When managing a website, especially one that relies on high-performance hosting, it’s not enough to simply track basic metrics such as page views and session duration. To truly understand how users interact with your content, you need deeper data that aligns with your business goals. This is where user measurement in Google Analytics comes to the rescue.

With user measurement, you can track specific user behaviors, preferences, and interactions that traditional analytics don’t capture. Whether you run an eCommerce store, SaaS platform, or content-focused website, using custom dimensions can help you optimize performance, personalize the user experience, and improve your marketing strategies.

What are custom dimensions?

Think of Custom Dimensions as additional data fields that help you track more than standard metrics. While Google Analytics provides basic data (such as number of visitors and session duration), custom dimensions allow you to collect business-specific information that’s important to you.

Why aren’t standard analytics enough?

Google Analytics shows you who has visited your website, but doesn’t tell you in enough detail who they are and what they do. for example, if you use AvaHost VPS or dedicated servers for your online store, standard analytics can tell you:
✔ How many users have visited your site.
✔ Which pages they viewed.
✔ Where they came from.

With Custom Dimensions you can track:

✔ Customer type
✔ User behavior
✔ Traffic source details
✔ Product interest

Why are user dimensions important?

✔ Better targeted marketing – Know which campaigns attract the most valuable customers.
✔ Better user insights – Track specific actions that impact sales and engagement.
✔ Optimized hosting performance – Track how different user groups affect server load.
✔ Enhanced personalization – Deliver the right content to the right audience.

How are personalized metrics defined in Google Analytics?

1️⃣ Sign in to Google Analytics. Sign in to Google Analytics and select a property on your site.
2️⃣ Create a new custom metric.
Go to Admin > Custom Definitions > Custom Dimensions.Click the “Create Custom Dimension” button and fill out the form:
✔Name
✔ Scope
✔Description
✔Event Parameter
3️⃣ Implement via Google Tag Manager
✔Create a new custom variable to collect data.
✔ Connect it to your Google Analytics tracking code.
4️⃣ Test and verify.Use Google Analytics DebugView to verify that the data is being received correctly.

Custom sizing and hosting optimization

For websites hosted on AvaHost VPS or dedicated servers, Custom Sizing can help:
✔ Allocate server resources more efficiently by tracking high-bandwidth users.
✔ Improve caching strategies for registered and guest users.
✔ Identify high-traffic pages that may require performance improvements.
✔ Prevent downtime risks with real-time traffic monitoring.

By tracking this advanced data, you ensure your site runs smoothly while remaining cost-effective.

Final thoughts

If you’re still relying solely on basic analytics, you’re missing valuable information that can help your business grow. Custom metrics let you track what really matters, from customer preferences to marketing metrics to hosting performance.