Google Analytics Consulting

All standard Universal Analytics properties will stop processing new hits on July 1, 2023. Universal Analytics 360 properties will stop processing new hits on October 1, 2023. After that, you’ll be able to access your previously processed data in Universal Analytics for at least six months. Source: Prepare for the future with Google Analytics 4.

Server side tagging is how to minimize tracking loss.

Often deployed with Google Tag Manager, server-side tracking is the process of collecting user behaviors and sending it to a server you own instead of Google. This is known as “first-party” as you own it. Then your server sends the data to a third-party source such as Google, Facebook, Linkedin, etc. for processing.

This gets around recent changes to third-party cookie and privacy policies. It also provides alternative solutions for measurement for organizations subject to GDPR and CCPA.

Migrating to Google Analytics 4 involves a process called mirroring.

In short, you mirror your Google Analytics install with a GA4 install. If you’re using Google Tag Manager, this is usually an easier task than if hardcoded.

Since GA4 is in beta still, you work with both installs to ensure data accuracy and actionability. When GA4 starts providing more functionality than your current install, you make the cutover to using GA4.

There are numerous risks to consider in the transition to GA4 including your people, processes and platforms. Specifically, not only does GA4 have to have all the features launched that you need, your teams will have to be trained as well.

Please contact us to open up a conversation about your needs.

BigQuery. Thresholding is applied to your GA4 account whenever individual users might be identified by the data shown in a report.

Cardinality causes similar issues as thresholding, but GA4 does not warn you with a nice icon when high cardinality is ruining your data. What happens when you have a problem with high cardinality is that a large percentage of your data will fall in the “other” dimension. In some cases up to 95 percent of your data!

With BigQuery, you can get a raw copy of all of your data and build reporting on top of that. It’s the only way to solve the thresholding and cardinality issues currently in Google Analytics 4.

Why is Google doing this? It is likely due to global policy regulations in regards to data collection and consumer privacy.

Many times! We have architected data models for multiple types of clients and their data warehouse architectures. Our analytics, cloud and development teams work hands-on with clients to ensure that the process is seamless and automated.

Absolutely. We have helped multiple clients purchase Google Analytics 360. Our main goal in this case is to help clients truly assess if they need 360 or an alternative solution which provides everything needed at a fraction of the cost.

Self-referrals in Google Analytics are caused by improper cross domain tracking often caused by using a tool or platform which links to a different root level domain from your site where you want to maintain tracking.

The “allow linker” plugin does not always fix cross domain tracking problems as it only looks for HTML links within the page code to attach cookie data. Forms, single sign on solutions or widgets can use javascript to direct the user to another domain where tracking can be maintained. In this case custom scripts have to be developed to pass the cookie data through the forms.

Contact us to get started solving your self-referral problems.

When you have self-referrals, a technical bug happens where a new session is recorded by a new user. The traffic source for the session is set as a referral from your own website.

When this happens, and you also have the referral exclusion list setup to disallow referrals from your site’s domain, Google Analytics defaults to the last known traffic source. Since there is no known traffic source for the new user and session, it defaults the traffic to coming from “Direct”.

To solve this, you must remove the referral exclusion list and get started on fixing your cross domain tracking problem.

Yes (to a degree). Migrating from Adobe Analytics to Google Analytics can be done, provides a number of benefits, and can be accomplished in a few months using Big Query.

Saving money, increasing flexibility, and democratizing data are the biggest benefits of switching from Adobe Analytics to Google Analytics. Switching to Google Analytics Free Version cut downs on monthly costs, which for Adobe Analytics starts at around $10k+.

Using Google Analytics to process your data allows teams to send and receive that data into other platforms, like a CMS or BI tool with less reliance on products in the Adobe ecosystem.

Adobe Analytics has a steeper learning curve when it comes to accessing data and building reports, whereas Google Analytics makes it easier for more people to find what they need.