The Zien360 client portal provides usage statistics for your tours. What do those figures tell you, and what extra data would answer a particular question? Start by understanding what is counted.
With Zien360 hosting, the client portal gives you usage statistics for your tours. These figures are a starting point for reviewing usage. To interpret them, you need to know what was counted and the reporting period.
Statistics in the client portal
Fast hosting, information editing and usage statistics are included in our package of €120 per year, excluding VAT. The portal also lets you update text, ordinary photos, videos, links and other added information. You cannot add extra 360-degree photographs there.
Start with the report you are viewing: what does the figure mean? A counted action, visit and user are different concepts. To track a particular button, space or video, agree what additional measurement you need and check that it is recorded. Having usage statistics does not mean every possible action is reported separately.
Choose a question the data can answer
‘Do people use our tour?’ is a broad question. Do you need to know whether visitors open it, enter a particular space or start an explanation video? Choose actions that relate to the purpose of your tour.
Google Analytics is one option for additional measurement. It calls a measured interaction an event. An event can include details such as the name of a space or video. Those details need to be recorded with the action. A page view alone does not show what someone did inside the tour. Google explains how to set up events and check them in Realtime and DebugView.
Rijnstate: from exploring a room to playing a video
Rijnstate’s intensive care tour includes panoramic videos with explanations by an intensive care specialist and a speech and language therapist, and about physiotherapy. Visitors can look around while a video plays. This project illustrates the different actions a measurement plan can distinguish:
- Opening the tour. Agree whether this means clicking the button or the moment the player is ready.
- Starting an explanation video. Record which video starts. Selecting an information point and the video actually playing may be separate moments.
- Reaching the end of the video. An end signal from the player says something different from a start. On its own, it does not establish that someone watched the whole explanation attentively.
This is an example measurement plan, not a report of Rijnstate’s usage figures. Read about this format on our 360-degree video page.
The website and tour may work separately
A tour may appear in an embedded window on a website while its player runs on another domain. The website and tour are then separate components. During setup, check how actions in the player will reach the intended analytics environment.
Video measurement also depends on the player. Google Analytics describes automatic video measurement for embedded YouTube videos with the required API support. A separate panoramic player needs its own setup to be checked. Do not assume every video automatically provides the same statistics.
Counting actions differs from counting visitors
The same visitor can reopen a space or restart a video. Event counts and user counts therefore answer different questions. Alongside the figures, check which actions are included and the reporting period.
A start, click or end signal tells you about an interaction. What someone understood, a later enquiry or the value of an order requires other information. A frequently opened space alone cannot establish those outcomes.
Check an additional measurement before relying on it
When adding a measurement in Google Analytics, carry out an agreed action after setup. Check that the correct event and space or video name appear. Google Analytics provides Realtime and DebugView for this purpose. Also check that reopening and restarting are counted as agreed.
Decide who can view the report and who will update measurement when the tour changes. For a new virtual tour, the intended use and measurement can be discussed together. With an existing tour, start by reviewing the player, current embedding and available data.
If the layout, explanations or controls change, review the associated measurement plan too. Read what is involved in updating a virtual tour.