Using Piwik as an Alternative to GoogleAnalytics

Bruce Moore, D. Eng.

Moore Software Services, LLCP.O. Box 183

Coppell, TX 75019(972) 652-0254

bwmoore@mooresoftwareservices.com

www.mooresoftwareservices.com

S i m p l i f y i n g F i n a n c i a l D at a A n a l y s i s

November 11, 2015

Piwik

BruceMoore

Why Piwik?

Install

Joomlaconfig

Piwikplugins

Using Piwik

Web

Mobile

Plugins

Conclusions

Contact

What is Piwik?

An open source (GPL) alternative to Google Analytics

Can host on your own shared hosting account (in manycircumstances)

Can host on your own analytics domain

As a paid service

Piwik Bruce Moore

Piwik

BruceMoore

Why Piwik?

Install

Joomlaconfig

Piwikplugins

Using Piwik

Web

Mobile

Plugins

Conclusions

Contact

Why would you want to use Piwik instead ofGoogle Analytics (GA)?

You are hosting an internal Intranet site behind afirewall

You want information that you cannot get from GA

Visitor log is enlightening for low volume sitesUser plug-in prevalence may aid design

You want to retroactively analyse a site using serverlogs

You don’t want Google to know your site’s trafficpatterns

You are big enough that you have to pay for GA

You don’t like GA terms and conditions

You want to avoid GA spoofed referral spam

Piwik Bruce Moore

Piwik

BruceMoore

Why Piwik?

Install

Joomlaconfig

Piwikplugins

Using Piwik

Web

Mobile

Plugins

Conclusions

Contact

Why would you want to use GA instead ofPiwik?

If you comply with GA terms and conditions, Googlewill largely prevent you from major privacy violationswith respect to analytics

Easy

Low CPU overhead

Piwik Bruce Moore

Piwik

BruceMoore

Why Piwik?

Install

Joomlaconfig

Piwikplugins

Using Piwik

Web

Mobile

Plugins

Conclusions

Contact

What is referral spam and how can Piwk help?

Crawler-based (Piwik won’t help)

Spammer’s crawler visits your siteSemalt.com and social buttons families

Spoofed (Piwik will help)

Spammer calls Google with randomly generated siteIDs...never touches your siteDarodar.com family

Piwik Bruce Moore

Piwik

BruceMoore

Why Piwik?

Install

Joomlaconfig

Piwikplugins

Using Piwik

Web

Mobile

Plugins

Conclusions

Contact

Overall observations

Piwik is slower

Piwik reports are more concise

GA has better large-site visit path info

Piwik has better small-site visit path info

Piwik Bruce Moore

Piwik

BruceMoore

Why Piwik?

Install

Joomlaconfig

Piwikplugins

Using Piwik

Web

Mobile

Plugins

Conclusions

Contact

Installing Piwik is similar to installing Joomla

Create MySQL database and ID

Copy piwik.zip to subdirectory and unzip

Call install.php from browser

Configure website tracking in Piwik

Configure Piwik plugin in Joomla

Piwik Bruce Moore

Piwik

BruceMoore

Why Piwik?

Install

Joomlaconfig

Piwikplugins

Using Piwik

Web

Mobile

Plugins

Conclusions

Contact

Allow direct access to piwik/piwik.php in.htaccess

Piwik Bruce Moore

Piwik

BruceMoore

Why Piwik?

Install

Joomlaconfig

Piwikplugins

Using Piwik

Web

Mobile

Plugins

Conclusions

Contact

Before installing Piwik, modify .htaccess inAkeeba Admin Tools

Piwik Bruce Moore

Piwik

BruceMoore

Why Piwik?

Install

Joomlaconfig

Piwikplugins

Using Piwik

Web

Mobile

Plugins

Conclusions

Contact

In Web Hosting Manager, enable use ofsubdomains for piwik.yourdomain.name

Piwik Bruce Moore

Piwik

BruceMoore

Why Piwik?

