Currently in beta and available only for properties using Universal Analytics, Calculated Metrics are user-defined metrics that are calculated from existing Google Analytics metrics, such as sessions or hits.
If you are using Universal Analytics, you can set up Calculated Metrics by going to Admin > View > Calculated Metric. You will then be asked to define the formula, provide the formatting type (currency, time, integer, float, percentage), and name the new calculating metric.
For example, the formula for e-commerce conversion rate is {{Transactions}} / {{Users}}. You can find more information on Google’s support page.
Google Analytics Calculated Metrics is a long-awaited feature. In many cases, you have the option to use standard dimensions and metrics, events, goals, as well as custom dimensions and metrics, to track your performance. The Google Analytics team have worked hard to create the standard dashboard for us, but the cookie-cutter reports and metrics aren’t always sufficient for insightful analytics.
Calculated Metrics provides greater flexibility in delivering reports, enabling you to perform basic calculations right there, in your data. This is a convenient way to minimize your reporting efforts. However only 5 calculated metrics are allowed per view for Google Analytics Standard, and 50 for Google Analytics Premium. How many custom calculations do you usually have to make on your Google Analytics data? Probably more than 5, right? Now think about all the ad-hoc analysis, when you wish you’d selected one metric over another.
LunaMetrics provides 8 metrics, and Analytics Pros has delivered 25 metrics. Clearly, 5 metrics simply isn’t enough!
Of course you can gain access to Google Analytics API, get the data, and calculate your own metrics. However, developing your own API connector is not easy. You need time to not just build it, but to continue maintaining it. Analytics Canvas is a perfect solution for blending the power of the API with calculated metrics. No more limits!
What you get with Analytics Canvas is access to your data for all of your views and profiles, and an unlimited number of calculations. Moreover, Analytics Canvas provides you with additional features not available in the API, including: combining API queries to get as much data as you need, eliminating sampling, report automation, and more. Download the full-featured trial from Analytics Canvas here.