expression goal for first-time text message conversations in Universal Analytics. This allows your first-time text message Event Labels to end in "Message-01".

1. Log into your Google Analytics account.
   
   
2. Click ADMIN at the bottom of the left sidebar.
   
   
   
   
3. Choose the Account and Property where you'd like to create the goal for first-time text message interactions.
   
   
   
   
4. Click Goals under the View tab.
   
   
5. Click + NEW GOAL at the top of the page.
   
   
   
   
6. In the Goal setup step, select Custom, then click Continue.
   
   
   
   
7. On the Goal description step, enter a Goal Name and select Event. Then click Continue.
   
   
   
   
8. In the Goal details step, set Category Equals to Text Message and Label to Regular Expression to .*Message-01. The "Event value as the Goal Value" switch should be set to YES.
   
   
   
   
9. Click Save to activate your goal.

Viewing text message data in Universal Analytics

Once your goal has received text message data, you can view your text message data within your Universal Analytics account. It can take up to 24 hours once you integrate with Universal Analytics for your goals to begin reporting.

1. In the left menu, select Behavior. Then click Events, and choose Top Events.
   
   
   
   
2. The resulting table should look like this:
   
   
   
   
3. To see more information about your incoming messages, click Text Message under the Event Category column. The reporting format varies based on whether the message was received via a source tracking number or a visitor tracking number with the following attributes:
   
   
   
   - Source Tracking: Incoming text message via [tracking number] - [source name].
   - Website Pool: Incoming text message via Keyword Tracker.
   
   
4. In the Event Action column, click the link to view details on the customer messaging you.
   
   
   
   - From [caller number] [message quantity].

FAQs

Why can’t I see the caller’s full phone number in Universal Analytics?
CallRail will insert "XXX" into the caller's phone number when we report it to Universal Analytics. The Google Analytics Terms of Service require that no personally identifiable information be passed into Universal Analytics.

Can I use a regular text message goal and a first-time text message goal at the same time?
Absolutely. Using a first-time text message goal in conjunction with a regular text message goal will separate your event action reports for you so you can analyze the behavior of first-time text message interactions. Using both goals in the same Analytics account won't interfere with your reports.

Where can I learn more about goals and events?
To learn more about using goals in Universal Analytics, you can read this Google help article.
To learn more about events, and how to filter your data for further granularity, read this Google help article.