3 Mistakes Most People Make When Setting Up Google Analytics
Google Analytics is one of the biggest, most commonly used data tracking and analytics tools around. It’s also user-friendly and beginner-friendly, which is a plus for business owners who are new to using data for their business.
The amount of information you can glean from your Google Analytics data can be daunting, however. It’s easy to make mistakes when using Google Analytics. You can even underutilize this tool for your business and miss out on a lot of opportunities!
I’m here to help! Let’s pinpoint some common mistakes made when setting up Google Analytics and how to fix them.
Prefer video? We've got you covered!
Google Analytics Mistake #1: Not preparing for Google Analytics 4
Right now, it’s the first month of 2023. On July 1, 2023, Google will sunset Universal Analytics — the tool you have been using and are probably using right now for your websites.
Google will be forcing its users to move to their new-ish platform, Google Analytics 4 (or GA4), by this summer. GA4 was rolled out in October 2020, but it will become the new default analytics property later this year.
Since Google will stop supporting Universal Analytics on that date, you won’t have any more data on that platform on July 2, going forward. Google Analytics 4 will separate completely independently and gather its own data for your use.
You might be thinking that you have until June to add the GA4 code, and that there’s no rush. But I encourage you to add it as soon as possible!
If you wait too long, you won’t have enough historical data to reference and base your decisions on. You want to start collecting as much data as possible to get the most accurate information on your website.
Add that code now, or set a reminder to do it in your calendar ASAP. It will only benefit you to have as much data as possible in GA4.
Google Analytics Mistake #2: Not using cross-domain tracking
You’re already collecting data for your business using Universal Analytics and maybe Google Analytics 4, too. Or maybe you’re collecting data via your funnel builder platform. Is that the best and most accurate you can get with your tracking?
I’m happy to report that you can do even better. One helpful method is cross-domain tracking in Google Analytics.
Picture this: A hypothetical customer of yours is browsing your Facebook page. They click through to a sales page on your funnel builder, like ClickFunnels. When they’re ready to buy, they’re redirected to a shopping cart tool like Thrivecart.
Without cross-domain tracking, your Google Analytics data will tell you that your customer originally came from your funnel builder. Not Facebook. This means that it’s much harder to learn where your site traffic is really coming from!
Furthermore, Google Analytics will treat this one person as multiple visitors, which inflates the number of users in your reports and further skews your data. To the best of your ability, you won’t know what’s working in your sales funnel and what needs improvement.
Don’t make this mistake! Use cross-domain tracking. It will identify every site your customer passes through on their journey, treating it as one visit. Your data will then show the original and accurate source for your traffic.
Google Analytics Mistake #3: Not using your data
I see this happen very often with business owners I support as a Dashboard Designer and Director of Operations. You know that Google Analytics is a valuable tool, so you set it up on your websites. But you never actually look at or use the data you’re collecting!
It’s okay — you’re certainly not the only person to feel overwhelmed or unsure where to start. And it’s never too late to begin using Google Analytics.
Because there’s so much you can do on this platform, we’ll start simply, with one metric.
We already discussed how helpful cross-domain tracking is. But let’s say you want to know how your marketing campaigns are performing and affecting your site traffic across domains.
You might want to know how people are discovering your business, whether it’s by your blogs or your social media posts. Or if YouTube viewers are actually clicking on the links in your video descriptions. Or where new email list subscribers are coming from.
Your Traffic Acquisition data in Google Analytics will tell you. Plus, they’ll tell you what your site visitors are doing when they get to your site. It’s pretty neat!
If you’re new to Google Analytics and you need a starting point for understanding your site traffic, I encourage you to begin tracking these metrics monthly, if not weekly:
- The total number of users that hit your site
- Your main traffic sources
- How many conversions are actually taking place on your site
It’s easy to look at numbers like sales or revenue to determine the health of your business. But if you want to dig deeper and understand which actions you’re taking are actually working from your business, Google Analytics can help!
The Fix: Use Google Analytics to help your business thrive and grow
What’s the main takeaway of this blog? Set up Google Analytics 4 now while you’re still thinking about it.
…Kidding! (But really, please set it up!)
Google Analytics is a fantastic tool that can offer you so much data and insight into your business. Having GA4, using cross-domain tracking, and using all the data available to you will benefit your business numbers and boost your confidence in data-based decision-making.
If you need help, please let me know. Contact me today and we can discuss ways I can help you with Google Analytics set-up and data analysis!
