MARKETING

So you’ve finally managed to differentiate your metrics from dimensions, and sessions from web page views. And now you’re scratching your head wondering what on earth a Google Analytics hit is? Fear not, the Abralytics team has come to the rescue once again. In this article, we’ll consider the following: What is a Google Analytics hit? What are the 7 categories of hits sent to the Google Analytics servers? Is there such a thing as a hit limit? Where do you find the number of hits sent from your website, blog, or app? ‍ Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels ‍ What Is a Hit in Google Analytics? A hit is any interaction between a user and your website. Google Analytics can monitor this data by attaching a tracking code to website pages. When a tracking code is triggered, a “hit” is sent to Google Analytics servers which in turn analyzes them and turns them into useful reports. Your unique tracking code will need to be added to the HTML of your website. To find your code, open up Google Analytics→Admin→Tracking info→Tracking code The Seven Hits Tracked by Google Analytics Source: Abralytics‍ ‍ * The Social Interaction & E-commerce hits will need to be set up in Google Analytics. Social Interaction: Acquisition → Social → Plug-ins  E-commerce: Admin → Ecommerce settings ‍ What Are Google Analytics Hit Limits? ‍ Photo by Mikael Blomkvist from Pexels The free version of Google Analytics limits the number of hits which can be processed per  property (property is a website, blog, or app). Property limit – 10 million hits per property per month Session user limit – 500 hits per session User level limit – 200,000 hits per day per user Timing hit limit (include site speed hits) – 10,000 hits or 1% of the total number of page views per day Concurrent limit – Limits the number of hits that can be sent concurrently and differs according to the tracker used. Wait, What Happens When I’ve Reached My Hit Limit? Once the limits are reached, Google Analytics will likely implement client sampling to reduce the amount of data sent to Google Analytics, as well as request you to sign up for the paid version called Google Analytics 360.  At this stage, you either settle for less than perfect data taken from samples, fork out a lot of money for the paid version, or will need to consider using an alternative web analytic software. How Can I See the Total Hits on My Property? Because there are limitations, it’s great to know how many hits are taking place on your website or app and plan accordingly. These numbers can easily be found if you open up Google Analytics, click on Admin → Property Settings → Property Hit Volume Source: Google Analytics demo version I’m Still Lost – Is There a Simpler Alternative to Google Analytics? Absolutely! If you’re done with the jargon and complicated reports, consider signing up for Abralytics. It’s easy to install and delivers all the relevant information 20% of the time. A simple report is conveniently delivered to your inbox either daily, weekly, or monthly.

If you are not very familiar with the sources of your website traffic, you might be missing out on a lot of optimization opportunities. ‍ Think about it this way, If you don’t know whether your website traffic comes from social media, or you have no knowledge of the email campaign that generated more signups, you will have almost zero clue on what to optimize. ‍ In fact, the best Digital Marketers understand their traffic sources and can optimize their strategies for better results. ‍ So, in this detailed article, we will break down all the traffic sources available in Google analytics, how they closely relate to medium, and how to build custom sources using parameters. First Thing, What Are Sources In Google Analytics? ‍ If you have a live website, there are chances that your website is receiving traffic, no matter how small. ‍ The traffic can come from searches, social media, other websites, etc, and these domains that send traffic to your websites are called “sources” in Google analytics. ‍ Knowing your traffic sources don’t only tell you where your traffic is coming from, but how people are engaging with your campaign. ‍ You can periodically check your source/medium dashboard to know which traffic source is performing better. ‍ Better off, if you want a done-it-for-you experience, you can switch to Abralytics, an alternative to Google analytics with faster load time, then you can expect to receive AI-based opportunities sent to you. ‍ You get conversion rate and user experience improvement ideas that you can implement for better conversion. ‍ Medium Vs. Sources, What’s The Difference? ‍ Well, in Google analytics, the terms are subject to your website’s traffic and its referral, and as such, they are mostly confused to mean the same thing. ‍ While they closely relate to your website’s traffic, the “medium” of your traffic in Google analytics particularly means the category of your sources. For instance, you can have organic search as your medium, but within that category, your sources can be Google, Baidu, Bing, etc. ‍ List Of Sources Available In Google Analytics ‍ Here are the default sources you will find on your dashboard. ‍ Google Search, Baidu, DuckDuckGo… Etc. ‍ This refers to the traffic coming from an actual search engine. ‍ When people visit your website directly from the search engine result page for the keyword they are searching for, then Google records the source of the traffic with the “search engine name”. ‍ Source: Google Analytics Dashboard ‍ Facebook, Twitter, Instagram… Etc ‍ Just like Google, Baidu and other search engines, Google records any traffic coming from social media platforms. So if your website visitors are coming from Facebook for instance, Google will record the traffic as data from social, which is Facebook.. ‍ Source: Google Analytics Dashboard ‍ CNN.com, nytimes.com, And Other Websites ‍ When people visit your website from other websites like CNN.com, Google categorizes that traffic as referral traffic. ‍ One thing to note here is this, “referrals” isn’t the actual term you will see on your source tab, rather you will see the URL of the website where your traffic is coming from. ‍ Now, you might be asking, what if people type your website URL, or click on your website from a document on their device, what traffic source would that be? ‍ Well, Google has a term for that and they call it “direct” traffic. ‍ What Does Direct Traffic Mean In Google Analytics? ‍ Source: Google Analytics Dashboard Ever looked at your Google Analytics report and scratched your head at the giant chunk of traffic labeled “Direct”? You’re not alone. While it might seem straightforward, “direct” traffic in Google Analytics can be a bit of a mystery. The “Direct” source tells Google that the traffic is coming either from a direct search, a bookmark, or that the original website where the traffic is coming from has little to no data. ‍ Though direct traffic is a nightmare to a lot of digital marketers because of its analytics limitations and so many other reasons, MOZ has nailed a complete guide on how to use advanced analysis and segmentation to understand direct traffic. Direct traffic signifies website visits where Google Analytics couldn’t pinpoint the exact source. In simpler terms, it means someone arrived at your site without going through a search engine, clicking an ad, or following a link from another website. A high percentage of direct traffic might seem like a good thing – people know your brand and are coming straight to you, right? Well, yes and no. While a healthy amount of direct traffic indicates brand awareness, a disproportionately large chunk could indicate missed opportunities to track where your visitors are coming from. Let’s say you run a local bakery with a booming direct traffic percentage. This could be because people are familiar with your name and website, but it might also suggest they’re finding your address through offline sources like flyers or business cards – which wouldn’t be reflected in “direct” traffic. Let’s say you run a local bakery with a booming direct traffic percentage. This could be because people are familiar with your name and website, but it might also suggest they’re finding your address through offline sources like flyers or business cards – which wouldn’t be reflected in “direct” traffic. What Does “Unassigned” Traffic Mean In Google Analytics? Sifting through your Google Analytics report, you might stumble upon a category called “unassigned” traffic. Unlike “direct” traffic, which has a clear explanation, “unassigned” can leave you wondering – where on earth did these visitors come from? GA4 unassigned traffic simply refers to website sessions that Google Analytics couldn’t categorize into any of its standard traffic sources (like organic search, social media, or paid ads). It’s like having a guest at your party but forgetting how they got there! There are a few reasons why traffic might end up unassigned. The most common culprit? Missing or incorrect UTM parameters.

