In this guide, learn about Google Analytics and how it can contribute to your nonprofit success.
Content
Why Use Google Analytics
The benefits of using Google Analytics includes:
- Understanding how people came to your website
- Seeing how people behave on your website
- Using site search to know what visitors are seeking
- Determining actionable steps based on the data you see
Set Up Guide
As a Giving Days client, you already have a Google Analytics 4 (GA4) account for your Giving Days website. Let’s explore how you can get set up for success on GA4.
Check out the Setup Assistant in your account to see if there are steps you still need to take. Please note, GA4 can be a very powerful tool depending on the data you feed into it.
Consider the following:
| Use Google Tag Manager |
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Google Tag Manager is code that you place on your website that allows you to fire code from within a container. It makes adding and removing code a lot more streamline vs. native tracking code. |
| Integrate Search Console and Google Ads |
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Be able to see your organic search queries and paid search campaign performance right within Google Analytics. |
| Determine What You Want to Measure |
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You can measure actions that you consider valuable, and answer questions like “how many donations came from social ads?” |
| Build Reports |
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Both out-of-the-box and customizable reports can help you understand where you have room to make optimizations. This is the last step, as you will need to ensure your setup is complete first. |
Key Considerations
Keep this in mind…
Customize
There are default reports, but GA4 is designed for you to build exactly what you need. It’s as strong as the data you feed into it.
GA4 is so much more than UA
Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is all event-based instead of session-based like Universal Analytics (UA) was, so you now have the opportunity to view user-level behavior in more detail (and cross-device).
Take it step by step
Don’t get overwhelmed or feel like you have to do everything all at once. Define just 1-3 things that you want to measure and get started.
UTMs are Essential
What are UTMs?
Note: For more information about this content visit this article.
Urchin Tracking Module (UTM) parameters are short text codes added to URLs to help you track the user engagement of campaigns.
Be intentional about it
Create UTM naming conventions and follow them every time. This makes it possible for you to report on specific marketing campaigns.
Get everyone on board with it
Consistency and usage across everyone on your team can result in better data that doesn’t leave you scratching your head.
Learn Skillshop
Skillshop is a Google training platform that you can use to grow your skills on Google's tools and solutions.
Helpful Reports
Referral Source Report
Understand which websites are sending you traffic and what type of traffic they are sending you.
Going to Acquisition > Traffic Acquisition will show you Default Channel Grouping, but you can modify it and save it to your report library to reference again.
Understand which websites are sending you traffic and what type of traffic they are sending you.
Going to Reports > Library you can create this report one time and save it to your library to easily reference later without needing to apply the filters again.
Look at Your Top Marketing Campaigns
Remove the referral filter and look at source/medium, but add in session campaign.
Use Explorations to Drill Deeper
What Are Explorations?
Explorations are free-form reports that let you go beyond key business metrics and are far more customizable than GA4’s standard report templates.
How Do Explorations Work?
With Explorations, you can combine user segments (New, Organic, etc.), dimensions (Event Name, Page Title. etc. ), and metrics (Bounce Rate, Conversions, Etc.) in endless ways to find the data you want.
What Kinds of Explorations Should I Use?
While the “free form” is the most versatile Exploration, the Funnel and Path exploration are both great for examining user behavior on your site.
Funnel Explorations
Understand how many users (from different user groups) hit the major milestones of your website’s donor journey to look for inefficiencies in the process.
Path Explorations
Better understand how your users move from page to page on your website and what actions they take so that you can improve and streamline your site’s user experience.
Reverse Path Explorations
You can also use Path Explorations to start from a desired end point—like “Donation Completed”—and trace the paths your website visitors used to get there.