Google Analytics Archives - Chaosmap Digital Advertising & Marketing Agency

Google Analytics has significantly evolved since its Universal Analytics (UA) version, leading to the development and launch of the newest iteration: Google Analytics 4 (GA4).

We’ll also share an example coaching & consulting funnel where conversion points must be added along the customer journey. These conversion steps can easily be added inside GA4.

But first… here is the simple summary of the key differences between these two versions (GA & GA4), along with their respective pros and cons.

Universal Analytics (UA)

Pros:

Matured Features: UA has a long-established set of features that are well-understood and widely adopted by marketers worldwide.
Advanced Segmentation: Users can create advanced segments to analyze specific data subsets.
Integration with Google Products: Seamless integration with Google Ads.
Goal Completions: Allows setting up goals to track specific user interactions.

Cons:

Limited Data Connectivity: It operates on a session-based model, which can limit the ability to connect data across platforms.
Inability to Track Across Devices: Struggles to provide a unified customer view across multiple devices.

Google Analytics 4 (GA4)

Pros:

Event-based Tracking: GA4 shifted to an event-based tracking system, allowing more flexible and comprehensive data collection.
Cross-platform Tracking: GA4 excels in unifying user experiences across different platforms and devices, providing a complete customer journey.
AI-Powered Insights: GA4 leverages AI to provide automatic insights, including data trends and anomalies.
Improved Audience Building: GA4’s analysis hub allows more sophisticated audience building and better integration with Google Ads.

Cons:

Learning Curve: As it’s a new platform, marketers may need to invest time in understanding and mastering GA4.
Incompatibility: Some existing UA features, like custom dimensions and metrics, don’t translate directly to GA4. (But you can create and customize once you learn how to).
Limited Historical Data: GA4 doesn’t import historical data from UA, making it challenging to compare current data with older data.

IMPORTANT: For now, Google is still supporting both versions, and you can run them side by side. But, as of July 2023, GA Universal is no more, and you must have migrated over to GA4.

HERE IS AN EXAMPLE OF A CONVERSION TRACKING APPROACH for consultants, experts and professional services.

You need a funnel and the ability to track and report on each step:

In a traditional consulting funnel, conversion tracking is pivotal to understand how well your marketing efforts are working and to optimize your funnel for maximum conversions.

The transition from lead to application and then to booking/appointment is a journey that needs to be carefully monitored and optimized.

In Google Analytics 4 (GA4), there are several critical points to track, but the top three are:

1. Lead Generation: This is the first conversion point in your funnel. It involves tracking whenever a potential client shows interest in your services by filling out a form, subscribing to your newsletter, downloading a free resource, etc.

In GA4, this can be tracked as a custom event, where the action of form submission or resource download triggers the event.

It provides valuable insight into how effective your initial call to action and lead magnets are.

For any funnels that use Google ads (Search, YouTube), import these conversion points, track them, and feed data back to Google for your MQL’s and SQL’s.

2. Application Submission: The next crucial conversion point is when a lead submits an application or request for your consulting services.

The key here is to track not just the submission but also the quality of applications. Lead scoring is important for tracking, optimizing and preparing leads for the sales team.

In GA4, you can create a custom event for application submission and use event parameters to gather more information about the applicants, such as service they’re interested in, their industry, company size, and further qualification questions, etc.

3. Booking/Appointment Confirmation: This is the final conversion point where a lead can become a possible client by confirming a booking or appointment for the sales team (“the closers”).

You can track this in GA4 by setting up another custom event that triggers when a user completes the booking process.

This data helps you understand which marketing efforts are resulting in actual bookings and allows you to calculate your conversion rate from lead to client.

For each of these conversion points, you should also track the source or channel that the user came from (e.g., organic search, paid ad, social media, etc.)

This will provide valuable information about which channels are driving the most valuable conversions.

Remember, the goal is to use this data to optimize your funnel, improve your marketing ROI, and deliver a better user experience.

Regularly analyze your conversion data, look for trends and patterns, and make necessary adjustments to your strategy.

If you need help, reach out and connect with us here.

With Google Universal Analytics at long last out of beta, a lot of people are going to be transitioning from the old form of web analytics integration and overall script usage.

PROBLEM: Most sites and clients we come across still use the old Google Analytics code and use stacks of javascript from 3rd party vendors.