  If you’re a website owner, an editor, or a blogger, then you’ve probably heard of or used Google Analytics. In fact, more than 29.3 million websites have installed Google Analytics in 2012 alone. You can just imagine how much that figure increased in the last decade. ‍ But have you heard about Oribi? It’s a Google Analytics’ competitor that promises a shorter learning curve so you can quickly capture valuable insights in one place for your business. ‍ In today’s post, we’ll find out what Oribi is and whether it’s a better choice than Google Analytics. Let’s start with our head-to-head comparison.   Oribi vs Google Analytics: In Depth-Comparison   ‍ Oribi (Marketing Analytics Tool)   Oribi is an all-in-one marketing analytics that gets you insights to drive conversions and optimize your marketing efforts in general. With its straightforward usage and set-up, smart algorithm, and the right set of features, the tool does pretty much all the heavy lifting for you. After you’re done with the onboarding process, the Oribi web analytics tool will then help you understand your website visitors so you can adjust your marketing efforts based on the data accordingly. It moreover notifies you of essential changes in your data, like platform performance, traffic from specific channels, and significant shift in the conversions. ‍ Just like Google Analytics, you can evaluate and analyze data about your landing pages, blog posts product pages, and videos, and how many have viewed your marketing content within a certain period. You will also know what works, eliminate what wastes your resources, and focus on the conversion drivers.   Google Analytics (Web Analytics Service)   Just in case you need a further introduction about Google Analytics, it is a web analytics service by Google that pretty much does the same as Oribi. It tracks and reports website traffic and provides real-time analytics of user interaction with your platform. ‍ This free website tracking tool collects data to inform you how users arrive on your site, the characteristics of your website’s audience, how many of your website visitors convert, how users interact with your website content, and much more! ‍ Differences Between Oribi and Google Analytics   Oribi tracks 100% of the events on your site automatically   One of the unique characteristics of Oribi that you won’t get with the free analytics tool from Google is event creation. It is capable of tracking 100% of the events on your site automatically. This means, you no longer have to set it up manually or code the interaction of whatever you want to track on your website. Sure, Google Analytics does track page views automatically. However, to do that, you still need to define them manually in Tag Manager or by code. So, don’t be surprised that events that you did not specify will not be tracked. ‍ Rich visual data of your visitors with Oribi’s funnel tracking   Both Google Analytics and Oribi provide you with different ways to optimize your marketing efforts via the funnel tracking feature. A funnel works like a guide path for your visitors. It is mapped out with a certain number of stages, wherein you expect them to follow so you can achieve your business goals. This helps you optimize the experience of your website visitors so they stay longer in the marketing funnel. Your goal is for them to reach the conversion stage. Let’s say, 100 people visited your website. Out of them, 30 repeatedly visited your site, 50 signed up for a newsletter, 10 went down the funnel or converted into sales, and 20 actively clicked on your promotion campaigns. We noticed that Oribi’s funnel tracking provides richer visual data than Google Analytics. It gives you a clear picture of visitors that enter the funnel as well as their activities when they visited your website. As you click on “Create a new Funnel” with Oribi, you can already build actional steps as to what you will expect your visitors to walk through once they visit your website. With the Google track button alone, you have to use Google Tag Manager and set up button tracking with coding. The process is more complicated as there are triggers you have to click on or open your site in debug mode to complete the steps.   Google Analytics is entirely free   Next up, we’ll focus on the price. Oribi’s pricing plan starts at $630 per month, billed annually. This already provides you with channel analysis, six-month data history, allows you to track up to 3 domains, and funnel optimization, among other features. It offers a free trial period for 7 days. All features, such as data analysis, are completely free for one week period. ‍ Still, Google Analytics is free. That’s why website owners call it a “freemium” service because they can use it without paying a monthly charge. You can just pay the recurring fee if you want a more advanced feature from Google Analytics. For that, their pricing then starts at $12,500 per month allowing you to enhance your Google Analytics reports.   Google Analytics has wider outreach   As we compare Google Analytics and Oribi, it wouldn’t be complete without mentioning integration options. While both analytics software allows users to integrate with marketing automation tools, Google Analytics wins when it comes to integration options. ‍ It has wider outreach and you can even create your own integration using the tool’s reporting API. Some key integration tools available in Google Analytics are HubSpot, Databox, Analytics Edge, Facebook, WordPress, Shopify, ActiveCampaign, and Callrail. ‍ Meanwhile, you can integrate Google Analytics with your Google Adwords account. Better customer support with Oribi   Another difference between Google Analytics and Oribi is their customer support. ‍ Oribi is more feature-loaded than the free version of Google Analytics. Plus, you are paying for their service or tools. So, you can expect that you will have a dedicated expert team to provide you with custom reports. They are even available