Install

Joomlaconfig

Piwikplugins

Using Piwik

Web

Mobile

Plugins

Conclusions

Contact

In Cpanel, create subdomain for Piwik

Piwik Bruce Moore

Piwik

BruceMoore

Why Piwik?

Install

Joomlaconfig

Piwikplugins

Using Piwik

Web

Mobile

Plugins

Conclusions

Contact

In Cpanel, create MySQL database

Piwik Bruce Moore

Piwik

BruceMoore

Why Piwik?

Install

Joomlaconfig

Piwikplugins

Using Piwik

Web

Mobile

Plugins

Conclusions

Contact

In Cpanel, create MySQL user ID

Piwik Bruce Moore

Piwik

BruceMoore

Why Piwik?

Install

Joomlaconfig

Piwikplugins

Using Piwik

Web

Mobile

Plugins

Conclusions

Contact

Unzip and call install.php in browser

Piwik Bruce Moore

Piwik

BruceMoore

Why Piwik?

Install

Joomlaconfig

Piwikplugins

Using Piwik

Web

Mobile

Plugins

Conclusions

Contact

Error on piwik.php will not cause installproblem but will prevent operation

Piwik Bruce Moore

Piwik

BruceMoore

Why Piwik?

Install

Joomlaconfig

Piwikplugins

Using Piwik

Web

Mobile

Plugins

Conclusions

Contact

When prompted for table prefix, use a randomstring instead of ”piwik”

A random string makes it harder for an attacker toguess table names for an SQL injection attack

Joomla presents a random table prefix for you duringinstall

Piwik does not; you must do a random table prefixyourself

Piwik Bruce Moore

Piwik

BruceMoore

Why Piwik?

Install

Joomlaconfig

Piwikplugins

Using Piwik

Web

Mobile

Plugins

Conclusions

Contact

Create the Piwik super user

Piwik Bruce Moore

Piwik

BruceMoore

Why Piwik?

Install

Joomlaconfig

Piwikplugins

Using Piwik

Web

Mobile

Plugins

Conclusions

Contact

Define a website for tracking

Piwik Bruce Moore

Piwik

BruceMoore

Why Piwik?

Install

Joomlaconfig

Piwikplugins

Using Piwik

Web

Mobile

Plugins

Conclusions

Contact

Set up Piwik settings according to privacy lawsin your jurisdiction

Piwik Bruce Moore

Piwik

BruceMoore

Why Piwik?

Install

Joomlaconfig

Piwikplugins

Using Piwik

Web

Mobile

Plugins

Conclusions

Contact

In Joomla, install, enable and configure Eorisisplug with URL and site ID for Piwik server

Piwik Bruce Moore

Piwik

BruceMoore

Why Piwik?

Install

Joomlaconfig

Piwikplugins

Using Piwik

Web

Mobile

Plugins

Conclusions

Contact

In Joomla, configure privacy settings in Eorisisplugin

Piwik Bruce Moore

Piwik

BruceMoore

Why Piwik?

Install

Joomlaconfig

Piwikplugins

Using Piwik

Web

Mobile

Plugins

Conclusions

Contact

Privacy settings in Piwik and Eorisis provideclear way to honor do-not-track

Eorisis can honor browser do-not-track (DNT) byomitting JavaScript code

Other plugins may include code when set to honor DNT

GA plugins mostly include code even when browser isset to DNT

Piwik Bruce Moore

Piwik

BruceMoore

Why Piwik?

Install

Joomlaconfig

Piwikplugins

Using Piwik

Web

Mobile

Plugins

Conclusions

Contact

Piwik plugins to enable

Free

ProviderSecurityInfoBotTrackerTreemapVisualizerReferrerManagerIP2LocationLoginLdapLiveTabPlatformsReport

Paid

ClickPathUserGroups

Piwik Bruce Moore

Piwik

BruceMoore

Why Piwik?

