What is BLOX Analytics?
BLOX Analytics is the application where reporting of site statistical data can be viewed. Reports can be set with unique parameters, allowing you to find the stats that you care about. These reports can then saved conveniently for later, or even emailed at a specified frequency. The report stats generated are java script based, not log based. The applications and configuration of Analytics may vary by site. BLOX Analytics uses MurlinStats as default, but can be configured to utilize Google Analytics and AddThis.
The Analytics manager is divided into two main areas:
1. Reports: The Reports on the left-hand side allows a user to choose which applications and reports to work with.
2. Dashboard: The Dashboard is the main area where reports located within the Reports panel are populated for viewing.
Report
The Reports on the left-hand side allows a user to choose which applications and reports to work with. This can be expanded or collapsed by selecting the double arrows at the top.
NOTE: Google Analytics starts collecting data from the point where the credentials are set. It will not have any data for any point before that.
NOTE: The folders you see in your screen may differ from screenshots shown in documentation based on what software applications are installed on your site.
Expand each folder to see what reporting options are available for each software application.
Dashboard
The Dashboard is the main area where reports located within the Reports area that are populated for viewing.
To view a report within the Dashboard in a new tab, select the report and either double-click it, or choose the View button at the top of Reports to populate the report. The new report will appear in a new tab.
In addition to populating reports within the tabs of the Dashboard, the main Dashboard can also be customized to show frequently accessed reports by dragging and dropping reports directly onto this section.
In our example below, we've populated the Calendar: Published and Editorial: Published reports on the main Dashboard, while the Editorial: Summary report is populated in a tab within the Dashboard.
NOTE: The Dashboard display is saved by user. The Users section considers a 'user' as any registered user (normal) on the site. 'Visitors' are any persons landing on a site page not logged in as a registered user.
To expand a report from the main Dashboard to a new tab, select the Expand button in the upper right corner for that particular application.
After a report has been expanded, it will appear in a new tab, but will also remain on the main Dashboard. A Start Date and End Date can be modified for the current report.
NOTE: Many reports with date ranges will support "pretty dates" so the user could enter the Start Date of '1 week ago' and later save the report to easily have a Weekly report.
A report can easily be removed from a tab. Select the X in the upper right hand corner to close the tab.
To navigate between reports that have been populated within the Dashboard, click on another tabbed report to switch to that particular report.
A user can also switch between reports populated in the Dashboard by double-clicking the report within the Report.
To remove all tabbed reports from the Dashboard, right-click on a tab and select Close all.
NOTE: Charts have been removed from Scheduled and Emailed reports.
Report views
Many of the reports provide different options for viewing the data in the upper right corner of the Reports area. Users can select the following available views for reporting: Column, Line, Bar, and Pie.
Tabbed report filter fields
Many of the Statistics Analytics reports provide search options and filter fields, allowing one to view only the information of interest. These options include:
Start Date: The beginning date of a search query.
End Date: The ending date of a search query.
Search text: This field is used to enter text relating to your search.
Select Ad: This field is used to isolate a particular ad for reporting.
Business Name: This field is used to isolate a particular business for reporting.
Month: A specific month can be chosen for reporting.
Results or Limit: A user can narrow down the number of results (5, 10, 20, 50, or 100) that are reported in a search.
Type: A particular type of asset can be filtered for reporting. Asset types include: Article, Image, Audio, Flash, HTML, Link, PDF, Poll, Text, Video, YouTube, ZIP, Collection, and Table.
(When using the Site application, Type is limited to: Title, Timeline, Browser, and Domain.)
(When using the Classifieds application, Type is limited to: Ad, Coupon, PDF Display Ad, Real estate, and Vehicle.)
(When using the Community application, Type is limited to: Date, Title, Continent, Country, and Service.)
(When using Google Analytics, Type is limited to: Title, Browser, City, Connection Speed, Continent, Country, Flash Version, Hostname, Is Mobile, Java Enabled, Language, Network Domain, Network Location, OS, Region, Screen Colors, Screen Resolution, Sub Continent, Time, Visitor Type, and Second Page.
Market: Used to narrow down a particular market for a report.
Statistic: These filter fields include: Total Contracts, New Contracts, Sent, Open, and Clicks.
Status: The status of a particular ad can be used in reporting. Status can include: Enabled, Disabled, Expired, Wait, and Deleted.
Service: A particular service can be isolated for reporting. Services can include: Business Section, e-Edition Subscription, Print Subscribers, etc.
Event: An event is an action that takes place in the browser. An event can be anything from a click, to hovering your mouse over an image, to dragging and dropping an image. Events can include: Total and Unique.
Action: Action refers to the type of behavior that relates to an event. Actions can include: Played, Paused, Stopped, Finished, and Time Shifted.
Radius: A mile radius can be entered to isolate businesses within a geographical location. Radius options include: Everywhere, 5, 10, 25, 50, and 100 Miles.
Zip code: Enter a zip code to use in conjunction with the Radius feature.
Filter: A filter can be applied to a business search. Filters include: Featured, Edited, Removed, All Businesses.
Featured Priority Range: A minimum and maximum Featured Priority Range can be entered here.
Main Category: An ad category can be added to isolate your business. All Categories are included by default, but a particular category (Agriculture, Business Services, Community Services, etc.) can be narrowed down here.
Search fields: Search fields can be selected to be included in a search. These fields include: Name, Branch, Description, Keywords, Category Name, City, and State.
Keywords: Search for keywords separately from the main search.
Share Type: Shares are the number of clicks the AddThis widget accumulates during a given period. These fields include: Shares, Clicks, and Follows. Clicks are the number of times a user has clicked on an item that has been shared to them by the AddThis widget. Follows are the number of people who are follow (or subscribe) to an RSS feed, Facebook page, etc. via the AddThis widget.
Period: Choose a period for your data. The period always starts from yesterday to the given period. Options include: Yesterday, A Week Ago, and A Month Ago.
Service: When using AddThis, All sharing services are set to the default, but a particular service, such as Blogger, Digg, Facebook, and Google +1 can be isolated for reporting.
URL: Filters your search from a given path. Only enter that path that follows your domain. For example, if you're looking for http://www.townnews365.com/support, this field would contain /support.
