{"id":6794,"date":"2022-11-08T12:46:00","date_gmt":"2022-11-08T12:46:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/11\/08\/10-google-analytics-4-settings-to-check-before-the-holiday-season\/"},"modified":"2022-11-08T12:46:00","modified_gmt":"2022-11-08T12:46:00","slug":"10-google-analytics-4-settings-to-check-before-the-holiday-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/11\/08\/10-google-analytics-4-settings-to-check-before-the-holiday-season\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Google Analytics 4 settings to check before the holiday season"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Technically, you don\u2019t need Google Analytics 4 (GA4) to measure your holiday sales efforts <strong>this<\/strong> season because Universal Analytics (UA) is still active. <\/p>\n<p>However, next year at this time UA will no longer be tracking data and the individual accounts will likely be permanently shut down and closed sometime around January 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>From next year on, the only analytics data you\u2019ll have (from a Google-owned analytics platform, anyway) will be from GA4. <\/p>\n<p>GA4 measures website activity very differently from UA, so the only way you\u2019ll get a year-over-year comparison for <strong>this<\/strong> holiday season vs. the<strong> next<\/strong> holiday season is if you have the latest platform properly configured now. That\u2019s why you should care.<\/p>\n<p>So, here are 10 things you\u2019ll want to make sure are being properly tracked today.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><em>(Author\u2019s Note: The setup paths listed below are accessed within the GA4 platform itself and you must have Admin privileges)\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\nGA4 Admin Screen<\/div>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_81 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/11\/08\/10-google-analytics-4-settings-to-check-before-the-holiday-season\/#1_Does_your_ecommerce_platform_have_an_easy_app_or_plugin_to_allow_GA4_tracking_yet\" >1. Does your ecommerce platform have an easy app or plugin to allow GA4 tracking yet?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/11\/08\/10-google-analytics-4-settings-to-check-before-the-holiday-season\/#2_Do_you_have_referral_exclusions_that_need_to_be_added\" >2. Do you have referral exclusions that need to be added?\u00a0<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/11\/08\/10-google-analytics-4-settings-to-check-before-the-holiday-season\/#3_Is_there_any_domain_tracking_needed\" >3. Is there any domain tracking needed?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/11\/08\/10-google-analytics-4-settings-to-check-before-the-holiday-season\/#4_Are_you_driving_traffic_via_Google_Ads\" >4. Are you driving traffic via Google Ads?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/11\/08\/10-google-analytics-4-settings-to-check-before-the-holiday-season\/#5_Which_analytics_account_is_your_Google_Search_Console_connected_to\" >5. Which analytics account is your Google Search Console connected to?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/11\/08\/10-google-analytics-4-settings-to-check-before-the-holiday-season\/#6_Have_you_set_up_your_landing_page_reports\" >6. Have you set up your landing page reports?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/11\/08\/10-google-analytics-4-settings-to-check-before-the-holiday-season\/#7_Have_you_enabled_the_%E2%80%98enhanced_measurement_options_for_key_events\" >7. Have you enabled the \u2018enhanced measurement\u2019 options for key events?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/11\/08\/10-google-analytics-4-settings-to-check-before-the-holiday-season\/#8_Are_your_attributions_and_lookback_windows_properly_set\" >8. Are your attributions and lookback windows properly set?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/11\/08\/10-google-analytics-4-settings-to-check-before-the-holiday-season\/#9_Have_you_looked_into_GA4s_thresholding_issue_smaller_accounts\" >9. Have you looked into GA4\u2019s thresholding issue (smaller accounts)?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/11\/08\/10-google-analytics-4-settings-to-check-before-the-holiday-season\/#10_How_will_you_take_annotations\" >10. How will you take annotations?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/11\/08\/10-google-analytics-4-settings-to-check-before-the-holiday-season\/#Ensure_you_have_solid_GA4_data_for_future_use\" >Ensure you have solid GA4 data for future use\u00a0<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"1_Does_your_ecommerce_platform_have_an_easy_app_or_plugin_to_allow_GA4_tracking_yet\"><\/span>1. Does your ecommerce platform have an easy app or plugin to allow GA4 tracking yet?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Six months ago, robust support for GA4 from platforms (e.g., Shopify, BigCommerce) was not yet available. <\/p>\n<p>Now there are apps out there positioning themselves for easier GA4 support. <\/p>\n<p>Many of them are very new so they don\u2019t yet have a large user base. Do your homework before just installing one of those. <\/p>\n<p>In fact, it might be best to consult with a professional. You need to make sure any app or plugin meets your specific measurement needs.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"2_Do_you_have_referral_exclusions_that_need_to_be_added\"><\/span>2. Do you have referral exclusions that need to be added?\u00a0<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>You may have a number of referral exclusions to consider. For example, PayPal, GooglePay, AmazonPay, ApplePay, etc.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Here is the path to set this up within GA4:<\/p>\n<p><em>Admin &gt; Property &gt; Data Stream &gt; Configure Tag Settings &gt; Show More &gt; List Unwanted Referrals<\/em><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"3_Is_there_any_domain_tracking_needed\"><\/span>3. Is there any domain tracking needed?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>If your ecommerce site is all one domain, then nope. You\u2019re good to go.