What is Yandex Metrica
Yandex Metrica is a tool that provides a set of data tracking tools, conversions and (as we shall see) user behavior on the site of Yandex, the leading search engine in Russia.
It's a tool free which offers functions similar to Google Analytics (with due proportions and differences, especially in terms of optional data sampling and attribution models) integrating them with some functionality closer to the CRO and tools like Hotjarsuch as Heat Maps and user session recording.

How to install Yandex Metrica
The starting point is to install a tracking code that will be inserted into the site you want to track.
On the home screen it should be entered:
- the name of the site
- the basic domain and any additional domains
- time zone and currency
- session expiration time (set by default to 30 minutes, as Google Analytics)
The home screen also gives you the ability to consent to the processing of a series of metrics that, as we shall see, are a bit of the hallmark of Yandex Metrics from the classic tools of Web Analytics.

Once you press the Create Tag you are provided with a snippet of code to insert into your website.
From this point of view you have various possibilities: the least indicated is to paste the snippet inside the code of the pages of your website, while the two recommended options are:
- (the simplest): install the WordPress plugin Yandex Metric
- a little less simple but Absolutely recommended is the implementation of the Yandex Metrics snippet via Google Tag Manager. Let's see how.
How to install Yandex Metrica with Google Tag Manager
As for Yandex Metrica, you will need to create a custom html tag in Google Tag Manager.
The first step is to copy the code snippet for the installation of Yandex Metrica: you can find it in the next screen or, if you have already exited the installation process, in the Settings / Tags section:

Once you have copied the code, in Google Tag Manager you will need to:
- create a new custom Html tag
- Paste the code snippet of Yandex Metrica
- In activation choose All Pages
- Assign a name to the Tag and save it
- test the correct implementation of the Tag with the Preview

Before you start looking at the data tracking features present in the Yandex Metrica Dashboard I suggest you take a look in the Settings to the section Goalswhere you can set up conversion tracking and create a code for the retargeting with Yandex Advertising.
Track conversions with Yandex Metrica
Conversion tracking is fairly standard and in its simplest form involves entering the url of a thank you page where the user uniquely lands after completing the intended conversion on your website.
Next to the treatment objective Pageview you can also set it as a conversion:
- The number of pages a user sees within a single section (Page Depth)
- Tracking a click on a button or filling out a contact form through a JavaScript event
- A sequence of events or Pageview in a single user session (Multistep Goal)

At this point, if the installation of the code is successful, Yandex Metrica will start tracking data about your website that you can see within the Dashboard: let's see which ones.
The Dashboard of Yandex Metrica
The Yandex Metrica Dashboard comes with a number of widgets such as:
- users
- new users
- bounce rate
- time on site
- source of traffic
- device
- depth of scrolling on the page
- age
In the navigation menu on the left then navigate to the internal sections: in addition to the one dedicated to the creation of reports and segmentation, the most interesting are those for which Yandex Metrica differs from Web Analytics tools by integrating, through the Webvisor some of the features of CRO, such as tracking user behavior, in particular:
- session replay: allows you to record infinite videos of user behavior on the site, keep them stored for 15 days and filter for multiple values;
- scroll map: heat map to scroll on the page;
- click map: click heat map;
- link map: tracks the individual links at page level, also indicating the link location CTR;
- form analysis: it verifies the behavior of users towards the contact form, analyzing the abandonment rate at each field and the relative conversion rate. An essential function in view of theform conversion rate optimization.
Alternatives to Yandex Metrica
Looking for an alternative CRO software for your business? Here are some good alternatives to Yandex Metrica.
Lucky Orange
Low cost packages Lucky Orange offer many interesting services, including heat maps, session logging, channeling analysis and more, all designed to help users understand why visitors aren't converting. Lucky Orange is one of the few conversion optimization platforms to include a chat feature, making it easy to communicate directly and informally with customers.
Although there is no free package, the packages available are of great value as they provide heat map analysis, site mouse monitoring, funnel conversion, live chat, and form analytics that will help you gain more insight into how visitors interact with your websites.
Mouseflow
Mouseflow, based in Denmark, is another site optimization tool aimed at diagnosing why visitors aren't converting. With session replay, heat maps and channeling, the tool has many of the features marketers and CROs need to optimize conversions.
Mouseflow allows you to track the movements of your visitors within your website, record their activities and replay them whenever you want. However, Mouseflow offers nothing in terms of surveys and pools about the visitors.
Hotjar
Hotjar is a powerful tool that reveals users' online behavior. Combining analytics and feedback tools, Hotjar gives you the big picture of how to improve your site's user experience and conversion rates. Through heat maps, session recordings and surveys you can monitor user behavior and improve your site or app accordingly.
Hotjar has the ability to show you how your online users are really experiencing your website through various feedback gathering methods. Users can view visitor behavior using click-through, cursor movement, and scrolling heat maps. Users, on the other hand, can also collect visitor records and conduct feedback surveys, or submit surveys and forms to receive feedback directly from site visitors.
Conclusions
While not comparable to Google Analytics, Yandex Metrica has some interesting features that, alongside the traditional metrics of a Web Analytics tool, allow us to monitor user behavior for free through heat maps and session logging.
Do you already use Yandex Metrica? Let's talk about it in the comments.