Analytics Updates

Automated first-party mode for Google Tags launches in closed-beta on Cloudflare

In a push to promote website owners to upgrade to first-party tracking setups, which Google recommends as the most durable tagging configuration as it can help improve measurement signals, a closed beta has been launched, allowing automated setup for the solution within Cloudflare.

As testing continues, we can expect this feature to launch fully in the coming months. The automated solution will remove many roadblocks website owners run into when setting up first-party tagging. We expect this in the future to become the new standard for websites that don’t necessarily need a full server-side tracking setup.

Google launches customer match in beta for GA4

Google has launched Customer Match, a first-party data solution for GA4. This solution enables advertisers to enhance their remarketing campaigns with first-party data instead of relying on cookies alone. Available only with smart campaigns on YouTube, it’ll soon be available for in-feed and search at a later date.

Google Analytics improves cost data import functionality

Google has reduced the friction users experience when importing cost data without all the required dimensions. GA4 now handles imported costs differently and can now report on cost, impressions, and clicks, on any combination of the required dimensions. This update will give users a more comprehensive overview of advertising performance and better data-driven decision-making.

Google enhances conversion linker functionality

The conversion linker is a tag used within Google Tag Manager that helps improve tracking reliability across different browsers. A new update to the tag will allow it to store ad click data within the local browser storage and the first-party cookie it has used historically.

The dual storage functionality will help improve tracking reliability for Google Ad Campaigns.

GA4 launches benchmarking

GA4 has rolled out extensive benchmarking features that will allow users to compare their results against industry standards, compare results against peer groups based on their business, and maintain privacy by only using aggregated data sets. To enable benchmarking in your account and access the reports, you need to go to Admin > Account Settings > Enable Modeling Contributions & Business Insights.

GA4 updates unsampled data request limits for GA360 customers

GA360 users now have a significantly higher token limit when requesting unsampled data from the GA4 platform. Historically, this was as low as 500 tokens per day but has now increased to 20,000 tokens and a per-request limit of 5000 tokens. This will help GA360 users analyse much larger data sets and the amount of exportable data that isn’t limited by sampling.

GA4 increases data export limits

GA4 has launched new increased limits on how much data you can export from GA4 in reports and explorations. The new limits are 10,000,000 cells for unsampled explorations in CSV or TSV formats, and 100,000 rows for reports downloaded as CSV format or imported into Google Sheets.

The new limits are active now and will help users of GA4 more flexibility with what they can do with the data collected in GA4.

GA4 launches data import improvements

Google has added the ability to create and manage multiple data sources for each import type within GA4. This will allow users to handle more complex data scenarios that meet their needs. One of the key features of data imports is that it leaves your existing data as it is now, and any new data is added or updated, meaning a much lower risk of accidental data overwrites.

Expert opinion

Sam Thomas- Analytics consultant at Embryo

"With lower risks to original data when importing from external services, GA4 is opening up the ability for more users to explore ways to connect their data and drill deeper into how their marketing efforts are impacting as a return for their business. It's no longer enough to have a single source of truth for marketing returns, so combining GA4 data with other analytics tools and CRM data allows a fuller picture for businesses to make smarter decisions based on data."

GA4 add plot rows option to line charts

GA4 has launched an update that allows users to plot specific rows of data in the line charts found in reports. Previously it only displayed the top 5 rows or a single row by default. Now users can change the charts to display the exact data they require.

GA4 launches cross-channel budgeting tools for ads spend in closed alpha

Whilst not available to everybody yet, the newly launched budgeting tool is designed to help analyse historical media spend and conversions to help optimise budgets for ad spend. The new budget section can be found under advertising and has insights on budget allocation, spend projections, and ongoing performance tracking across channels. It can help you create manual integrations also so no third-party platform will be left aside.

Currently only available in a closed alpha test, we’re keen to see where Google takes this in the future as it’s a valuable addition to the GA4 platform.

Google announces improvements to key event attribution

Google has announced a change for GA4 which will improve the reliability of channel attribution for key events. The change means that you should more reliably see key events assigned to the correct channels instead of being assigned to the direct channel.

Google drops plans to kill third-party cookies

Google announced its plan to kill third-party cookies from its Chrome browser four years ago. After multiple delays, most of which were caused by regulatory concerns over Google’s replacement, the privacy sandbox, Google has announced it won’t be killing third-party cookies after all.

Instead, Google has said it will offer users a choice on whether they want to accept third-party cookies, and then apply that choice at a browser level and apply it to all websites the user visits. Whether this will keep regulators happy is yet to be seen.

If we consider that 96% of users on iOS deny app tracking when given the choice, it could be said that Google might as well be killing third-party cookies just like Firefox, Safari and Brave browsers already have done.

Google launches ‘first-party mode’ in beta

Google has this week launched its ‘first-party mode’ for tracking tags in beta. First-party mode is designed to remove the reliance on loading resources from Google itself for any Google tags, including Google Tag Manager.

First-party mode means deploying the tags from your own infrastructure hosted on your website domain. In the current widely used setup, Google tags are requested from a Google domain. Now the tags will be requested from your domain, processed on the domain, and then the data forwarded to Google.

It’s designed to help recover lost data because of ad-blockers and other browser restrictions. You’ll need an understanding of your current infrastructure and preferably a CDN like Cloudflare to roll out first-party mode. It’s worth noting of course that you’ll still require consent from your users to track their activity.

Google shuts down Universal Analytics for good

Starting 1st July, Google will be shutting down Universal Analytics for good. Whilst the old UA properties haven’t been processing data for nearly a year, the properties were accessible to those who wanted to look at data in previous years. From today Google will be deleting Univeral Analytics properties and the data will no longer be available either through the web platform or through the API.

Google launches Tag Diagnostics in GA4 & Tag Manager

Google has added a new tool to GA4 and Google Tag Manager called Tag Diagnostics. It’s designed to help you diagnose potential issues with tracking related to the Google Tags or Tag Manager containers you have on your website.

The Tag Diagnostic tool categorises the overall health of your tags as:

• Excellent
• Good
• Needs Attention
• Poor

and some of the issues it can highlight with tags include:

• Additional domains not included in tag configuration
• Config tags not firing before event tags
• The conversion linker tag is missing from the container
• Pages with missing tags
• Consent mode issues (missing or misconfigured consent) for traffic/events coming from EEA & UK visitors

GA4 updates advertising section to include audience data

Google has launched an updated Advertising section within GA4 that adds additional data about the number of users that are eligible for remarketing and ad personalisation. You can find this data under Advertising > Tools > Advertising Segments. The advertising segments audience data is synonymous with audience segments found within the Google Ads Audience Manager.

GA4 adds custom event data imports

GA4 now supports custom event data imports. This will allow users to combine event-scoped custom dimensions and standard fields to join and analyse imported events with your existing GA4 data. Once imported and combined, you can create custom reports to provide a more comprehensive view of both datasets.

GA4 updates attribution models to improve accuracy of paid search campaign measurement

GA4 is rolling out some changes to its attribution models over the next couple of weeks. This update aims to improve how conversions are credited to paid search campaigns, ensuring greater accuracy when measuring the results of your ads.

Some conversions in the current attribution models are mistakenly attributed to organic search, particularly for single-page applications. This occurs when the ‘gclid’ parameter, doesn’t carry over between page views as a user moves throughout your website.

The update will ensure that campaign data is captured accurately during the first event on each new page. If a user leaves your website and returns through a different channel, the attribution will be adjusted to give credit to the correct channels.

The update could lead to an increase in conversions attributed to paid search campaigns, and therefore a decrease in organic conversions. It’s something to keep an eye on over the coming weeks. Google advises that this could potentially impact your spending on Google Ads campaigns. Before the update takes effect, review your budget caps and make any necessary adjustments.

GA4 adds feature to send reports via email instantly

Administrators in GA4 properties can now use the ‘Send Email’ feature when clicking share report. This allows users to share report data with other people instantly via email. Reports sent via email will feature the date range selected as well as any filters or comparisons added when the report is sent.

GA4 Adds Much Awaited Export To Google Sheets Function

Google has finally launched its ‘export to Google Sheets’ function in GA4 when exporting data from reports. Historically you had to download the file as a CSV and then upload it into Sheets. It’s a small but mighty update for those who use Google Sheets as a part of their daily workflow. To export your data into a Google Sheet, click Share This Report > Download File > Export To Google Sheets.