Install

Joomlaconfig

Piwikplugins

Using Piwik

Web

Mobile

Plugins

Conclusions

Contact

The Piwik dashboard has basic informationwithout scrolling

Piwik Bruce Moore

Piwik

BruceMoore

Why Piwik?

Install

Joomlaconfig

Piwikplugins

Using Piwik

Web

Mobile

Plugins

Conclusions

Contact

The Piwik vistor log gives great summaryinformation

Piwik Bruce Moore

Piwik

BruceMoore

Why Piwik?

Install

Joomlaconfig

Piwikplugins

Using Piwik

Web

Mobile

Plugins

Conclusions

Contact

For a low volume site or page, the Piwik visitorlog provides insights that you can’t get fromGA...

Piwik Bruce Moore

Piwik

BruceMoore

Why Piwik?

Install

Joomlaconfig

Piwikplugins

Using Piwik

Web

Mobile

Plugins

Conclusions

Contact

The Piwik software log gives a lot of detail onOS and browser

Piwik Bruce Moore

Piwik

BruceMoore

Why Piwik?

Install

Joomlaconfig

Piwikplugins

Using Piwik

Web

Mobile

Plugins

Conclusions

Contact

The Piwik engagement report is a concisesummary

Piwik Bruce Moore

Piwik

BruceMoore

Why Piwik?

Install

Joomlaconfig

Piwikplugins

Using Piwik

Web

Mobile

Plugins

Conclusions

Contact

The Piwik visit time report is great look attime-of-day analysis for a web site

Piwik Bruce Moore

Piwik

BruceMoore

Why Piwik?

Install

Joomlaconfig

Piwikplugins

Using Piwik

Web

Mobile

Plugins

Conclusions

Contact

The Piwik Pages report has page generationtime information that is very useful

Piwik Bruce Moore

Piwik

BruceMoore

Why Piwik?

Install

Joomlaconfig

Piwikplugins

Using Piwik

Web

Mobile

Plugins

Conclusions

Contact

The Piwik outlinks report is a very helpfulsummary of what links people use

Piwik Bruce Moore

Piwik

BruceMoore

Why Piwik?

Install

Joomlaconfig

Piwikplugins

Using Piwik

Web

Mobile

Plugins

Conclusions

Contact

The Piwik downloads report shows which filespeople download

Piwik Bruce Moore

Piwik

BruceMoore

Why Piwik?

Install

Joomlaconfig

Piwikplugins

Using Piwik

Web

Mobile

Plugins

Conclusions

Contact

The Piwik referrer overview gives a good look athow traffic originates

Piwik Bruce Moore

Piwik

BruceMoore

Why Piwik?

Install

Joomlaconfig

Piwikplugins

Using Piwik

Web

Mobile

Plugins

Conclusions

Contact

The Piwik referrer detail report gives info on allof the referrers

Piwik Bruce Moore

Piwik

BruceMoore

Why Piwik?

Install

Joomlaconfig

Piwikplugins

Using Piwik

Web

Mobile

Plugins

Conclusions

Contact

The Piwik search engine report summarizessearch engine traffic in a vendor-neutral way

Piwik Bruce Moore

Piwik

BruceMoore

Why Piwik?

Install

Joomlaconfig

Piwikplugins

Using Piwik

Web

Mobile

Plugins

Conclusions

Contact

The Piwik website/social network report gives agood look at social media effectiveness

Piwik Bruce Moore

Piwik

BruceMoore

Why Piwik?

Install

Joomlaconfig

Piwikplugins

Using Piwik

Web

Mobile

Plugins

Conclusions

Contact

The Piwik mobile app settings page isself-explanatory

Piwik Bruce Moore

Piwik

BruceMoore

Why Piwik?

