Matomo for universities and research
Research funders, research institutions and universities have a public information mandate and need to show that their content reaches people. Often on websites with hundreds of thousands of pages, with many stakeholders and high data protection requirements. I review existing setups, structure measurement so that even very large websites can be analysed meaningfully, and deliver reliable KPIs for reports. My projects include the German Research Foundation (DFG), a Max Planck Institute and Mercator Ocean International.
Sound familiar?
- 01Hundreds of thousands of pagesProject databases, publications and staff pages. Individual pages say little, areas and content types say a lot.
- 02KPIs for the information mandateHow do you show that your information reaches the public and the research community?
- 03Reporting and foundation reportsAnnual and foundation reports need figures that are comparable and traceable.
- 04Data qualityBots, internal visits, double counting and gaps distort the figures that go into reports.
- 05Many stakeholdersCommunications, IT, departments and management want different things from the same data.
- 06Data protection and GDPRData protection is involved early and has to support the configuration.
Structure for very large websites
With hundreds of thousands of pages, an individual page says little. When tracking, I give every page its area, content type and topic, for example project, publication, person or press release. That produces reports by content type and topic, and the instance is configured so that archiving and the database can handle these volumes.
KPIs for the information mandate and reports
We define how the success of your communication can be measured: reach per content type, downloads of publications and data, searches and paths to specialist information. With fixed definitions the figures stay comparable over years, and dashboards deliver them for reporting, annual and foundation reports.
Data quality
Otherwise bots, internal visits, double counting and gaps flow into reports unchecked. In the audit I check what is measured and what is not, and set up filters and checks so that the figures stay reliable.
Many stakeholders, one measurement plan
Communications, IT, departments, management and data protection have different questions for the same data. I bring them together in one measurement plan: what is measured, why, with which settings and who gets which reports.
Data protection from the start
Matomo runs in your own data centre or with a provider of your choice, without third parties, without cookies if you like and with shortened IP addresses. Data protection is involved early and receives the documentation of the settings for its assessment.
Projects for, among others
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
How do you analyse a website with hundreds of thousands of pages?
Through structure rather than individual pages. Area, content type and topic are passed along as custom dimensions when tracking, for example project, publication or press release. That gives you reports by content type, even if no single page gets much traffic. I configure archiving and the database so that they can handle these volumes.
Which KPIs suit the information mandate?
That depends on your goals. Typical ones are reach per content type, downloads, searches and paths to specialist information. We define them together, with clear definitions, so that they stay comparable year after year.
Can you review an existing setup?
Yes. The audit shows whether the figures are right, where bots or double counting slip in and whether the settings match the documentation for data protection.
How do we bring the many stakeholders together?
With a shared measurement plan. I guide the alignment between communications, IT, departments and data protection and record what is measured, why, and who gets which reports.
Does Matomo run in our own data centre?
Yes, on your institution's servers or with a provider of your choice. I plan the installation with IT, harden it and hand it over with documentation.
Sounds like your project?
In an intro call we'll clarify where you stand and what comes first.
Your contactPeter Boehlke, Matomo consultant from Munich, 17 years in the Matomo team