Particularly for newer users, Google Analytics is a complex platform. Because of this, Google Analytics users often have questions that either

1. Aren’t readily available in online content
2. Poorly answered or over-complicated by resources and “data analytics experts” or Google Analytics consultants that claim to know the answers

Today, we’ll discuss:

1. When ecommerce merchants should use Google Analytics
2. The pros and cons of using Google Analytics

Why should I use Google Analytics?

Have you ever questioned how websites know your location and redirect you to the page of that specific location?

Or have you ever seen those ads that constantly appear after you visit a website, even for just a few seconds?

That’s because of cookies, a set of parameters that get collected and interpreted. Cookies are a part of Google Analytics, which is Google’s data measurement tool that helps online store owners, marketing managers and ecommerce managers understand who you should reach and how your website performs.

“Website performance” is generally measured by

1. Who is visiting your website
2. How a user interacts with your website
3. The set of decisions they take following those interactions
4. Dynamic ecommerce data metrics like customer lifetime value, average order value, etc.

Ultimately, ecommerce merchants want to use Google Analytics in order to increase the marketing and sales efforts of the platforms being used, whether that’s Shopify, Magento, BigCommerce, Salesforce Commerce Cloud, or another platform.

AnalyticsNinja takes an even deeper dive into Google Analytics and why it’s an essential tool for your commerce business.

Pros and cons of using Google Analytics

Google Analytics is one of the most well-renowned ecommerce tracking tools. While there are certainly many pros (as it’s considered an essential tool for marketers and store managers), there are also some drawbacks:

Pros of Google Analytics

• It’s free of charge, so anyone can use it.
• You can use it on different digital environments such as websites, mobile applications, kiosks, or anything with an internet connection.
• There’s a Google Analytics Academy, where you can get in-depth information on the platform.
• You can connect your Google Analytics account with your Google Ads account.
• You can collect data from different platforms and sources like commerce connections, industry benchmarks and more.
• You can create custom goals and track your ecommerce platform.
• You can create custom reports based on your needs. This way you can track specific information depending on your industry.
• It’s simple enough to self-navigate, though some ecommerce managers seek help from a Google Analytics consultant.

Cons of Google Analytics

• To understand the intricacies of Google Analytics, you need to “learn the language”. Unfortunately, the right resources are often tough to find online, and instructions may be confusing, time-consuming or overwhelming to those without an intermediate analytics background.
• The overall feel of the platform may be overwhelming. There are many dashboards, settings, user views and metrics.
• The free version of Google Analytics suits even a rookie users almost anyone, but if your web traffic is high and you’d like to upgrade to the premium version, there’s a hefty price point of $150,000.

If you’d like more information or have any questions about our Google Analytics connections for ecommerce, reach out to our team of Google Analytics experts.

Next, check out part 2: What is the bounce rate in Google Analytics?