ANALYTICS – THE IMPORTANCE
MEASURING SUCCESS
OF
Google Analytics 4
Me – Nick Baker
A I have worked with web analytics for over 20 years.
Z2002 – 2010: Log files from web servers.
Z2010 – 2023: Google Analytics Universal Analytics.
Z2021 – 2023: Google Analytics 4
A Digital Analyst – Cucumber
ZAnalytics
ZSEO
ZGoogle Ads
ZEmail marketing
Plan for today
AEnthuse you about your web analytics
AIntroduce Google Analytics 4
ZI assume no prior knowledge of GA4
Web Analytics is not only generating reports
A If you never make changes based on your analytics …..
why bother tracking it at all?
…..
Google Analytics 4
A Introduced as Google Analytics Web & App – rebranded to Google Analytics 4 (GA4).
A In March 2022, it was announced that Google Analytics Universal Analytics (GA-UA) would end on July 1, 2023.
A Is GA4 better than GA-UA? IT IS DIFFERENT
A (GA-UA data can be accessed until July 1, 2024)
A Sessions, pageviews, events, transactions
ZA session
ZA pageview
ZAn event
ZA transaction
ZSocial interaction
A Bounce rate
A Goals
A Duration = elapsed time
A Events
ZAn event (session_start)
ZAn event (page_view)
ZAn event
ZAn event (purchase)
ZAn event
A Engagement rate
A Conversions
A Duration = engaged time
What are the major differences? Google Analytics UA Google Analytics 4
Installation of Google Analytics 4
A Simplest = add the snippet to every page of your site.
A Best = Use Google Tag Manager
Installation of Google Analytics 4
A Even without Google Tag Manager, the following events can be tracked in GA4.
A I recommend not implementing these default events but building your own in GTM.
ZExample: Outbound clicks only counts links that open a new tab
A You can also create events from events – for example when a video on a particular page is viewed. You can then assign this event as a conversion.
The GA4 Interface - Reports
Highlights, Insights
Where your users come from
eCommerce
New, Returning Users
Geography of users, age etc if enabled Browser, device, operating system, screen size
Customise reports, build your own folder structure
The GA4 Interface - Admin
See next slide
Timeout, internal traffic
Create events, conversions
Set as once per session
Sets of users -> events
Parameters -> Dimensions
Data retention, apply filters, custom channels
Very Useful with GTM
Google Signals – enable with caution
A When Google Signals is enabled, your reports will be subject to thresholding.
A This means low frequency events may disappear altogether.
A Most common “GA4 is driving me crazy” reason
GA4 Engagement Rate & Bounce Rate
A A GA4 session is engaged when
ZThe user is active on the site for 10 seconds (default, this can be increased in 10 sec increments up to 60 seconds) or ZUser visits a second page. or ZUser triggers a conversion.
A The Bounce Rate in GA4 is “THE INVERSE OF THE ENGAGEMENT RATE”
A GA4 will have a lower bounce rate than GA-UA.
For a high traffic client GA-UA bounce rate is 72% compared to GA4 24%
the report
A standard report in GA4 Filter
Edit the report – save to Library
Add a secondary dimension
Editing standard reports
Explore
Explorations – Free-form
Explorations – Funnel
Explorations – Path
Google Tag Manager
A User Google Tag Manager (GTM) to manage all your interactions with GA4.
A Set up events to track the interactions on your site.
A Changes can be made quickly – no developer required
A GTM also can be used for Facebook pixels, Hotjar etc
Google Tag Manager installation
A A snippet on every page (same as traditional GA4)
A Replaces your GA snippet
A Don’t have both snippets on the page or you will have double counting (I see it happen a lot)
Ideal Analytics Framework
Website Google Ad Instagram Ad Facebook Ad LinkedIn Ad
How to track a non-eCommerce website
A The goal of most non-eCommerce websites is a user contact.
A A contact can be a rare event if your website enables self-service.
A There are many micro-interactions possible prior to a contact event.
ZSpending time and scrolling on a page
ZWatching a video
ZDownloading a document
ZInteracting with content
ZViewing a few pages
etc etc etc
Values (non-transactional websites)
A Use GTM to build a notional set of dollar values for different user actions.
A YOU choose the values based on the value to your business.
A This gives every user session a dollar value earned.
A Measure & compare the average value/spend of your campaigns
ZCampaign spend = $1.57 per click
ZWeb value = $1.76 per click
ZNotional Profit = 19c per click
Adding event values in GTM
You must use these exact parameter names
Example of dollar values per event
A Stay on page 60 seconds and scroll 80% - $1
A Watch a video to 80% - $3.
A View a PDF White Paper - $5
A Click through to Contact Page - $10
A Sign up to newsletter - $20
A Click to call or click to email - $35
A Submit contact form - $50
A Adjust the values to reflect how your site is used.
What next?
A Your tracking is now perfect.
A What about a dashboard that makes it fast and efficient to get the insights you need.
A Introducing Google Looker Studio ……
Google Looker Studio
A Free reporting tool to hook into multiple data sets
ZGoogle Analytics
ZGoogle Search Console
ZGoogle Ads
ZGoogle Sheets
ZYouTube
Z3rd party connectors for Facebook/Instagram/LinkedIn etc
A Build dashboards for the data that matters to you
A Google did reduce quotas for LS/GA4 forcing many to go to BigQuery but those quotas have recently been relaxed.
Google Looker Studio – Example 1
A This is a real Ad campaign I am managing
A Focus this month was to decrease cost per click and to increase value per session.
Google Looker Studio – Example 2
A Dashboard for the first Tauranga Stem Festival (2019)
Manual data
Analytics data
Facebook data
Google Looker Studio – Example 3
A Plug in templates
How much work is it to configure GA4, GTM, Looker Studio?
A Steepish learning curve if you’ve not used the tools before.
A 16 – 28 hours from start to dashboard if you have the knowledge
A Depends on complexity of website and the tracking required
Want to find out more?
Cucumber has 5 x 1-hour free Google Analytics assessments for attendees of Techweek 23.
Register your interest using the contact form on the Cucumber site:
https://www.cucumber.co.nz/contact
Using the subject:
Techweek
&
You
twitter.com/nickbakernz
Questions
Thank
Nick Baker Nick.Baker@Cucumber.co.nz linkedin.com/in/nick-baker-digital