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>However, if you have multiple domains, then you better make sure those are properly set up. An example of this would be a site that has the following:<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/www.companyname.comhttps:\/\/shop.companyname.com<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"4_Are_you_driving_traffic_via_Google_Ads\"><\/span>4. Are you driving traffic via Google Ads?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>If so, do you have audiences built in Google Analytics for use in Google Ads?\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Are you importing conversions from Google Analytics into Google Ads?\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a great idea to do so, but if you\u2019re using UA for conversion optimization currently, make sure you list your GA4 audiences as secondary, not primary.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>To connect to Google Ads:<\/p>\n<p><em>Admin &gt; Property &gt; Product Links &gt; Google Ads Links<\/em><\/p>\n<p>To connect to Google Merchant Center:<\/p>\n<p><em>Admin &gt; Property &gt; Product Links &gt; Google Merchant Center<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\nGoogle Ads links<\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"5_Which_analytics_account_is_your_Google_Search_Console_connected_to\"><\/span>5. Which analytics account is your Google Search Console connected to?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>You can only connect your Search Console to one analytics account at a time so if UA is your source of truth and primary platform of use for this holiday season, keep it connected there.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>However, if you\u2019re ready to make the full switch to GA4, it\u2019s pretty simple.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>To make that connection:<\/p>\n<p><em>Admin &gt; Property &gt; Product Links &gt; Search Console Links<\/em><\/p>\n<p><!-- START INLINE FORM --><\/p>\n<div class=\"nl-inline-form border py-2 px-1 my-2\">\n<div class=\"row align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-lg-3 col-xl-4 pe-md-0 pb-2 pb-lg-0\">\n<p class=\"inline-form-text text-center mb-0\">Get the daily newsletter search marketers rely on.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-lg-7 col-xl-6  pe-lg-0\">\n<div class=\"form-nl-inline\">\n<div class=\"row g-0\">\n<div class=\"form-group col-12 col-lg-8 mb-0\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-lg-4 col-xl-4 mb-0\">\n<div class=\"d-none\">\n<p>Processing\u2026Please wait.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<button class=\"btn btn-dark inlineButton w-100 rounded-0 font-weight-bold\">SUBSCRIBE<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-lg-2 col-xl-2 ps-1\">\n<p class=\"text-center mb-0\"><a class=\"nl-terms\" href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/termsofuse\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">See terms.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- END INLINE FORM --><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"6_Have_you_set_up_your_landing_page_reports\"><\/span>6. Have you set up your landing page reports?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Landing pages are often recycled for the next year, so for purposes of YOY comparison data, you\u2019ll want to make sure you\u2019re set up for it. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s how:<\/p>\n<p><em>Reports &gt; Life cycle &gt; Engagement &gt; Pages and Screens &gt; Customize Report<\/em> (pencil icon in the upper right page)<\/p>\n<p>For a full tutorial, be sure to check out <a href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/make-ga4-landing-page-report-385133\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">How to Make a GA4 Landing Page in 10 Easy Steps<\/a> from Search Engine Land contributor Krista Seiden.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"7_Have_you_enabled_the_%E2%80%98enhanced_measurement_options_for_key_events\"><\/span>7. Have you enabled the \u2018enhanced measurement\u2019 options for key events?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>In GA4, everything worth measuring is an event. Get used to it and make sure you\u2019re all set. Anything related to conversion path is an event.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>For ecommerce, that includes critical touchpoints like:<\/p>\n<p>Site searchProduct listing view pageProduct detail pageProduct video or gallery viewAdd to cartPayment page visitConfirm orderSupport page\/chatEtc.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\nEvents Setup\/Modify<\/div>\n<p>If your GA4 account does not show any of the above actions as events, then you need to get them set up accordingly.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Many of the actions you\u2019ll want to track (site search, video views, scrolls, etc.) require the \u201cenhanced measurement\u201d feature to be turned on.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, tracking for form submission signups, button, phone and email clicks needs to be set up as custom events.<\/p>\n<p>To enable enhanced measurement:<\/p>\n<p><em>Analytics &gt; Property &gt; Data Streams &gt; Enhanced measurement toggle switch<\/em><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"8_Are_your_attributions_and_lookback_windows_properly_set\"><\/span>8. Are your attributions and lookback windows properly set?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>While (in the opinion of this author) cookie-cutter attribution models have questionable value in terms of what actually drove the conversion, they are relevant when managing a campaign with multiple touchpoints in a purchase process.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>When it comes to lookback windows, the concept is pretty simple: \u201cHow far back in time do you look when measuring what assisted in driving the conversion?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>A good rule of thumb is 30 days for acquisition-related events and 90 for others.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Is it perfect? Far from it.