Install

Joomlaconfig

Piwikplugins

Using Piwik

Web

Mobile

Plugins

Conclusions

Contact

The Piwik mobile app visits page is much likethe web version

Piwik Bruce Moore

Piwik

BruceMoore

Why Piwik?

Install

Joomlaconfig

Piwikplugins

Using Piwik

Web

Mobile

Plugins

Conclusions

Contact

...visit page continued (2)

Piwik Bruce Moore

Piwik

BruceMoore

Why Piwik?

Install

Joomlaconfig

Piwikplugins

Using Piwik

Web

Mobile

Plugins

Conclusions

Contact

...visit page continued (3)

Piwik Bruce Moore

Piwik

BruceMoore

Why Piwik?

Install

Joomlaconfig

Piwikplugins

Using Piwik

Web

Mobile

Plugins

Conclusions

Contact

...visit page continued (4)

Piwik Bruce Moore

Piwik

BruceMoore

Why Piwik?

Install

Joomlaconfig

Piwikplugins

Using Piwik

Web

Mobile

Plugins

Conclusions

Contact

The Piwik Marketplace has over 50 plugins toadd functionality

Piwik Bruce Moore

Piwik

BruceMoore

Why Piwik?

Install

Joomlaconfig

Piwikplugins

Using Piwik

Web

Mobile

Plugins

Conclusions

Contact

After installing a plugin, you must activate it inthe Manage Plugins panel

Piwik Bruce Moore

Piwik

BruceMoore

Why Piwik?

Install

Joomlaconfig

Piwikplugins

Using Piwik

Web

Mobile

Plugins

Conclusions

Contact

The security plugin (Settings− >Diagnostic)looks a PHP and other settings

Piwik Bruce Moore

Piwik

BruceMoore

Why Piwik?

Install

Joomlaconfig

Piwikplugins

Using Piwik

Web

Mobile

Plugins

Conclusions

Contact

The optional GeoLocation database gives muchbetter location accuracy than browser language

Piwik Bruce Moore

Piwik

BruceMoore

Why Piwik?

Install

Joomlaconfig

Piwikplugins

Using Piwik

Web

Mobile

Plugins

Conclusions

Contact

Before installation, this section has links todownload GeoIP databases

Piwik Bruce Moore

Piwik

BruceMoore

Why Piwik?

Install

Joomlaconfig

Piwikplugins

Using Piwik

Web

Mobile

Plugins

Conclusions

Contact

The bandwidth plugin requires modified trackingcode or tracking by log import

Piwik Bruce Moore

Piwik

BruceMoore

Why Piwik?

Install

Joomlaconfig

Piwikplugins

Using Piwik

Web

Mobile

Plugins

Conclusions

Contact

The BotTracker plugin gives you informationabout when bots scan (or don’t) your site

Piwik Bruce Moore

Piwik

BruceMoore

Why Piwik?

Install

Joomlaconfig

Piwikplugins

Using Piwik

Web

Mobile

Plugins

Conclusions

Contact

The BotTracker shows that something is wrongwith this site’s Bing Webmaster Tools config

Piwik Bruce Moore

Piwik

BruceMoore

Why Piwik?

Install

Joomlaconfig

Piwikplugins

Using Piwik

Web

Mobile

Plugins

Conclusions

Contact

Conclusions

Piwik is

Easy to install and configure

Provides some information that is hard to get in GA

Requires understanding of privacy laws and bestpractices

Can coexist with GA

Piwik Bruce Moore

Piwik

BruceMoore

Why Piwik?

Install

Joomlaconfig

Piwikplugins

Using Piwik

Web

Mobile

Plugins

Conclusions

Contact

Contact information

Bruce Moore, DEngbwmoore@mooresoftwareservices.comwww.mooresoftwareservices.com(972) 652-0254

Piwik Bruce Moore

https://www.mooresoftwareservices.com

Why Piwik?InstallJoomla configPiwik pluginsUsing PiwikWebMobile

PluginsConclusionsContact