Google-analytics – Ecommerce Tracking with Google Analytics

Three possibilities:

1) The software doesn't have the correct analytics code everywhere that's it's required. 2) You haven't configured the analytics correctly through the software. 3) You have a heavy number of users using no track plugins or addons like Firefox's request policy that blocks third party domains unless the users explicitly enables them. I run request policy on FF myself, it's use and similar tools is common amongst certain technical communities and what your product is for would give a hint as to whether this is the likely issue.

Aside, my wife is a shoe size 2 and you've just made her day.

So, there's no real way to do this reliably with Google Analytics. The closest you can do is the following:

Create a unique Google Analytics account. Paste the Google Analytics code on a page somewhere. Using Firebug, Webkit inspector, Fiddler, or some other HTTP inspector, find out the value of the __utm.gif image request that your Google Analytics snippet generated. Embed that image on your forum post.

Now, none of the resulting data will be reliable except 'Pageviews', and perhaps location. All of the data about computer configuration, source, etc. will just be shown as it is on the computer on which you initially created the original __utm.gif. That's because all of those values are set via JavaScript and dynamically used to create that image.