Why You Should Be Considering a Google Analytics Alternative   Are you struggling to navigate the complexities of Google Analytics 4 just to understand where your website traffic is coming from? According to reddit, you’re not alone. The shift to GA4 has left many marketers feeling lost in a sea of confusing interfaces and less intuitive data, making what should be simple analyses feel like deciphering an ancient script. This frustration is widely shared, as users grapple with the steep learning curve and lack of straightforward reporting that was once a staple of its predecessor. Enter Abralytics—a streamlined, Google Analytics alternative designed to cut through the complexity and bring clarity to your analytics efforts. Imagine GA4 alternative that not only simplifies your data but also enhances your ability to act on it, all without the hassle of endless configuration. With Abralytics, you’re not just overcoming the limitations of GA4; you’re setting a new standard for how data drives your business decisions.   The Case for an Alternative to Google Analytics 4 ‍ Users have become frustrated with GA4, and I don’t blame them‍   The transition to Google Analytics 4 (GA4) has not been smooth for many businesses. While GA4 promises advanced features and insights, the reality for most users is a platform that feels more like a step back than a leap forward. This is not just about nostalgia for the old ways; it’s about practicality, efficiency, and accessibility in data analytics. In this blog post, we will delve into several key areas where GA4 may fall short for businesses, and how an alternative like Abralytics could bridge that gap: Complex Setup and Learning Curve: We’ll explore why GA4’s setup and learning curve can be prohibitive for many, especially for those without technical expertise. Data Accessibility and Reporting Issues: Discuss the challenges with data granularity and the creation of meaningful reports in GA4. Privacy and Compliance Concerns: Examine how GA4’s approach to data privacy may not align with all business needs or regulatory requirements. Abralytics as a User-Friendly Alternative: Highlight how Abralytics addresses these issues with its intuitive design and user-centric features. Following these topics, we’ll dive deep into the nuts and bolts of why choosing an alternative might not just be a preference but a strategic necessity for many businesses. Get ready to see how Abralytics can turn the tide on analytics frustrations, offering a clearer, more efficient, and more compliant way to understand your data.   Tackling the Steep Learning Curve of Google Analytics 4 ‍ Google Analytics 4 represents a significant departure from its predecessor, Universal Analytics, in both functionality and user interface. This shift brings with it a set of challenges that can be especially daunting for users without a strong technical background. ‍Completely New Interface: GA4 introduces a completely redesigned interface that, while powerful, is substantially different from what users have grown accustomed to in Universal Analytics. The navigation paths, menu layouts, and even the terminology used are new. This unfamiliarity requires users to essentially relearn the system from scratch, which can be a time-consuming and frustrating experience. Event-Based Tracking Model: Unlike the more straightforward session-based model used by Universal Analytics, GA4 operates on an event-based data model. This means that interactions are tracked as individual events, which offers greater flexibility but also adds complexity. Users must now set up and customize events to track specific interactions, a process that requires a deeper understanding of both the platform and the underlying analytics concepts. Advanced Tagging and Configuration Needs: Setting up GA4 often involves advanced tagging setups using Google Tag Manager or modifying website code to track the correct data. This level of configuration demands technical skills that not all users possess, potentially leading to incomplete or incorrect data collection if not implemented properly. The combination of a new interface, a complex event-based tracking system, and advanced configuration requirements, makes GA4’s setup and learning curve prohibitive for many users, particularly those without technical expertise. This can lead to frustration and potential disengagement with the analytics tool, impacting the ability of businesses to effectively monitor and analyze their online traffic and performance. A google analytics alternative like Abralytics can mitigate this frustration ‍ “Google Analytics was too complicated. I save 2 hours every week with Abralytics.”   Ryan McK – Founder of Subversive Design Agency Start your 30-day free trial No credit card required Cancel anytime Navigating the Complexities of Data Accessibility and Reporting in GA4 Diving into Google Analytics 4 can feel like stepping into a thick fog, where clarity and detail are obscured by complexity. This shift has introduced several significant challenges that impact how users access and report on their data. Reduced Data Granularity: GA4 has moved away from the session-based data model familiar to many users, opting instead for an event-based model. This change, while flexible, often results in less granular data. Users find themselves unable to access the same detailed level of user behavior metrics they depended on in Universal Analytics. The aggregated nature of GA4’s reporting complicates the task of drilling down into the specifics of individual user actions or page-level interactions.‍ Complex Reporting Interface: The interface of GA4 is not just different; it’s more complex. Users accustomed to the straightforward, intuitive reports of Universal Analytics are now met with a platform that requires navigating through a more complicated setup to create meaningful reports. This complexity can be a barrier, especially for those who are not deeply versed in analytics, making it difficult to quickly pull out the insights needed to inform business decisions.‍ Custom Report Creation: While GA4 offers customization in reporting with explorations, this feature is a double-edged sword. The ability to create custom reports, although powerful, demands a higher level of expertise and a deeper understanding of the system. For many users, this means either a steep learning curve or the need to rely on experts, which can delay access to critical data and insights necessary for agile business operations.‍ Inadequate Historical Data Comparison: One of

  In order to analyze the success of your website, you need a reliable analytics tool to track a visitor’s engagement across your site and products. The big question, though, is, which analytics tool is right for you? Before making potentially costly decisions, ensure you’ve found the best analytics solution for your business.  There are a few key considerations. The analytics solution must:  suit your business goals,  be price-friendly relative to your business size, offer advanced analytics solutions relevant to your needs, Allow mutual integration with tons of other marketing tools, comply with data privacy requirements, and  feature an easy-to-use interface.  So, if you’re looking for a top-tier analytics platform and want to compare Piwik with OWA before making a decision, keep reading. ‍ This article compares the two tools and focuses on their similarities, core differences, and which is the best tool for various audience types.   What Is Piwik Analytics (now Matomo)?