Weeknotes #15
This week the #DigitalCultureAwards went live, Shopify Google Analytics 4 integrations were in demand, and Google hobbles Looker Studio reports 😡. Also, we’re on the hunt for a new Search Engine Marketing Tech Champion. Could it be YOU? 🤔
Digital Culture Awards 2023
Rose Marfleet (Project Manager) and Laura Harris (Project Co-ordinator) have been working behind the scenes getting everything ready for the launch of the Digital Culture Awards 2023, it’s finally here!
On Wednesday we launched the 2023 Digital Culture Awards! The Awards are back to once again celebrate 🥳 and showcase 👀 the best in digital transformation, digital engagement, and use of technology in creativity and culture across England.
Organisations and individuals across the country can enter one or more of our eight categories which include Digital Inclusion and Being Social (both People’s Choice categories), Income Generation, Using Data, Digital Transformation, Digital Content and two categories specifically for individuals – Content Creator and Digital Ambassador.
Applications are open now and close on 12 January, with Winners announced at an event in Spring 2023. Visit the DCN website to learn more about the categories, our Judges and how the sector can take part.
There were some incredible stories from last year, and I’m really looking forward to seeing the submissions for 2023.
Issues with Looker Studio reports using Google Analytics 4 data
I’ve had a couple of organisations get in touch as they’ve started to see error messages in Looker Studio (previously called Data Studio) reports using Google Analytics 4 data.
Charts are no longer loading and error messages such as “Exhausted concurrent request quota in Data Studio” and “This property has issued too many requests in the last hour" appear.
A broken Looker Studio report
What has happened?
Out of nowhere, Google has set a quota on the amount of requests Looker Studio can send to Google Analytics 4 though it’s Application Programming Interface (API).
There is detailed information on the quota limits here, which seem really restrictive.
It appears every report element (chart, table, control etc) makes a request when a report page loads. If the “Concurrent Requests Per Property” is limited to 10, you can only have that many elements per page before it breaks the report.
This is a ridiculous thing to drop on users without warning. Most reports already set up will now break without any practical guidance on how to fix it.
“Beginning November 7, 2022, Looker Studio reports that connect to Google Analytics 4 data are subject to Google Analytics Data API (GA4) quotas”
How to fix it?
Google advise the following…
If you experience this error, you have the following options:
Reduce the traffic to the report. Consider sharing the report with fewer people, and don't embed the report in a high traffic website.
Reduce the number of charts on each page.
Extract the Google Analytics 4 data and use the extracted data instead of the Google Analytics 4 data source.
Note: you'll need to wait until any exceeded quotas have refreshed before you can extract the data. Depending on the quota exceeded, this can take up to 24 hours.
Export your Analytics data to BigQuery, then use the BigQuery connector to visualize that data in Looker Studio.
Very helpful Google, thanks. Analytics 360 costs $150,000 per year, BigQuery has a steep learning curve and complex configuration. The Extract Data Connector will work as it captures ongoing snapshots of data from the API. It requires quite a bit of set up and a new way of approaching report building in Looker Studio.
The other two options on the list will require users to rebuild reports and change how and where it is shared. Suddenly Looker Studio is a far less appealing tool for a lot of users. Nothing is a quick fix.
I hope Google listens to the feedback from the community and reviews some of these limits. If you’ve built a report, how are you supposed to limit how users interact with it and the subsequent API requests they generate? “Don’t use the filters more than three times”, “Helen, only view the reports on a Monday”.
Bonkers.
Recruiting: Search Engine Marketing Tech Champion
Some of the Digital Culture Network team. (Hansel 3rd from right).
Hansel McKoy, our current Search Engine Marketing Tech Champion is off to pastures new so we’re looking for a replacement based in the West Midlands or North East.
Hansel has been brilliant to work with and helped numerous organisations navigate the sometimes complex and technical world of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising.
If it’s something you could see yourself doing or would like to find out more check out the job description. I’m happy to answer any questions you may have about the role and I’m sure Hansel would too.
Conversations this week
Monday started with two organisations looking to implement Google Analytics 4 with Shopify stores. First up was Laura Pryke (Retail Manager and Buyer) and Helen Dickman (Communications Coordinator) at Kettle’s Yard, the University of Cambridge’s modern and contemporary art gallery. Later in the afternoon I helped Luke Kitteridge (Marketing & Communications Officer) at Coldharbour Mill after Kath Brown, our eCommerce Tech Champion, advised on their brand new online store.
In both cases we imported the free Shopify GA4 Kit from Analyzify into Google Tag Manager and added the relevant code to the Shopify page templates together. It’s a neat solution which gives product view data as well as ecommerce transactions. If you want to see all the checkout steps you need to have a Shopify Plus store (which costs at least $2,000 a month).
Later in the week I gave Debbie Cowley (Marketing and Communications Lead) at Venture Arts an introduction to the Digital Culture Network. Venture Arts are a Manchester-based charity working alongside learning disabled artists to create and showcase exciting new contemporary visual art.
Horace Lindezey, 'Barbara Windsor', ceramics, 2021. - YESS LAD Venture Arts exhibition at T J Boulting Gallery
On Thursday afternoon I spoke to Trish Thomas (Head of Digital Innovation) at Museum of London about Google Analytics 4. TPXimpact have implemented a standard GA4 integration for the different web properties, so we discussed running a couple of training days in the new year to upskill the in house team. We'll cover: 1. Configuring Google Analytics 4 and Google Tag Manager to track relevant user actions, and 2. Navigating Google Analytics 4 and building insightful reports in Looker Studio. Looking forward to that.
The Museum of London. © Museum of London
Finally I caught up with Finn Warman (Programme and Communications Coordinator) at Arts Catalyst. The new website is almost ready to launch so we set up Google Analytics 4 and Tag Manager in preparation. It’s a really bold design so I’m excited to see what it’s like when live.