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>However, defaulting to 30 days should cover you in most cases (but there are exceptions, of course).\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>To ensure your attribution and lookback windows are properly set:<\/p>\n<p><em>Admin &gt; Property &gt; Attribution Settings<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\nLookback window<\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"9_Have_you_looked_into_GA4s_thresholding_issue_smaller_accounts\"><\/span>9. Have you looked into GA4\u2019s thresholding issue (smaller accounts)?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>What is &#8220;thresholding&#8221;? <\/p>\n<p>If you have Google signals activated in your GA4 account, you can get session details from sites and apps associated with a Google account.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>While this can be beneficial for understanding user behavior, Google also doesn\u2019t want you to be able to personally identify an individual via GA4.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>For example, if your ecommerce site has a dozen products and gets 10-20 orders per day, there\u2019s a good chance it would be possible to identify an individual user by taking their order information and matching that up with data you can see via GA4.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019ve ever seen thresholding in a GA4 report, it\u2019s terrible.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\nThresholding<\/div>\n<p>The good news is there is a way around thresholding (for now), but you have to know where to look. Here\u2019s where:<\/p>\n<p><em>Admin &gt; Account Settings &gt; Reporting Identity &gt; Show all<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Once there, click on \u201cdevice-based\u201d and that\u2019ll mitigate the thresholding issue:<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\nReporting Identity<\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"10_How_will_you_take_annotations\"><\/span>10. How will you take annotations?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>In UA, the user is able to add an annotation to add critical context to a number.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>For example, bad winter weather may have closed the entire state for a whole weekend causing an abnormal spike in website traffic and conversions while people were stuck at home bored.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Knowing <strong>why<\/strong> there was an abnormal spike in traffic is critical from a forecasting perspective because the cause should not be considered a reliable, repeatable event.<\/p>\n<p>As of this writing, annotations are not yet available on the native GA4 platform. (Remember the entire point of this article regarding the importance of year-over-year tracking?)\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Having annotations to provide proper context to key numbers is critical.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Right now your best options are to either document them separately or install a browser extension that will give you that capability.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Do a simple Google search for \u201cGA4 browser extension\u201d and you\u2019ll see a list of choices. <\/p>\n<p><em>(This author is neither endorsing nor rejecting the use of a browser extension, but will always advise to only use ones with a solid install base, are well-supported, and come highly recommended by reputable industry experts.)<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Annotations will no doubt be added natively to GA4 at some point in the future so documenting them in a spreadsheet somewhere safe is certainly a viable option for now.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Ensure_you_have_solid_GA4_data_for_future_use\"><\/span>Ensure you have solid GA4 data for future use\u00a0<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>GA4 has a lot of possibilities, but also a lot of complexities when it comes to setup and use.<\/p>\n<p>This article is by no means a complete checklist, as the platform continues to evolve.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But hopefully, it gives you a solid base to ensure you\u2019ll be able to have solid data from this holiday season to use in future YOY comparisons.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The post <a href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/google-analytics-4-settings-holiday-season-389330\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">10 Google Analytics 4 settings to check before the holiday season<\/a> appeared first on <a href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Search Engine Land<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Technically, you don\u2019t need Google Analytics 4 (GA4) to measure your holiday sales efforts this season because Universal Analytics (UA) is still active. However, next year at this time UA will no longer be tracking data and the individual accounts will likely be permanently shut down and closed sometime around January 2024.\u00a0 From next year on, the only analytics data you\u2019ll have (from a Google-owned analytics platform, anyway) will be from GA4. GA4 measures website activity very differently from UA, so the only way you\u2019ll get [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"h5ap_radio_sources":[],"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6794","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-best-seo-blogs"],"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"author_info":{"display_name":false,"author_link":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/author\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6794","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6794"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6794\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6794"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6794"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6794"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}