‍ To begin, the important thing to note is that Piwik is now called Matomo, and “Piwik Pro” is a separate product. In this article, we will focus on Matomo, an open source analytics platform that uses PHP and MySQL to provide extensive information about your website and its visitors. The report also provides: user demographic data browsing patterns interactions with your site’s content the source of your traffic conversion rates (or bounce rates). With this, you can examine what in your marketing funnel increases conversions and what doesn’t. ‍ In addition, Piwik grants you full ownership of the data on your website, so nobody else can access your website’s data without your permission.   Source: Matomo ‍ What Is Open Web Analytics (OWA)?  Open Web Analytics, or OWA, is free, open-source software that lets you track and monitor how users interact with your websites and applications. Besides, OWA offers website owners and developers simple JavaScript, PHP, or REST-based APIs that make it simple to integrate web analytics into their websites. Additionally, the analytics platform has built-in support for tracking websites created using well-known content management systems like WordPress and MediaWiki.   The Core Similarities Between Piwik And OWA   As Google Analytics alternatives, Piwik and OWA have several similar features. Now, let’s have a look at them before discussing their differences.  Open Source Web Analytics  ‍ First, both tools are fully open-source web analytics. So, the code is available for anyone to read and inspect on GitHub. You can read and review it to learn how it works and to ensure that the data is kept private and secure. Because of their transparency and openness, you can trust open-source tools better than proprietary and closed-source ones. Installation And Maintenance  ‍ OWA will need to be installed and maintained on your own server. ‍ Installing your analytics on the same server as your website is usually good. If your site is down, your analytics tool can’t collect any data, so it won’t matter whether the analytics code is functional. Open Web Analytics ‍ Piwik and OWA are both developed in the open to encourage user feedback and suggestions.  ‍ For instance, you can look at the Piwik project’s public roadmap and add (or vote on) your preferred feature recommendation. 100% Data Ownership ‍ With Piwik or OWA, you have complete control and ownership over all website stats and other data collected.  ‍ So, you don’t need to be concerned about anybody else gaining access to the information on your website.  ‍ Unlike Google Analytics, neither visitor’s information nor any behavioral data are shared with or sold to third parties for advertising purposes .  User Tracking Features ‍   ‍Source: OWA ‍ As two of the best Google Analytics alternatives, Piwik and OWA let you see how users engage with your website pages with features like the heatmap tool and click tracking.  ‍ Both tools provide this feature by recording visitor clicks and mouse movements on your web page, the scroll activities of your users, and pinpointing the areas of your sites that your visitors find most useful.   The Core Differences Between Piwik And OWA Besides their user interface and other features, the core differences between Piwik and OWA are as follows:  Pricing Models: Piwik Vs. OWA  ‍ Piwik has two models – Matomo Cloud and Matomo On-Premise. ‍ On the other hand, Open Web Analytics (OWA) has just one plan – Free.  ‍ Piwik (Matomo) On-Premise ‍ This version of Piwik is free. To get started, you need to host it on your web server. However,  you can purchase some extra bundles for better analytics. ‍ Some of these bundles are SEO Web Vitals (starting at $86.67/year), multi-channel conversion attribution (starting at $86.67/year), and Roll-Up reporting (starting at $218.33/year). ‍ Piwik (Matomo) Cloud This version of Piwik is cloud-hosted and comes at a price that varies with your site’s traffic and use. The price ranges from $0(21 Day free trial) to $15,250 annually.  ‍ Open Web Analytics (OWA)  Open Web Analytics is free of charge. To start, you only need to install the tool on your web host.  ‍ With these three easy steps, you can install OWA – download OWA, upload files via FTP, and configure the database name.  ‍ Being a framework has several benefits, one of which is how adaptable OWA is. It can be used on your website or as a part of a web application.    Verdict On Pricing Model‍ Though Piwik offers flexibility with its two plans, Open Web Analytics wins because it’s free, and users enjoy all the analytics and reporting features of a web analytics solution.    Loading Speed: Piwik Vs. OWA ‍ Since both tools are built differently, they vary in how fast your website pages load after you’ve installed OWA or Piwik. ‍ Piwik (Matomo) Matomo.js (Piwik’s JavaScript code) adds 22.8 KB to your website’s page. It is large enough to slow down your website but smaller than Google Analytics (which adds about 45.1KB).  However, Piwik has attempted to address previous difficulties with load speed. They

  In today’s digital world, there are many options for an analytics solution that can help you track, report, and store your website’s analytics data. So, it’s crucial to compare what each has to offer. ‍ Before choosing a web analytics tool for your business, here are some core considerations: ‍ your organizational goals cost relative to your business size user-friendliness of the tool advanced features data privacy loading speed ‍ Read on if you are looking for good analytics tools and want an in-depth Segment vs. Matomo comparison before making up your mind. ‍ This article covers the key differences between these analytics tools – their main advantages, pros and cons and the best tool for different audience types. What Is Segment? ‍ ‍‍Source: Segment Home Page    Segment is an analytics tool that collects, processes, stores, and reports data based on users’ activities on your digital properties like websites, apps, social media, etc. ‍ It is a Customer Data Platform that makes collecting and using visitors’ data from digital properties easy. ‍ You can also integrate data from other analytics tools with Segment to better understand how users interact with your website. This allows you to make better data-driven decisions, track your website’s performance and improve your customer’s experience. ‍ Some of the tools you can integrate with Segment include: ‍ Customer Relations Management (HubSpot, Dynamics, etc.) Email Marketing tools (Sender, MailChimp, etc.) Analytics tools (Abralytics, Google Analytics, Matomo, etc.) Marketing Automation tools (Eloqua, Marketo, etc.) Visualization tools (Google Charts, FusionCharts, etc.) Messaging platforms (Signal, Customer.io, etc.) ‍ Segment provides services for a wide range of professionals such as digital marketers, product managers, website owners, data analysts, data engineers, etc. What Is Matomo Analytics? ‍ Source: Matomo Home Page‍ ‍ Matomo Analytics (formerly Piwik Analytics) is an open-source analytics solution built with PHP MySQL software for tracking and reporting website traffic and how users interact with the site. ‍ Matomo’s data reports inform you about your users, their activities on your site, what marketing channel they came from, and how they convert…or bounce off your website. ‍ So you can see what works and what doesn’t on your marketing funnel to improve conversion. ‍ Also, Matomo gives you complete control over the data on your website. No one else can access your website data without your permission. The Core Similarities Between Segment And Matomo   They both: ‍ perform advanced marketing functions such as conversion tracking and data piping without the need to visit a developer – thereby saving time and stress offer an Application Programming Interface (API) to make communication with developers easier are open-source tools – you can view and inspect their analytics tracker code on GitHub create and use tracking and analytics events like real-time users, user locations, devices, operating systems, etc. feature tags for sending data to a third-party or embedding data from a third party to a website give you 100% data ownership of your analytics data use first-party cookies to identify new users have free and paid versions.   The Core Differences Between Segment And Matomo ‍ Segment and Matomo serve unique purposes. Here is a breakdown of the core differences between them: Primary Function ‍ Segment is a Customer Data Platform and Matomo is a web analytics platform.  ‍ Segment converts data into a general group to aid marketing tool integration. Segment’s primary focus as a CDP is allowing various tools to synergize. ‍ On the other hand, Matomo provides detailed reports on your website, its user, and their relationship. As a web analytics platform, the focus is to track, analyze, and report your analytics data. So, you can gain insight into what to change in your marketing funnel for the best conversion.   Pricing Plans ‍ Segment has three versions – Free, Team and Business. ‍ Source: Segment Pricing Chart  ‍ Free:  ‍ The Free version of Segment costs $0/month and can track up to 1000 visitors per month, 2 sources, and 300+ integrations. ‍ It is ideal for startups and other small businesses. Some businesses using this plan are CodeMakers, Silverbean, etc. ‍ Team: ‍ The Team version of Segments starts from $120/month. It can track up to 10 000 visitors per month, unlimited sources, 1 data warehouse destination, plus the features of the Free version. ‍ It is suitable for small and mid-sized enterprises. Examples of companies using this plan are Logg, AutoPilot, Fast Company, etc. ‍ Business: ‍ The Business version of Segments has custom pricing. So, you pay based on your use. In addition to the features of the Team version, it offers services like Custom Volume, Historical Replay, Single View of Customer, Data Governance, Advanced Roles, and Permissions. ‍ It suits big businesses, large firms, and corporations. Some examples of these companies include IBM, Fox, ClearScore, etc. ‍ Matomo, on the other hand, has two models – Cloud and On-Premise. ‍ Matomo On-Premise: ‍ This Matomo version is free. To begin, you will need to host it on your server. However, you can buy specific bundles to improve your analytics. ‍ Some examples of these bundles are SEO web vitals (starting at $86.67/year), multi-channel conversion attribution (starting at $86.67/year), and Roll-Up reporting (starting at $218.33/year). ‍ Matomo Cloud: ‍ Matomo Cloud is hosted on Matomo’s server, and the price depends on the traffic and usage of your website. The cost ranges from $0 (21-day free trial) to $15,250 yearly. Hosting: ‍ Both tools can be hosted in two ways. ‍ For Segment, the two options are cloud mode and device mode. ‍ Cloud mode: ‍ The Cloud mode is hosted on Segment’s server. In this mode, the sources send data directly to the Segment servers, translating it for each downstream destination before passing it on. ‍ Translation gives a small page size, method count, and a faster load time. ‍ Device Mode: ‍ In this mode, you add a piece of code on your website or mobile app that allows Segment to use the

You’ve set an evening aside to try out a new pasta recipe. You light a fire, pour yourself a glass of wine, and flick through the recipe to see which ingredients you’ll need. One by one you lay them out on the table and soon realize a few key ingredients are missing. You have everything you need to make a delicious pasta sauce, but no pasta.   ‍Photo by Klaus Nielsen from Pexels Will your meal be a success? Probably not. Similarly, to have an effective digital marketing campaign, you need a few essential ingredients which each bring something unique to the table. Semrush and Google Analytics are two powerful SEO tools in your recipe for a killer website. The question is less about which one is better and more about how they work together to form a complete digital marketing campaign. In this article, we will look at what each tool does and how they complement one another. To conclude, we’ll consider which product will best meet the needs of your business. What’s the Difference Between Semrush and Google Analytics? Below is a list of key features of SEMrush and Google Analytics. What is SEMrush? In a nutshell, SEMrush is a SaaS (software as a service) product that specializes in keyword research and competitor analysis. Included in the SEMrush toolkit are the following features: 1. Traffic Analytics Provides you with the traffic estimates of any website. Much like Google Analytics, it includes traffic sources, the average duration of a visit, unique page visits, bounce rate analysis, geolocation, and more. So how does SEMrush differ from Google Analytics? SEMrush allows you not only to analyze your website but your competitor’s websites as well. This competitive analysis shows you which of their strategies are working, as well as areas you can improve on. This information can then be used as a basis for your content marketing campaign and to optimize your website for SEO.   ‍Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexel 2. Organic Research Simply types in the Domain, subdomain, or URL of your competitor, and you’ll be provided with a list of their top organic keywords and their position in search results. With very little effort, you have a ready-to-go list of keywords that you can incorporate into your website’s content. Keywords that you know are competitive and rank well. 3. Keyword Overview The Keyword Overview feature allows you to analyze any keyword or phrase and determine search volume, ranking difficulty, keyword variations, SERP Analysis, and much more. This helps you easily decide which keywords to include in your content and ad campaigns. 