Posts in category: How To

In its regular fashion of rolling out new and improved tools every year, Google launched an upgrade of its popular web-based analytics site in 2020.

The new Google Analytics dubbed GA4 is a more advanced and better version of the old Universal Analytics. This new platform promises a better approach to data handling and more return on investment for marketers.

In a blog post on Wednesday 16th of March Google announced that UA will sunset from July 2023.

The good news is that you can run it concurrently with the former GA version – Universal Analytics until July 2023. This makes for an easy transition without any data loss.

Now is the right time to make the switch, set your Google Analytics 4 properties. start tracking and capitalising on its many features.

As you get started with Google Analytics 4, you will quickly realise that it is somewhat different from what you know in the old GA. But no need to worry. This article demystifies the complexities involved, helping you set up Google Analytics 4 easily and effectively.

Getting started with Google Analytics 4

Step 1: Create a Google Analytics 4 account

• To start enjoying GA4 features, new users are expected to create a Google Analytics account. It is very simple and there is a setup wizard to guide you through it.
• Simply log in to the Google Analytics platform and click on the Start Measuring option.
• Once in, you will be asked to input the name of your business or company. Be sure it is your business name, not your name.
• After that, simply click on Next to take you to the tab for creating GA4 properties. Without these properties, there is nothing to measure. So don’t stop at creating an account. You need to create a property too.

For those who already have the old GA account, chances are you currently use the Universal Analytics properties. So, you will need to upgrade the property to the new GA4 property. Or simply create a new property for GA4. Since you already have a GA account, there is no need to create a new one. But you can create a new one if you want.

People using the old Universal GA account can easily upgrade to GA4. To do that, you need to visit your Admin section and check for the GA4 Setup Assistant option under each property. It is that simple.

Step 2: Create a Google Analytics 4 property

Upon upgrading or creating a new GA4 account, the setup wizard will direct you to create a property which can be tracked. This is not so different from UA properties. In fact, you can create a UA property alongside a GA4 property.

Visit the Account tab in the Admin section to get started. Users who have more than one account will find a list of the accounts in this column.

Choose the desired account and navigate to the Property column to set up Google Analytics 4 property. There, you will find the option for GA4 Setup Assistant that will guide you through the next steps until the property is fully ready.

Previous UA users can transfer existing data to this new property if they have gtag.js enabled.

Otherwise, you will have to optimise your property afresh. This includes inputting;

• The name of the property or business
  
• Your current timezone. This will be the default timezone irrespective of the time in visitors’ countries.
  
• Your local currency
  
• The desired data stream should be your website’s URL. This ensures every event that happens on the listed site is tracked. If you only include a page link, then only the page will be tracked.
  
• Business details such as industry category and business size are important to personalise your services.
  
• You also need to tell Google how you want the account to function. Be sure to tick all the boxes that apply to you e.g measure lead generation, optimise my site or app experience, measure data across multiple devices, measure customer engagement, etc.
• Then click on Create and accept the Terms of service. This should get your account up and running.
  

Step 3: Get your measurement ID

Getting your measurement ID is the primary reason to setup Google Analytics 4. A measurement ID is similar to the UA tracking ID but the code is a bit different from the code name you get with UA because there is no UA attached this time. Your Measurement ID will be automatically generated once you create your property. This is the very point of the entire process. Now, it is time to start tracking!

Step 4: Start tracking

To start tracking, you need to add your measurement ID to the head section of every page you want to track. To do this, you will need to go back to the Admin section and select the Data stream option. Once in, navigate to Web Stream Details and choose the Tagging Instructions option. This should take you to an interface to Add New On-Page Tag. Here, you will find the gtag.js (Global Site Tag). Simply paste the copied Measured ID in the head section of every page you desire to track.

The key to maximising your marketing result is to properly set up Google Analytics 4. We are positive these quick steps will help you achieve your marketing goals without sweating it. For professional assistance, don’t hesitate to contact FOME. We are here to help!

Google takes user-friendliness to the next level

Google’s first big update for the year is about to roll out, and with it come a few (quite significant) changes to the algorithm. From a website owner’s perspective, the most crucial change is that the page experience ranking signals will be applied globally on all browsers on mobile devices. 

If this sounds like a mishmash of SEO jargon, don’t worry because we’ll explain everything. And, it’s actually really easy to understand. You just have to look at things from Google’s perspective. They’ve always been all about ease of use and accessibility (as noted in their mission statement), and almost all algorithm changes aim to make the web more user-friendly.

Of course, in a perfect world, “search engine optimisation” wouldn’t need to exist. People would just create their content and websites in line with the standard from the get-go because they want to provide users with the best possible experience. However, web development trends aren’t there just yet. And, besides, making something functional is much simpler (and cheaper) than making something functional and user-friendly. That’s where SEO comes in.

What are these “Core Web Vitals” and why should you care about them?

Well, probably, because Google has been going on and on about the “major change that’s on the horizon” for the better part of a year? Besides, website owners who allow themselves to get blindsided by this update are very likely to lose many positions.

Here’s a quick summary: 

Google wants to point users to safe, secure, mobile-friendly and user-friendly websites. The update places a big emphasis on usability. Websites that are easier to browse will have an easier time ranking higher. Good user experience has always been a significant factor, but now, they’re taking it to the next level. 

 And don’t worry, because, in their own words, 

“Good page experience doesn’t override having great, relevant content.”

So, if two websites have the same score, the one with the better content will still have the upper hand. All inline with Google’s original goal. They want to help users find the most relevant, easily accessible and interesting content that’s available out there. Annoying delays, slow loading speeds, insecure websites, repetitive content, and everything of the sort should be a thing of the past. 

Core Web Vitals – The Three Metrics

• LCP – Largest Contentful Paint (yes, that’s a word!)
• FID – First Input Delay
• CLS – Cumulative Layout Shift 

The first metric – LCP – is all about response time. And it’s pretty self-explanatory: you want your pages to load as fast as possible. This includes everything from server response time and scripts to specific resources like images and video files. The longer the users have to wait for your page to load, the higher chance they’ll get bored and go to your competitor. Google wants the LCP to take less than 2.5 seconds from the moment it starts loading.

The second metric – FID – is focused on input delay. Or, you can view it as “yet another” speed metric. Basically, you want the website to respond to the user’s taps or clicks as quickly as possible. The big delays usually come from big scripts or other elements loading in the background, which prevents the browser from responding in a timely manner (and usually creates frustration in the user). Google is looking for a delay of 100ms or less.

The final metric – CLS – has to do with layout shifts, ads, dynamic content, and weird fonts. You know how, sometimes, the website’s layout shifts or changes a couple times after the page is done loading? This is one of the major sources of frustrations for mobile users because you’re always forced to wait a couple of seconds before interacting with your screen unless you want to risk clicking on something that just seemingly appeared out of nowhere. And, what’s even worse is that the user has no choice in the matter – the issue is present regardless of your connection speed or device specs. Google understands the frustration and wants to limit (or, ideally – eliminate) the shifting layout practice.

How to prepare your website for the Core Web Vitals Google Update

Getting your website ready for the update is as “simple” as making sure you’re compliant with Google’s usability policies. This includes a combination of the following:

• Mobile Friendliness – Seeing how this update is focused on mobile usability, you will want your website to perform equally well across all devices. Or, in other words, you’re looking for a “good” mobile score with zero usability errors.
• Security – In order to get a “good” rating, you need to eliminate all possible security issues. Depending on the type of website you’re running, this can be achieved via plugins or back-end code implementations. 
• SSL Certification (HTTPS) – HTTPS has long since been the norm, and this update will only reinforce the notion. SSL certificates are easy to obtain (and relatively simple to set up), protect your users’ data and allow them to know for sure that they’re in the right place. Besides, all popular browsers (e.g. Google, Firefox, Vivaldi, etc.) now come with a built-in feature that screams at users if your website lacks an SSL certificate. And we don’t need to tell you why this is bad for business.
• Ads (and lack thereof) – If at all possible, we’d advise you to go ad-free, especially for commercial websites. On top of being less annoying to visitors, this helps with appearing credible and building your brand. However, for some projects, this is simply not an option (see media websites, platforms, etc.). For websites that rely on ad revenue, earning a “good” page experience ranking can be a bit tricky (depending on your ad provider). You will want to avoid hosting any ads which could be considered obstructive, distracting, or otherwise interruptive. This is sort of silly, considering the leading advertisement notions in marketing, but, hey – Google wants a better user experience, which means less annoying ads!

As with most of their updates over the past couple of years, Google is not willing to leave website owners in the dark. Google’s report tool can help you see exactly what’s “wrong” with your website on an URL-by-URL (page by page) basis. You will want to take a good look at any URLs that return “poor” or “need improvement” results and address the issues as soon as possible to avoid losing positions.

Sources:

Page experience

• https://developers.google.com/search/docs/guides/page-experience
• https://searchengineland.com/google-expands-its-core-web-vitals-and-page-experience-update-faqs-347361

Web vitals

• https://web.dev/vitals/
• https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/9205520?hl=en

LCP-FID-CLS

• https://web.dev/lcp/
• https://web.dev/fid/
• https://web.dev/cls/

Hello and welcome back to our blog. Today we are going to discuss something that has to do with one of the giants of the tech world, Google. We are sure everyone that has access to the internet must have heard or come across Google at one time or another. It is regarded as the biggest and most reliable web search engine in the world today. Do you want to lose weight or learn how to cut your hair? Ask Google. Do you want to learn how to cook or do something as simple as spring clean your house? Ask Google, and the list goes on and on.

If you have logged on to Google my business panel recently, you may have seen something like this “Limited Google Business Profile functionality”. Also, under this caption, you may have noticed “Edits, review replies, and other Google My business functionality may not operate as usual at this time due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19)”. This error message is due to the persistence of the crisis, and Google has decided to limit some of the functionalities of Google Business Profile. In this blog, we will cover what is happening and how you can cope with this new development.

Every business name should reflect the image of the business in real life. That can be seen as the first rule of business. However, due to the recent circumstances, Google is allowing businesses to modify their business names, and add ‘delivery’ and “take out options’ as part of it. If your business allows you to utilise this opportunity, don’t waste it, and try to make it count. Now, let’s talk about restricted functions.

• Reviews: If you encourage customers and clients to post reviews of your product on your Google, you will notice that no new reviews are appearing on your listing panels at the moment. This is because, since 20th of March, 2020, Google stopped publishing customer reviews on any listing panels. Take, for example, the London Eye. It is always known to have tons of reviews every day, but recently, there has been no new reviews. Users can post their reviews, but Google does not publish them any longer. It is also not possible to try to respond to those reviews. The reason is to protect local businesses from anyone that tries to post malicious reviews or mislead anybody, given the current circumstances. Just stop asking customers for their reviews. Instead, keep in touch with them until everything becomes normal.

• FAQs: Those of you hoping to use the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) to inform your customers, you will not be able to, because it has also been removed. We believe it is also a ploy by Google to protect these small and medium enterprises from the dire effects of our present circumstances.

• Descriptions: Since some of these descriptions get rejected, adding them to your listings can cause some problems. We cannot say for sure if it is true with every business, but a likely cause may be the effects of our economic situation.

• Google posts and pictures: Some Google posts have been rejected lately, and even though one cannot tell the cause, Google is working tirelessly to fix this problem. Images posted on listings are also facing the same issues.

If you are experiencing any of these; please be patient. Also, if your business is no longer open at present, you can lock it as temporarily closed. Do that by logging into your Google Business Profile dashboard, click on ‘Info’ and in the main dashboard, select the ‘Locked as temporarily closed option’. It is unfortunate that some companies have been marked as ‘Temporarily closed’ without them requesting it, but if you are affected, you can submit a request for your company to be unmarked. Just click on the ‘Info’ tab, and in the main dashboard, click on the log as Open option. Due to inadequate lack of response from Google, this may take some time and may stay as the ‘Under review’ status for some time. Google is aiming to prioritise edit reviews that are critical to health-related businesses. If you are trying to create new Google listings, you may have to be patient, as health-related issues come first.

If you need any help or advice, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us.

© FOME

In this age of social media, receiving a negative review online can potentially be catastrophic for your brand. Word-of-mouth has always been a quick way to spread bad news, but this is even faster with technology, and if brands don’t respond promptly, a negative review can lead to long-lasting damage.

That’s the first thing you need to know about dealing with negative online reviews: a response is necessary 99 per cent of the time. Never respond to posts that are abusive or personal though – if they are particularly bad, you can report them directly via sites like Twitter and Facebook, or contact the police.

But for all of the other negative posts that you receive, how exactly should you respond?

The polite, professional, apologetic approach to negative online reviews

If you’ve spotted a less than favourable review of your business that includes some genuine concerns from the poster or they’ve made it clear that they expect a response, then it’s always best to adopt a polite and understanding approach.

In your reply, demonstrate that you’ve read their complaint thoroughly by using their own words back to them, just in a slightly rephrased manner. Be apologetic, letting them know that you’re sorry that they feel this way, using a professional and polite tone throughout.

Detail changes you are making to your operations to ensure the same issues won’t recur, or provide them with reassurance that this was a rare incident and you are taking steps to make sure the same never happens again.

Provide contact details should they wish to discuss the matter further with you, and let them know that they’ll always be welcomed back as a customer in the future, and that you hope to see them again.

Using a formal ‘Dear Sir/Madam’ at the beginning of your response and signing off with ‘Yours Sincerely’ will help to keep your exchange as professional and sincere as possible.

The witty approach

In some cases, a more light-hearted, witty response can be more appropriate, but it’s important to know exactly when this is the right approach to take.

Becoming known for a banterous attitude could see your brand go viral on the web and gain you more exposure, but you have to be really careful about when you employ this approach.

If a customer has posted a review that you think is ridiculous and feel confident enough to explain why, this type of reaction may be appropriate. However, if a poster has complained about something that you think needs investigating further, don’t even consider going down this route until you’re sure there’s nothing they should be complaining about.

Witty responses to reviews can often be seen on TripAdvisor, so have a browse through some of the site’s comments sections to see the kind of thing we mean. Just remember to never insult anyone’s appearance or say anything offensive or personal to them, but it is probably okay to poke fun at whatever they’ve said a little.

Twitter, with its succinct character limit for posts, allows brands to be a little more creative with their responses to reviews. Retweet positive ones you receive to showcase praise to your followers, but make sure to acknowledge negative posts too so it doesn’t look like you’re ignoring them.

 Source: Lovin Manchester, Daily Mail