Switch To Google Analytics 4 With Blackbaud Luminate Online®

Elizabeth Favre

Google is ending Universal Analytics support in July. Make the switch to Google Analytics 4 to get a wealth of insights into how constituents are interacting with your online and mobile content.Increasing engagement and retention gets easier when you can find and address the points where audiences drop off. Would it be helpful to know how many people visit your website? To know if more people make purchases and donations in your app or on your website? Or know at what step potential registrants leave your registration forms? With step-by-step guides for setting up Google Analytics, you can do all this and more.
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Is this something anyone can set up and use?

Yes! Whether you are a data scientist, or you are brand new to website metrics, you can do this. First select the path that best suits you:

• Follow simple instructions to get started now.
• Migrate an existing setup from Google Universal Analytics to Google Analytics 4.
• Enable Google Tag Manager.
• Learn about basic concepts and workflows.
• Learn about advanced features and use cases.
• Browse Google Resources.

Once you have linked your website to your Google Analytics account, get familiar with your Dashboard and Reports. Your account starts off with commonly used charts and graphs in snapshot and real-time views. If you decide you want more, you can always add on Advanced Features
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Can I use Google Tag Manager?

Yes! We’ve included step-by-step instructions to add Google Tag Manager to your Blackbaud Luminate Online® page wrappers. The advantage of Google Tag Manager is that you can manage tags for a variety of platforms, not just Google Analytics, all in one place. Some examples are Google Ads, Big Query, AB Tasty, and Firebase. With these integrations you can see how and where your marketing converts to donations, use your member IDs to track individual flows across devices and data streams, use your live site for user testing, and compare web and app metrics in one place.

NOTE: Multiple, unlinked tags used in a single website cause errors in data reporting. Use the Gtag.js implementation or the Google Tag Manager implementation. Do not use both on a single site. Likewise, if you are migrating from Universal Analytics to Google Analytics 4, use the Setup Assistant so tags are linked and not duplicating recorded events.

What other resources can help me decide where to start and what I can do?

Google has some great resources that will help you understand what features are available and how you can use them. Check out Google Analytics Help and the Google Analytics YouTube channel for an introduction to Google Analytics, a quick start wizard, and video tutorials. There are an impressive number of advanced features. Consider starting with custom dimensions and metrics, machine learning and predictive metrics, or Google Analytics API.