Weeknotes #32
This week I speak to more dance companies, museums, arts spaces and theatres, and highlight some new integrations, functionality and webinars for Google Analytics 4.
Google Analytics 4 (GA4)
Things are ramping up in the way of guides, resources and webinars for GA4 ahead of the big switch off of Universal Analytics. Here’s some things from this week:
Shopify launches native GA4 integration
Shopify, the ecommerce platform which powers many cultural organisation’s online and in-person shops, has finally launched it’s own integration for Google Analytics 4.
This article from Slide Rule Analytics breaks down what the new integration can and can’t do - worth reading if you have a store with lots of customisations.
For most shops, the integration will be enough. It’s really easy to set up and passes the following Event data to GA4: page_view, search, view_item, add_to_cart, begin_checkout, add_payment_info, and purchase.
To get things up and running, read the Shopify guide which explains the steps.
GA4 webinar for ticket-selling venues
A webinar with actionable checklists, examples, and templates to implement GA4 for your business successfully.
When is it? Wednesday 29 March 2023 at 4pm (next week!)
How long is it? 45 minutes
Who is running it? Chris Unitt (one Further) and Dina Cravcenco (Activity Stream)
It will cover:
Crucial milestones & dates
Differences between Universal Analytics & GA4
Successful setup strategies
Collecting the data that matters
Creating easy-to-use reports
E-commerce tracking
Going cookieless
Custom Channel Groups
Google have started rolling out the functionality to define your own Custom Channel Groups.
You will find the option under Admin > Data Settings
Channel Groups option in the GA4 interface
Why is this important?
GA4 automatically tries to categorise any Source and Medium acquisition traffic into one of it’s Default Channel Groupings. This help centre article explains how each are categorised and defined.
If you have traffic from anything which doesn’t match the default categorisations or definitions it will appear as Unassigned. This is quite common if you are using UTM Parameters to track campaigns as your naming convention may be very different to the Default Channel Groups.
This new functionality allows you create your own definitions (using logic) for each channel AND create your own new channels. 🙌
Creating a new channel in GA4
Conversations this week
On Monday I spoke to Antoine Marc (Technology Producer) at IJAD Dance Company about data collection on different platforms and reporting.
Wednesday I met with Caryl Jones (Groups Marketing Officer) at Chartered Institute of Fundraising and we talked about streamlining reporting across 34 different social media accounts.
In the afternoon I helped Katy Clinch (Retail Manager) at the Migration Museum set up GA4 with their oline shop using the new Shopify integration (see above).
Thursday I met the new team members at Spike Island - Niquita Munowenyu (Communications Manager) and Poppy Young (Communications Assistant) before their annual Open Studios event. We had a great discussion about ecommerce tracking, cookies and data visualisation.
On Friday I helped Bethany Sharp (Creative Producer) at Space Theatre set up Google Analytics 4 with Spektrix, following the steps in the guide I created earlier this year.
Next week, it’s the Digital Culture Awards! 🏆 The whole Digital Culture Network team will be in Birmingham on Wednesday and we can’t wait to announce the winners. Please join us from 12pm on the livestream!