Should I use Google Analytics 4 or an alternative?

GA4 is the standard choice for most businesses -- it is free, powerful, and integrates with the Google ecosystem. Consider alternatives like Matomo for strict data privacy requirements (data stays on your servers), or Mixpanel/Amplitude if you need deep product analytics. Many businesses use GA4 as their primary tool with specialist analytics as supplements.

How do I set up web analytics properly?

Install GA4 with Google Tag Manager for flexibility. Define your key conversions and set up event tracking. Configure e-commerce tracking if applicable. Create custom dashboards for your main KPIs. Set up automated reports. Verify data accuracy by comparing with server logs or secondary analytics tools.

What should I track on my website?

Track: page views, conversion events (form submissions, purchases, bookings), engagement events (scroll depth, time on page, video plays), CTA clicks, and site search queries. Also track core web vitals for performance. Start with essentials and add tracking as you identify new questions to answer.

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Web Analytics

Also known as:website analyticsdigital analyticssite analytics

The collection, measurement, and analysis of website data to understand visitor behaviour, track performance metrics, and make data-driven decisions about website improvement.

In-Depth Explanation

Web analytics is the practice of collecting and analysing website data to understand how visitors interact with a site, measure marketing effectiveness, and identify improvement opportunities. Modern web analytics goes far beyond pageview counting.

Core web analytics metrics:

Traffic: Sessions, users, new vs. returning, traffic sources
Engagement: Pages per session, average session duration, bounce rate
Conversions: Goal completions, conversion rate, revenue
Acquisition: Channel breakdown (organic, paid, social, direct, referral)
Behaviour flow: How users navigate through the site
Site speed: Page load times, core web vitals

Web analytics platforms:

Google Analytics 4 (GA4): Free, event-based analytics with machine learning insights
Adobe Analytics: Advanced features for large-scale analysis
Matomo: Privacy-focused, self-hosted alternative
Plausible/Fathom: Simple, privacy-first analytics
Mixpanel/Amplitude: Product analytics focused on user journeys

Key GA4 concepts:

Events: All interactions tracked as events (page views, clicks, conversions)
Parameters: Additional details about events
User properties: Attributes of users (demographics, technology)
Audiences: Segments for analysis and remarketing
Explorations: Custom reports and analysis

Advanced analytics capabilities:

Funnel analysis for conversion path optimisation
Cohort analysis for retention understanding
User lifetime value analysis
Predictive metrics (purchase probability, churn probability)
Cross-device and cross-platform tracking

Business Context

Web analytics provides the data foundation for all digital marketing decisions. Without proper analytics, businesses operate on assumptions rather than evidence, often wasting budget on underperforming channels.

How Clever Ops Uses This

Clever Ops implements and configures web analytics for Australian businesses, ensuring proper event tracking, conversion measurement, and dashboard creation. We connect analytics data with CRM and marketing automation platforms to provide a complete view of how website visitors become customers.

Example Use Case

"A business properly configures GA4 with custom events and discovers that visitors who use their pricing calculator are 5x more likely to submit an enquiry, leading them to make the calculator more prominent on key pages."