BEHOLD: There’s a new and better way to deal with page scripts for tracking and management.

There’s never been a better time to implement the new Google Tag Manager whilst transitioning through the upgrade.

The organization of scripts into one “container” (you simply place the new GTM code inside the <body> tag on your pages) is not only a great step forward, but it will aid in faster loading pages too. If your site is fast you know that your visitors will appreciate it.

The fact that you get centralized management, speed and agility is one thing.

Add to that the company governance and workflow (updates and deployments of sites from development, staging and production) with data accuracy and you have a winning formula.

The new way of using the GTM dashboard for containers, tags, triggers and variables management takes all the pain of script management to a very positive level for your business.

In truth, the improved automation, performance and reduced costs from something as “simple” as migrating from Google Analytics to Google Tag Manager should be obvious. If not, read this post:

Here are 6 Essential Reasons you won’t want to miss for you to transition and use the new Google Tag Manager.

#1 – Flexibility

Google Tag manager is ideal for flexibility. You’ll never have to involve a developer when you wish to tweak or modify a tag (scripts on your pages). This will save you time, money and a lot of headaches.

It allows you to focus on getting your web tracking working fast.

Easy to customize and even easier to achieve the tasks you want to complete. It’s never been easier or more convenient. With more flexibility you’ll find other tasks that you can do to make your site better than ever before.

#2 – Easy Upgrades

While the initial transition may be challenging or even seem daunting, once you’re done with all of the code swapping and maneuvering, you’re done.

It’s that simple.

Google has made it better than ever and they plan to continue improving upon the way they use tag manager and the interface. Meanwhile, you’re on the right path to improving your scripts management.

You can make your changes once and they will flow through to all of your pages. It’s that simple. Why would you want to have to do it more than once? Thanks to Google, you’ll never have to go through each and every individual page to make the changes that you need to have done.

Do it once … “set it and forget it”.

#3 – Acceleration

Since the new tag manager is quick, changes are done on an accelerated level. You won’t have to make a lot of changes to the code for your website. You’ll make your changes and be done with it, once and for all.

No need to revisit the site time and again to ensure that the changes have all gone through.

This will in turn speed up the launch time and ensure that your visitors won’t be wasting their time waiting for a page to load. In turn, this can keep your visitors coming back.

Visitors who find sites that load quickly and efficiently always appreciate it.

#4 – Debugging

Once you implement this, you’ll no longer have to worry about debugging scripts on your site.

Install the Google Tag Assistant as a complement to the debug process in Google Tag Manager.

This frees you up to apply your time to more important tasks such as adding in new and vital content.

Let’s face it, you have key things to do and you won’t need to stress over the website tracking. With debugging already built in, you’re sure to be up and running smoothly and effortlessly before you ever hit the publish button.

Automatic debugging is one of those vital components that helps you to remain on the cutting edge of technology. You’ll never be left to worry about those little glitches that your competitors stress over.

#5 – Versioning

It can be a pain each and every time you publish a new version of your website, or even migrating to another domain.

Google knows how much you need these vital elements so they have gone ahead and archived your former versions for you to refer to or re upload and utilize. If ever you need to “turn back time”, you’ll have it, right at your fingertips. With the click of a button you can simply go back and start over.

By utilizing this you can also organize your tags and keep track of them. This can also help you to find out if a certain tag isn’t doing what you need it to be doing and make the appropriate changes.

#6 – Pre-Built Tags

Thanks to built in tags, you can now select from a pre set list of tags that will help your tracking.

This one step can be vital to successful marketing. If you’ve never done coding before, you’re sure to appreciate the ease of this functionality. You can pick and choose, customize and set it all up simply by answering a few simple questions. If you are a developer, the marketing staff can update scripts directly, only with a quick email to let you know that a script has been applied.

Now — over to you.

It’s time to implement.

I assume you have a Google account already set up.

Just head over to tagmanager.google.com and get started.

As technology continues to move forward, more and more webmasters are making the move to Google Tag Manager. They’re updating their websites and are enjoying more visitors than ever before. It’s the perfect timing and you should make the move.

Now that you know the benefits, you’re sure to want to update your site.

NEED SOME HELP? Contact Us Here and schedule your time.

Watch the Google Tag Manager Video Fundamentals here: