Technically, you don’t need Google Analytics 4 (GA4) to measure your holiday sales efforts this season because Universal Analytics (UA) is still active.
However, by this time next year UA will no longer be tracking data and individual accounts are likely to be shut down and closed permanently by January 2024.
Starting next year, the only analytics data you’ll have (from a Google-owned analytics platform, anyway) will be from GA4.
GA4 measures website activity very differently to UA, so the only way to get a year-over-year comparison for this holiday season vs next The holiday season is if you now have the latest rig set up properly. That’s why you should be worried.
So here are 10 things you’ll want to make sure are properly tracked today.
(Author’s note: The configuration paths listed below are accessed from the GA4 platform itself and you must have administrator privileges)
GA4 admin screen
1. Does your e-commerce platform yet have an easy app or plugin to enable GA4 tracking?
Six months ago, robust support for GA4 from platforms (eg Shopify, BigCommerce) was not yet available.
There are now apps that are positioned to facilitate GA4 support.
Many of them are very new, so they don’t have a large user base yet. Do your homework before installing one.
In fact, it may be better to consult a professional. You should ensure that any application or plugin meets your specific measurement needs.
2. Do you have referral exclusions that need to be added?
You may be aware of various referral exclusions. For example, PayPal, GooglePay, AmazonPay, ApplePay, etc.
Here is the path to set it up within GA4:
Admin > Property > Data Flow > Configure Tag Settings > Show More > List Spams
3. Is any domain tracking required?
If your eCommerce site is an entire domain, no. You are good to go.
However, if you have multiple domains, you better make sure they are set up correctly. An example of this would be a site that has the following:
https://www.companyname.comhttps://shop.companyname.com
4. Are you generating traffic using Google Ads?
If so, do you have audiences built into Google Analytics for use in Google Ads?
Importing conversions from Google Analytics to Google Ads?
It’s a good idea to do this, but if you’re currently using UA for conversion optimization, make sure you list your GA4 audiences as secondary, not primary.
To connect to Google Ads:
Admin > Property > Product Links > Google Ads Links
To connect to Google Merchant Center:
Admin > Property > Product Links > Google Merchant Center
Google Ads links
5. Which analytics account is your Google Search Console connected to?
You can only connect your Search Console to one analytics account at a time, so if UA is your source of truth and your primary platform of use this holiday season, keep it connected there.
However, if you’re ready to make the full switch to GA4, it’s pretty simple.
To make this connection:
Admin > Property > Product Links > Search Console Links
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6. Have you set up your landing page reports?
Landing pages are often recycled for the next year, so for year-over-year comparison data, you’ll want to make sure you’re set up for that.
This is how:
Reports > Lifecycle > Engagement > Pages and Screens > Customize Report (pencil icon on top right page)
For a full tutorial, be sure to check out How to make a GA4 landing page in 10 easy steps by Search Engine Land contributor Krista Seiden.
7. Have you enabled ‘enhanced measurement’ options for key events?
In GA4, everything worth measuring is an event. Get used to it and make sure you’re ready. Anything related to the conversion path is an event.
For e-commerce, this includes critical touch points such as:
Site Search Product List View Page Product Details Page Product Video or Gallery View Add to Cart Visit Checkout Page Confirm Order Support/Chat Page etc.
Setting/Modifying Events
If your GA4 account does not show any of the above actions as events, you will need to configure them accordingly.
Many of the actions you’ll want to track (place searches, video views, travel, etc.) require the “enhanced measurement” feature to be turned on.
Additionally, tracking form submission signups, button clicks, phone calls, and emails should be configured as custom events.
To enable enhanced measurement:
Analytics > Property > Data Flow > Improved measurement toggle switch
8. Are your attributions and lookback windows set up properly?
Although (in this author’s opinion) cookie-cutter attribution models are of questionable value in terms of what actually drove the conversion, they are relevant when managing a multi-point campaign of contact in a purchase process.
When it comes to lookback windows, the concept is pretty simple: “How far back in time are you looking when you measure what helped drive the conversion?”
A good rule of thumb is 30 days for acquisition-related events and 90 for others.
Is perfect? Far.
However, defaulting to 30 days should cover you in most cases (but there are exceptions, of course).
To make sure your attribution and lookback windows are set up correctly:
Admin > Property > Attribution Settings
Retrospective window
9. Have you studied the threshold problem of GA4 (smaller accounts)?
What is the “threshold”?
If you have Google beacons enabled in your GA4 account, you can get session details from sites and apps associated with a Google account.
While this can be beneficial for understanding user behavior, Google also does not want you to be able to personally identify an individual using GA4.
For example, if your e-commerce site has a dozen products and receives 10-20 orders per day, it is very likely possible to identify an individual user by taking their order information and matching it to the data that you can see through GA4.
If you’ve ever seen a threshold in a GA4 report, it’s terrible.
threshold
The good news is that there is a way around the threshold (for now), but you have to know where to look. Here is where:
Admin > Account Settings > Reporting Identity > Show All
Once there, click on “based on devices” and this will mitigate the threshold issue:
Identity report
10. How will you take notes?
In UA, the user can add an annotation to add critical context to a number.
For example, bad winter weather may have shut down the entire state for an entire weekend causing an abnormal increase in website traffic and conversions while people were bored at home.
To know Because there was an abnormal increase in traffic is critical from a forecasting perspective because the cause should not be considered a reliable and repeatable event.
At the time of writing, annotations are not yet available on the native GA4 platform. (Remember the whole point of this article about the importance of year-over-year tracking?)
Having annotations to provide proper context to key numbers is critical.
Right now, your best options are to document them separately or install a browser extension that gives you this capability.
Do a simple Google search for “GA4 browser extension” and you’ll see a list of options.
(This author does not approve or disapprove the use of a browser extension, but will always advise using only those that have a strong install base, are well supported, and are highly recommended by experts in the renowned industry.)
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.
Make sure you have solid GA4 data for future use
GA4 has many possibilities, but also many complexities in terms of configuration and use.
This article is by no means a complete checklist as the platform continues to evolve.
But hopefully, it gives you a solid foundation to ensure you’ll have solid data from this holiday season to use in future comparisons to last year.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land. Staff authors are listed here.
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About the author
Adam Proehl is a partner and co-founder of NordicClick Interactive, a full-service digital agency with local and national clients, based in Minneapolis. In digital marketing since 1998, Proehl has spoken at numerous national and international conferences, including SMX. He is currently a member of the Advisory Board of the Paid Search Association.
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