Use Google Analytics to Track When People Print your Web Pages

This guide describes how you can track when users print web pages on your site. You can use your existing Google Analytics profile to track print usage.

Say you have a website that is printer-friendly but you are not too sure if people are actually printing your web pages. And if they are, you are interested to know how often they print pages and what is the kind of content that users are most likely to print on your site.

 

There are basically three ways to print any standard web page (see above screenshot):

Experienced users may press the Ctrl + P keyboard shortcut (or Command-P on a Mac) to send the current web page to the printer.Some web pages have a dedicated PRINT button on the page itself.Other users may prefer to print web pages from the File Menu that is standard across all browsers.

Because there are multiple ways to print the same web page, it is difficult to use JavaScript based event tracking in Google Analytics to track print usage.

A simple workaround is that you add an invisible tracking image (like the ones used for read receipts in email) only in the printed version of a web page. Thus when a user prints a web page, through any route, that tracking image will download on his / her computer and you can easily track the print (and print preview) action.

That was the boring theory but you can safely skip the technical details and get right into implementing the actual tracking code.

All you have to do is copy-paste the following code above the closing tag in your website template. If you are on WordPress, you can simple paste it in your footer.php file.

Please remember to replace REPLACE_ME in the code with your actual Google Analytics Profile ID which looks something like this – UA-12345-89.

Once the tracking code is live, wait for a day or two as as Google Analytics may take time to process usage data. Then log in to your Google Analytics dashboard, go to Content –> Site Content –> Pages and set /print/ as the search filter.

You’ll get a complete list of web pages that have been printed in this duration while the Pageview column will reflect the the number of times a particular page has been printed . Set the Secondary Dimension in the report as Browser or Operating System or Country and you’ll get additional details about the users who are using the Print function on your web site.

Here’s a sample print usage report generated with Google Analytics.

 

Should you be interested in the technical details, here they are. The JavaScript code adds the following CSS rule to your HTML webpage while it is rendering in the browser.

This is simple print only rule that will add an invisible tracking image to the printer-friendly version of your page (body:after). When a user prints the page, the tracking image downloads on the user’s computer and this is registered as a page view in Google Analytics as shown in the above report.

The above CSS rule is only activated when the users invokes the print or print preview command. Some PDF writing programs also use the Print stylesheet when saving web pages to PDFs and thus, the same tracking code will work in those cases as well.

PS: If you have a PHP enabled web server, you can simple copy this PHP file on to your own server as index.php and  replace ctrlq.org/urchin in the above JavaScript code with your own web server’s address.

Sidengo Offers Attractive, Easy-to-Create Personal Nameplates with Multiple Pages [Webapps]

 The catch to most personal and professional nameplate sites is that they offer you a single page that you can customize and tweak to describe yourself, and that's all you get. They may integrate with your social networks, but it's really for display purposes. Sidengo is a new service that's a little different. Instead of giving you one page, Sidengo allows you to create a nameplate site, complete with multiple pages for contact info, social networks, and more.

Much like some of our other favorite nameplate sites, Sidengo lets you sign up and build a landing page that visitors can visit and learn more about you. You get a number of templates to get you started, or the option to upload your own images to use with your site, and a WYSISYG editor that lets you customize and tweak the design in real time without working with the underpinnings of the site.

Where Sidengo departs from the traditional model though is in the number of modules and sub-sites that it offers. You can add a contact page with as much or as little information on it as you want, like a map, phone number, and email address, and requests for information through the page will be routed to you. You can integrate your social networks with the site, so visitors can click to see your recent tweets, Facebook posts, and if you have a Facebook page for your brand or business, you can integrate it with your landing page as well. You can even upload PDFs, custom forms for visitors to fill out, and other documents so visitors can grab a copy of your resume if you're looking for work, or your menu if you're a restaurant owner.

The service also supports Flickr galleries, YouTube video embeds, and sports mobile optimization out of the box, so as soon as you set up your page, it's ready for viewing on mobile devices. Sidengo is currently in beta, and while it's in beta the service is free. If you've tried other services and are looking for an alternative, Sidengo is worth a look.