4. Link Building Tool Backlinks help site crawlers discover your website and decide which position you’ll rank. SEMrush helps you to find sites that rank well for your chosen keywords, providing you with a list of prospects to reach out to for backlinks. It also allows you to check their domain authority and evaluate how backlinks obtained from them will affect your SEO. 5. Website SEO Audits The Website SEO audit is an impressive feature that helps you analyze how well your website is performing. The audit does over 140 checks to your site, including broken links, duplicate content, crawlability, loading speed, and successful HTTPS implementation. All essential components if you want to impress the Google bots and appear on first-page search results.   Photo by Lukas from Pexels What is Google Analytics? Google Analytics enables you to measure your website’s performance and provides essential information about who your visitors are. Let’s take a look at how GA can be used: 1. Audience Report Tells you the demographics of your visitors, including their average age, gender, and location. As well as what device they use to access your website, whether it be mobile or desktop. Knowing who your customers are will help you customize your campaign to suit their needs. 2. Acquisition Report Indicates the source of your traffic. The report tells you which percentage of visitors came from social media, organic search (typing a keyword or phrase into the search bar), direct search (typing the name of your website into the search bar), or other. When you know how users found your site, you’ll know how effective your marketing methods are. 3. Behavior Tells you how visitors move from one page to the next, the average session duration, which pages are most frequently visited, and bounce rates. (the bounce rate is the percentage of visitors who navigate away from your site after visiting only one page) For example, if a page has a high bounce rate, this is a signal that the content needs to be improved to meet the needs of those who land there. A great user experience is important as it can keep them moving from the Homepage to the check-out cart. 4. Conversions The percentage of visitors who take a certain action while on your site. These actions, or conversions, are entered in Google Analytics as goals that need to be tracked. Examples of conversions are the number of people who fill in a contact form, sign up for a newsletter, or click on a discount voucher. SEMrush vs Google Analytics: Plans and Pricing Comparison   ‍Photo by RODNAE Productions from Pexels ‍ SEMrush SEMrush is a SaaS product available either for free with limited features or on a monthly subscription: (March 2022) ‍ Google Analytics Semrush & Google Analytics – A Match Made in Heaven? These powerful tools, when used together, provide you with a complete digital marketing picture. Instead of stumbling around in the dark, they give you a clear plan of action. Even if you aren’t a professional marketer or have limited resources, they level the playing field and make it easy for anyone to have a fighting chance at the infamous first-page search results. SEMrush allows you to analyze your competitor’s websites so you can take away which strategies are working well for them and implement them in your campaign. It will help you see areas in

The straight-up answer Yes, Google Analytics is rather hard to learn. It’s not the type of platform you just sign up for and instinctively know how to use. ‍ The difficulty will depend on ‍ Previous experience How familiar you are with SEO strategies Which method you choose to learn ‍ Let’s take a closer look. Factors influencing how difficult it will be to learn GA: Previous Experience ‍ Do you have prior experience in traditional marketing? Do you spend your free time watching the latest keyword research videos on YouTube? ‍ Have you designed websites for friends and family as a hobby? ‍ All these interests and skills will make it easier for you to understand Google Analytics jargon and concepts. The better your foundation, the easier it will be to build on. Source: Pexels ‍ Knowledge of Digital Marketing and SEO ‍ General knowledge of SEO strategies will give you a running start in learning Google Analytics. It’s one thing to know how a program works, but quite another to understand how to use that data to make better decisions. ‍ You’ll also be more familiar with GA terms like metrics, KPIs, and Funnel conversions. All this means less time Googling terms and more time learning the tricks of the trade. Which method you choose to learn ‍ Can you learn Google Analytics on your own? ‍ If there’s one takeaway from this article, it’s this: DON’T! ‍ Trying to learn GA by simply watching a few YouTube videos and reading blog articles will take weeks. ‍ Don’t get me wrong, there are MANY quality articles and videos out there and you should absolutely take advantage of them to supplement your learning. ‍ But the best way to learn is to sign up for an actual Google Analytics course. This way, you know it will take X hours and can plan accordingly. Best Google Analytics training Google Analytics Academy: Google Analytics for Beginners ‍ Google designed this course for absolute beginners. It is best for startups, blogs and small business owners who are not ready to hire a digital marketer. ‍ Course duration: 4 – 6 hours ‍ Cost: Free ‍ Google Analytics for beginners includes all the analytics essentials: ‍ How to set up Google Analytics, as well as views and filters Understanding and sharing reports Basic reports: Audience, Acquisition & Behaviour Basic campaign and conversion tracking ‍ And once you’re done learning the basics, you can move on to the Advanced Google Analytics course.  To supplement your learning, there’s also the Google Analytics YouTube channel. ‍ Source: Pexels‍ Reliablesoft Academy: Google Analytics Course ‍ As part of the Digital Marketing course bundle, this course is ideal for beginners and those with prior knowledge of GA. ‍ If you want to learn how the platform works and get a well-rounded knowledge of SEO, this is the course for you. Recommended for small business owners and aspiring digital marketers. ‍ Course duration: 8 hours ‍ Cost: $119 ‍ Reliablesoft’s course includes: ‍ How to use Google Analytics for SEO purposes Advanced analytics, including creating goals and sales funnels Google Analytics 4 basics Google Analytics reports ‍ CXL: Google Analytics Intermediate ‍ This course is designed for those with a good foundation in Google Analytics. It can be described as a masterclass that helps you level up your GA skills. ‍ Course duration: 6 hours ‍ Cost: 7 day free trial, then +/- $140/month ‍ Google Analytics Intermediate includes: ‍ How to measure the customer journey funnel step-by-step How to create custom reports How