How To Configure GeoIP (PECL) With Piwik On Ubuntu 24.04

Welcome to the Greenhost.cloud blog! Today, we’ll walk you through the process of configuring GeoIP using PECL with Piwik (now known as Matomo) on Ubuntu 24.04. GeoIP is an essential tool for tracking visitor locations and can provide valuable insights for your analytics. Let’s dive in!

What is GeoIP?

GeoIP is a technology that allows you to determine the geographical location of a user based on their IP address. By integrating GeoIP into your Piwik/Matomo installation, you can enhance your website analytics by visualizing where your users are coming from, enabling better-targeted content and marketing strategies.

Prerequisites

Before we get started, ensure you have the following installed on your system:

• Ubuntu 24.04
• Piwik/Matomo installed and configured
• PHP installed with PECL support
• Access to the terminal with sudo privileges

If you haven’t installed Piwik/Matomo yet, you can follow the official Matomo installation guide to get started.

Step 1: Install Required Packages

First, ensure your system is up to date. Open the terminal and run:

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade

Next, install the necessary packages to work with PECL:

sudo apt install php-pear php-dev libgeoip-dev

Step 2: Install the GeoIP PECL Extension

Now that the required packages are installed, you can install the GeoIP extension using PECL:

sudo pecl install geoip

During the installation, you might be prompted to provide the path to the GeoIP database. If you don’t have one, you can download the free GeoLite2 database from MaxMind’s website.

Step 3: Enable the GeoIP Extension

After the installation, you need to enable the GeoIP extension in your PHP configuration. To do this, create a new configuration file for the GeoIP extension:

echo "extension=geoip.so" | sudo tee /etc/php/$(php -r "echo PHP_MAJOR_VERSION;")/cli/conf.d/20-geoip.ini
echo "extension=geoip.so" | sudo tee /etc/php/$(php -r "echo PHP_MAJOR_VERSION;")/apache2/conf.d/20-geoip.ini

Step 4: Verify the Installation

To ensure that the GeoIP extension has been installed correctly, you can check the loaded PHP modules:

php -m | grep geoip

If you see “geoip” in the output, the installation was successful!

Step 5: Configure Matomo to Use GeoIP

Now that GeoIP is installed and enabled, it’s time to configure Matomo to make use of it. Follow these steps:

1. Log in to your Matomo dashboard.
2. Go to the “Administration” section.
3. Click on “Geolocation” in the left sidebar.
4. Select “GeoIP” as your Geolocation method.
5. If prompted, specify the path to your GeoIP database. If you downloaded the GeoLite2 database, it might look something like /usr/share/GeoIP/GeoLite2-City.mmdb.

Save your changes, and you’re all set!

Step 6: Test Your Configuration

To verify that GeoIP is working correctly, you can visit your Matomo tracking URL from different locations (using VPNs or testing tools) and check if the locations are being tracked accurately in your Matomo reports.

Conclusion

Congratulations! You have successfully configured GeoIP using PECL with Piwik/Matomo on Ubuntu 24.04. This integration will enable you to gain valuable insights into your visitors’ geographical distribution and enhance your website analytics.

Stay tuned for more tips and tricks on optimizing your web experience with Greenhost.cloud.