{
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    "title" : "Configure your tool’s settings carefully |Digital.gov",
    "description": "Configure your tool’s settings carefully",
    "home_page_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/","feed_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/guides/web-analytics-playbook/configure-your-tools-settings-carefully/index.json","item" : [
    {"title" :"Configure your tool’s settings carefully","deck" : "","summary" : "Be cautious when configuring your tool to maximize insights while minimizing inaccuracies.","date" : "2020-09-15T09:00:00-05:00","date_modified" : "2025-01-27T19:42:55-05:00","primary_image" : { "uid" : "guide-web-analytics-playbook", "alt" :
  "Illustration of man pointing to business strategy on a website", "width" :
  "1200", "height" :
  "630", "credit" :
  "Mykyta Dolmatov/iStock via Getty Images", "caption" :
  "", "format" :
  "png" },"branch" : "bc-archive-content-3",
      "filename" :"configure-your-tools-settings-carefully.md",
      
      "filepath" :"guides/web-analytics-playbook/configure-your-tools-settings-carefully.md",
      "filepathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/blob/bc-archive-content-3/content/guides/web-analytics-playbook/configure-your-tools-settings-carefully.md",
      "editpathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/edit/bc-archive-content-3/content/guides/web-analytics-playbook/configure-your-tools-settings-carefully.md","url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/guides/web-analytics-playbook/configure-your-tools-settings-carefully/","content" :"\u003cp\u003eYou’ve probably seen the acronym: GIGO, or Garbage In, Garbage Out. If your data are garbage in (not consistent or incorrect) when it comes into your reporting tool, then no matter how good your strategy or reporting structure, the data will inherently be garbage out as well.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eReports are only as good as the data collection behind them. Configuring your analytics tool is a crucial but often overlooked part of an analytics program’s overall success. Be cautious when you configure your tool to maximize insights and minimize garbage.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChecklist:\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLearn what all the configuration options do (e.g., don’t accidentally click boxes to share data with third parties)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDiscover how others have done it; there are plenty of examples online\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIncorporate unique aspects of your site’s structure or taxonomy in the configuration\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePut specific structural settings or filters in place that will help your strategy\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eKeep a view with no filters as a “raw data” backup\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePreserve (or enhance) data privacy with your choices\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eKey Questions:\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShould we enable IP address anonymization?\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHave we configured our site search parameter to correctly record search terms?\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDid we create a raw data view, a test view, and a production view?\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShould we enable options to automatically remove bot traffic?\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDo we need a filter to specify which domains send traffic to this tool?\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n"}
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}