to minimize spam in your data How to customize your marketing channels Can I get a Google Analytics certification? ‍ Yes – To do so, you’ll need to pass the Google Analytics Individual Qualification (QAIQ) exam. The exam should take approximately 1 hour to complete, and it’s recommended you first complete both the beginner and advanced GA academy courses before you do so. ‍ Note there are now 2 certifications – Universal and GA4. Should I learn Univeral GA or GA4? Google has announced that starting July 2023, they will no longer process data in UA. ‍ Although many principles and terms will remain the same, there are also considerable differences between the two platforms. ‍ So if you choose to learn how to use UA first, make sure to supplement your learning with content focused on GA4 as well. What makes learning Google Analytics a challenge? Source: Pexels‍ ‍ Google Analytics gathers an enormous quantity of information and compiles reports for just about anything you can imagine. ‍ Even if you want only basic data, it’s easy to be overwhelmed by all the information provided. The program also uses a lot of technical jargon, familiar only to those in the industry. ‍ This complexity means there is a steep learning curve. And the more complex the data you need, the more difficult it becomes to learn. Is Google Analytics worth learning? It depends.  ‍ If you want a career as a digital marketer, you’ll have very little choice but to learn how the world’s most popular analytics platform works. ‍ And knowing your way around GA will give you a very valuable skill that could land you some pretty cool jobs. In fact, the demand for people with web analytics skills will only increase going forward. ‍ On the other hand, if you are self-employed or a personal blog writer, it may not be worth the trouble. Also, as a small business owner, you probably won’t have much time to learn how an analytics tool works. Your focus will be on developing your product or service, hiring new staff or choosing the perfect office space for your company. ‍ Even though Google Analytics might be free, it doesn’t mean it’s the best option. There are other alternatives that deliver data reports for just a small monthly fee – minus the steep learning curve. ‍ So instead of spending hours wrapping your head around

In January 2022, the Austrian Data Protection Authority ruled that Austrian websites that use Google Analytics are breaching the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This recent ruling has its roots in a ruling known as Schrems II, which was made by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in 2020. The CJEU stated that US cloud service providers are not capable of complying with EU privacy laws, including GDPR. This non-compliance is inevitable due to US surveillance laws, which require US cloud service providers to hand over users’ personal data to the US authorities. Despite tech companies warning that this ruling would have severe consequences for companies and users on both sides of the Atlantic, many companies in both the US and the EU simply ignored the 2020 case. However, one Austrian business has now ended up in court as a result of ignoring the regulations. The company could be facing a fine of up to 20 million euros, as well as reputation damage. ‍ What Happened in the Austrian Case? The European Center for Digital Rights brought the case against the Austrian company. They found that IP addresses, which GDPR classes as personal data, were transmitted in cookie data to the US, in breach of the regulations. This illegal data transmission occurred as a result of the company using Google Analytics to monitor traffic to its site. The Austrian Data Protection Authority took the bold step of ruling that Austrian websites that use Google Analytics are breaching GDPR. According to Max Schrems, who is honorary chair of the European Center for Digital Rights, similar decisions could now occur in most EU member states. The organization has filed already filed over 100 complaints in almost all EU countries. ‍ What Does This Mean for EU Website Providers? Many website providers use Google Analytics to gain insight into how visitors find, navigate, and interact with their websites. However, for website owners in Austria — and perhaps soon in all other EU countries — continuing to use Google Analytics no longer remains a legal option. Any business currently using Google Analytics should remove it from their website immediately to avoid violating GDPR, which could lead to a significant fine and loss of reputation. ‍ Are There Legal Alternatives to Google Analytics? The good news for EU website providers is that there is no need to give up using analytics technology altogether. Analyzing website traffic is an essential part of understanding how visitors use your website and working out how you can improve your site to serve them more effectively. Thankfully, there are plenty of alternatives to Google Analytics that do not use cookies and are compliant with privacy regulations in the EU. Abralytics is a cookie-free and privacy-focused website analytics service. In addition to respecting the privacy of website visitors, Abralytics also focuses on delivering information to website providers that is jargon-free, easy to understand, and immediately actionable. It can even provide insights in as little as 20% of the time that Google Analytics takes. Abralytics works with all major website building platforms, such as WordPress, Squarespace, Wix, or Shopify. Most EU website providers who are currently risking breaking the law by using Google Analytics could quickly and easily switch over to Abralytics to keep their visitors’ data — and their own reputations — safe. Another alternative to Google Analytics is Plausible.io. This open-source web analytics software is lightweight, cookie-free, and fully compliant with GDPR. Plausible.io was created in the EU and is still hosted there, which means that it is a great choice for businesses that are keen to ensure compliance with all EU legislation. One advantage of using a cookie-free alternative to Google Analytics is that there is no need to obtain GDPR consent from website users. That means no annoying cookie banners — just a website working in the way it was designed to give a great experience to all visitors. ‍ Do EU Businesses Need to Act Now? As of January 2022, only Austria has ruled that Google Analytics is illegal — but similar rulings are expected to follow in most if not all other EU member states. Website providers in all EU countries must take action now to avoid fines and reputation damage. It is time for websites across Europe to ditch Google Analytics in favor of a privacy-friendly web analytics alternative. Sign up for a 30-day free trial of Abralytics today and protect your business.

