Outline Business Goals
Focus on overall organizational goals and how that translates to the digital space. Try to avoid using any previous/old documentation of these goals – the idea is to make sure the goals outlined here are fresh and relevant to the business today. For example, if you are in healthcare and are focused on patient acquisition – the form submission for a booked appointment would be your most relevant digital conversion point. Ensure that the current tracking aligns with your most current online booking process to capture all those new patients.
Review your current Google Analytics (and Google Tag Manager)
Outline all your current settings, goals, events etc that you have setup in your accounts. The easiest format is something like excel or Google Sheets, so it's easily shared for collaboration. Keep in mind the new GA4 tracking is not the same, so don’t overdetail the outline – it's easy enough to go back for details you end up needing… and if you have all of this in Google Tag Manager (GTM) it will be much easier than otherwise.
Reconcile goals vs current Google Analytics
Consider if all the current Google Analytics (GA) features are needed for the site today and in the future. Cut out anything that’s old or not helpful, add anything new that may have been introduced in the time since the initial implementation, and update anything that may have changed since it was setup ex. did the TY page URLs change? Did you add internal site search to the experience?
Build new implementation guide
The new GA4 is setup slightly differently – so take a look through some of their documentation to prepare the right type of implementation plan.
You can also visit the Developer Migration Center for migration information geared towards a developer audience.
Make it happen!
Use your well-prepared implementation guide and reference the Google Analytics documentation to setup your new GA4 data stream and start collecting data. The Setup Assistant will help you walk through the process. Make sure to check back in 24 hours to confirm it's all working as expected!
The overall GA4 is not difficult if you have the proper planning and strategy in place. The evaluation and implementation guide will take time and effort to put together but will save time in the long run to make sure you are measuring KPIs back to business objectives.
Like Benjamin Franklin said “failing to prepare is preparing to fail” so make sure to take the time to evaluate and have the necessary documentation in place to make the migration. If you want to make sure you are setup for success with GA4 in 2022 before the current version is sunset – don’t wait. Let us help, contact R2i today!
About the author: Andrea Goldstein
Andrea is a Senior Analyst and the trailblazer for our R2i presence in Los Angeles, CA. She began her career executing campaigns and producing content across multiple online and offline channels on both the client and agency side. She identifies data as the common thread and truly fell in love with analytics after witnessing the magical power of data and visualization. Testing and personalization were a natural next step, data driven strategy is the key to her success. With a passion to make raw data beautiful and drive digital ROI for her clients, Andrea integrates cross-channel data to create customized and easy-to-read interactive dashboards. She is most interested in helping clients answer their toughest business questions by reimagining the data to reveal trends, identify areas of optimization, and forecast performance - striving for the ultimate “wow” impact.
