Are you watching your website traffic closely? Recently, our team investigated the sudden decrease in website traffic across numerous sites. Thankfully, I believe we’ve found the culprit: an August 1st update to the Google search algorithm. The update, called “Helpful Content,” appears to cause a dip for many websites. For the period of two months, many of our clients experienced a loss of over 20% in organic traffic. However, there is some good news—it looks like the update has normalized and most sites (not all!) are going back to previous levels. See the analytics view below for more details.
An Introduction to Google Analytics 4
Even if you’re not a digital marketer, chances are you’re already familiar with Google Analytics. In fact, you might be using it on a daily basis to track your website’s traffic and analyze your marketing campaigns. But what you might not know is that there’s a new version of Google Analytics on the horizon—Google Analytics 4 (GA4). While GA4 is still in beta, it’s already making waves in the marketing world thanks to its improved data collection and analysis capabilities. So, what exactly is GA4 and how can it benefit your business? Let’s take a closer look.
Google Analytics 4 is the latest version of Google’s popular analytics platform. GA4 was designed from the ground up with the needs of modern marketers in mind. It offers improved data collection and analysis capabilities, as well as support for cross-device tracking and attribution. GA4 also makes it easier to integrate your analytics data with other Google products, such as AdWords and DoubleClick.
One of the most notable changes in GA4 is the switch from a last-click attribution model to a more sophisticated multi-touch attribution model. This change enables marketers to see the full customer journey, from initial awareness all the way through to purchase. This provides a more complete picture of which marketing channels are driving results and helps marketers allocate their budgets more effectively.
Another major change in GA4 is the addition of built-in machine learning algorithms. These algorithms automatically surface insights and recommendations based on your analytics data. For example, if GA4 detects that website traffic has decreased during a certain time period, it will provide a recommendation on how to fix the issue. This helps marketers save time by quickly identifying and addressing problems.
In the months ahead, Engage will have a lot of news around GA4 and its benefit to your specific business. Make sure to ask us about it if you have any questions in the meantime. It’s an exciting new product in the ever-changing digital landscape.
Ron,