Google Analytics has been setting the standard for analytics platforms since its launch on November 14th, 2005. ‍ It tracks website data which gives users the needed insights to improve their pages and optimize their conversion rates. Google Analytics soon grew into the most used analytics tool in the world, commanding an impressive 85% market share. (1) ‍ People have noted this success and since developed their own analytical software to rival it. ‍ Companies like Kissmetrics, founded in 2008, have provided users with viable alternative tracking tools. ‍ There are many reasons why you should switch to a google analytics alternative. But let’s take a closer look at both Kissmetrics and Google Analytics and help you figure out which platform would suit your needs. The similarities between Kissmetrics and Google Analytics Google Analytics helps users identify behavioral patterns of website visitors, telling you where they’re from, how long they stayed on a page, and what action was completed on a page if any before they clicked away. ‍ This conversion tracking helps users of GA adapt their pages to optimize results. ‍ Google Analytics tracks all the important metrics that users need to know about and offers a great summary of these in the form of a table, chart, and graph. Users are able to set up custom reports that are tailored to their goals and needs. ‍ Kissmetrics also helps companies understand customer behavior. They offer detailed customer delivery reports which help you track daily, weekly, and monthly users. ‍ It also allows you to see the most popular pages on your site, so you know where the most interest is. ‍ At first glance it might seem like both analytics tools do the same thing, right? ‍ Well, there are a few significant differences. Have a look at these: Differences between Kissmetrics and Google Analytics The kind of Data they track Google Analytics tracks anonymous data, meaning that they base their results on a large sample of visitors. So Google Analytics tells you about the overall traffic performance of a site and the top trends on a webpage. ‍ They make use of software called Google Tag Manager to track visitor interactions. The Tag Manager then allows you to set up certain event tracking, which when triggered will be counted in their report. ‍ Kissmetrics connects all their data to a specific person. This means that their reports are more personalized and focused on specific users. As can be seen in the screenshot below, this reporting tool allows you to hone in on individual visitors and track their interactions with your app or website. ‍ ‍Credit: Kissmetrics.com Data Accuracy Because Google Analytics makes use of anonymous tracking, they assume that each visit is a new person. This leads to inaccurate conversion rates. ‍ Kissmetrics knows when a single user accesses your website from different devices or browsers. Because it ties all this data together, conversion reports are more accurate. Customer Journey What is a customer journey? ‍ It’s the path of interactions an individual has with your product or services, from the moment they land on your first page, until after they’ve made a purchase or acted in a desired way, until the moment they leave your page. ‍ Google Analytics tracks sessions, not visitors, so you can’t build up customer journeys. GA helps a person understand what’s happening on their website before a purchase happens, but leaves many questions about the entire experience of individual users. ‍ Kissmetrics tracks the entire customer journey and shows you the drop-offs right throughout. This means that vendors know at which stage their potential customers have opted out of a purchase, including the time after they’ve added an item to the e-Commerce checkout cart. Marketing Funnels What is a funnel? A funnel is a series of steps or events that a user takes that lead to a conversion. ‍ It’s important to set up custom funnel reporting as it will help you visualize the steps that customers take to ultimately complete a task on your website. Knowing this helps you improve your site and reduce inefficient or abandoned customer journeys. ‍ Credit: GA4Bigquery.com‍ ‍ In your funnel reports, Google Analytics will show you important metrics such as Visitors, Bounce Rate, Time on site, and Exits. As seen in the image above, these metrics are tied to sessions, not individual visitors. ‍ As mentioned, Kissmetrics ties data to individual people, so their funnel report will give you data on one user source. This allows you to increase conversion rates over time. Support No matter how many white pages you study or how many tutorials you watch, sooner or later everyone needs a real human that can help resolve issues and give needed advice on the day-to-day use of the analytics tool. ‍ Even though Google Analytics has always offered support in the form of e-mail platforms and online Q&A they do not offer live support to those who use the free version. ‍ Kissmetrics offers live support with setting up their platform and also live communication with a real person (not a bot) when you need their help. ‍ E-commerce data tracking Google Analytics has long since been an attractive tool for small and medium e-commerce businesses. ‍ It offers some of the most important reports any vendor would need insight into, namely ‍ Enhanced Commerce Reports These consist of Campaign views, Campaign clicks, Product views, Product clicks, Product detail page views, Shopping cart additions, Shopping cart changes, Shopping cart abandonment, Coupon code activity, Purchase activity, Refund requests Average order value (AOV), and other metrics. ‍ Goal Flow Reports Helps businesses identify ‘stuck’ points for customers and leverage these points to better their return on investment. ‍ Users Flow Reports Helps you understand how visitors to your website are navigating their way through your web pages. By comparing the desired path to the actual paths, e-commerce managers can make user experience adjustments to better serve their prospective customers. ‍ Channel