Playbook · Analytics
Vercel Web Analytics — weekly traffic notes
Turn on Web Analytics, then write a short weekly recap from Dashboard numbers only.
2026-10-16
This page vs deploy vs agent setup
This page measures. Vercel preview deploy hosts. Vercel agent toolchain wires the plugin, MCP, and AI Gateway. Installing analytics does not create a project, and the plugin does not produce a traffic recap.
| This page (analytics + recap) | Deploy sibling | Agent sibling |
|---|---|---|
| Measure visitors and optional RES; weekly recap habit | Host a preview, then promote when you are ready | Agent toolchain: plugin + MCP + AI Gateway |
| Outcome: Dashboard numbers → honest weekly recap | Outcome: clickable *.vercel.app preview | Outcome: agents know Vercel and can call MCP tools |
| STOP: inventing visitor counts | STOP: domain purchase + promote to production | STOP: OAuth / API keys / prod actions via MCP |
Who it’s for / not for
| For | Not for |
|---|---|
| People with a Vercel site who want a weekly note from real Dashboard numbers | Readers who only need a preview URL → Vercel preview deploy |
| Agent-led ops: bot drafts the recap shell; human enables Analytics, deploys the package, and pastes Dashboard numbers | Inventing visitor counts |
| Operators who want privacy-friendly, cookie-less page analytics built into Vercel | Inventing visitor counts, or treating this page as privacy law advice |
Stack (spine + observability)
Optional later: custom events (Pro+), Web Analytics Plus UTM, Speed Insights Drains, and Observability Plus. Copy numbers from the Dashboard you can see.
- Web Analytics — anonymized visitors, page views, bounce rate, and panels; no cookies; hash resets daily (analytics, quickstart)
- `@vercel/analytics` — Next.js App Router mounts
<Analytics />from@vercel/analytics/nextin the root layout - Speed Insights (optional) — Real Experience Score on the free tier; full Core Web Vitals need Plus (speed insights)
- `@vercel/speed-insights` —
<SpeedInsights />from@vercel/speed-insights/nextbeside Analytics - Dashboard — Project → Analytics / Speed Insights after deploy and real visits
- Pricing — Hobby Web Analytics includes 50,000 events/month; overage pauses collection, it does not invent zeros (limits). Speed Insights free tier is RES; Plus unlocks FCP/LCP/INP/CLS/TTFB (SI limits)
Bot vs human
| Bot does | Human must do |
|---|---|
| Draft this playbook, the weekly recap template, and SEO | Enable Web Analytics in the Vercel Dashboard for the hub project |
| Suggest install and layout snippets from official docs | Install packages, commit the wiring, and deploy per the deploy playbook STOP rules |
| Leave numbers blank until you paste them | Copy Visitors, top pages, and the date range; never invent |
| Remind you to copy Dashboard numbers only | Copy the numbers from the Dashboard. Do not invent visitors |
| Never invent uniques, email counts, or “viral” claims | Confirm Hobby/Pro limits if collection pauses; upgrade the plan yourself if you need a higher cap |
Numbered steps
- Confirm a Vercel project and a deploy path. The hub must already build (Vercel preview deploy). Analytics collects after a deployment that includes the package. An empty Dashboard before real visits is normal. Agent plugin and MCP are a different page: Vercel agent toolchain.
- Enable Web Analytics in the Dashboard (quickstart). Project → Analytics → Enable. Enabling adds
/_vercel/insights/*routes on the next deployment. The human clicks Enable. - Install `@vercel/analytics` and mount it.
npm i @vercel/analytics. App Router: importAnalyticsfrom@vercel/analytics/nextand render<Analytics />in the root layout. Pages Router uses the same package in_app. Other frameworks: use the matching export on the quickstart page. Human verifies the framework tab. - Optional Speed Insights.
npm i @vercel/speed-insightsand render<SpeedInsights />from@vercel/speed-insights/nextnext to Analytics. The free tier is RES. Full Core Web Vitals need Speed Insights Plus — human verifies Billing. Do not quote LCP/INP/CLS unless Plus is actually on. - Deploy so the scripts ship. Preview first. Promote to production when you are ready. After deploy, the Network tab should show an analytics request. No visits yet means empty panels, not a bug.
- Read the Dashboard honestly. Visitors are unique for the selected range; identity is a daily hash, not a cookie, and it resets each day. Page views can count the same visitor more than once. Bounce rate is single-page sessions over total sessions. Panels cover top pages, referrers, country, OS, and device. Record the date range and whether the numbers are Preview or Production.
- Fill the weekly recap from the Dashboard only. Note the date range, unique visitors, page views, bounce rate, and the top pages. Leave a cell blank until you can paste the number. Do not invent visitors.
- STOP. Do not invent or round up visitors. An empty panel is not “zero forever”. If the Hobby cap pauses collection, say so.
Failure modes / caveats
- Wrong sibling — this page does not create a Vercel project and does not install the agent plugin.
- Enabled in Dashboard but package not deployed — little or no data.
- Mixing preview and production — label the environment.
- Daily hash ≠ cookie-based GA users — do not compare them blindly.
- Hobby 50k events/month — shared across projects; pause after the grace period when exceeded.
- Speed Insights Plus — quoting LCP/INP/CLS without Plus may be wrong for the plan.
- Custom events — Pro+; do not assume funnels on Hobby.
- Dashboard is the source of truth. Do not scrape session cookies.
Newsletter CTA
Write the recap from Dashboard numbers only. Do not invent visitors.
Human must verify
- Web Analytics Enable is on the correct Vercel project.
@vercel/analytics(and optional@vercel/speed-insights) is deployed on the environment you will cite.- Every recap number matches the Dashboard for the stated date range and environment.
- Current Hobby/Pro event limits, and whether collection is active or paused.
- Whether Speed Insights shows RES only or Plus metrics on your plan.
- The email signup figure comes from Resend, or is explicitly “not tracked yet”.
- Every cited number matches the Dashboard.
- Promote to production when you are ready.
Doc gaps
Intake paths can vary by package version. Confirm pricing in Billing. Copy numbers from the Dashboard you can see.
Docs cited
- Vercel Web Analytics · 2026-10-16
- Getting started with Vercel Web Analytics · 2026-10-16
- Pricing for Web Analytics · 2026-10-16
- Speed Insights Overview · 2026-10-16
- Getting started with Speed Insights · 2026-10-16
- Limits and Pricing for Speed Insights · 2026-10-16
- Speed Insights package configuration · 2026-10-16