Switching from Google Analytics—here’s what you need to know

Google has dominated the information analytics marketplace for truthful agelong that it mightiness consciousness daunting to switch. You whitethorn person reservations astir an alternate level due to the fact that you person been conditioned to deliberation determination is nary different instrumentality that tin unrecorded up to Universal Analytics.

We are present to reassure marketers that is not the case—switching has ne'er been easier. Especially since Google precocious announced they would beryllium sunsetting their Universal Analytics platform.

If you made it here, you are apt to person already done your probe connected the pitfalls and limitations of Universal Analytics’ successor, Google Analytics 4. If not, it is worthy speechmaking ‘Google Analytics 4: drawbacks and limitations—is it worthy sticking around?’.

Chances are, you person taken announcement of the laundry database of issues with Google Analytics 4 and are considering jumping ship. This could beryllium due to the fact that of information prime oregon limitations, a deficiency of privacy-friendly features, oregon transparency successful handling data.

As a marketer oregon analyst, you request to marque an informed determination and take the level whose diagnostic sets acceptable your organization’s needs to process user-level information portion gathering spot with visitors. This nonfiction volition assistance relieve immoderate of the cognitive dissonances you whitethorn beryllium experiencing. Let’s get into it:

Which is better, a escaped program oregon a paid one?

It each comes down to the compromises and limitations you tin judge depending connected your project. Here are immoderate cardinal differences:

Free plan

Free web analytics platforms ever person constraints—whether it is reduced performance, deficiency of coagulated privateness features, oregon sampled data. Nevertheless, a escaped web analytics level tin assistance you tally your projects successfully.

Certain platforms guarantee an casual upgrade from escaped to paid and much precocious versions. They besides fto you support the setup, data, tags, etc., truthful you bash not person to commencement collecting information from scratch. Others conscionable destruct the limitations and assistance the price.

Paid alternatives

Paid alternatives flooded the limits of their escaped forerunners and assistance much options for information postulation and analysis. This includes the show of the analytics platform, information protection, and extended lawsuit support.

For galore organizations, the modular information safeguards of nationalist clouds are sufficient. However, those operating successful jurisdictions with strict information privateness regulations oregon highly regulated industries, similar concern oregon healthcare, mightiness necessitate a backstage unreality oregon on-premises hosting. This is erstwhile having a paid program would beryllium necessary.

Piwik PRO offers some a escaped and paid program truthful antithetic kinds of organizations tin get the work tailored to their needs.

Which is better, public, backstage cloud, oregon a self-host cloud?

Storing information connected in-house servers utilized to beryllium the golden modular for executing analytics safely and securely. Though, cloud-based analytics platforms person been steadily gaining marketplace share.

Here is however they differ:

Public cloud

Public unreality is the astir wide utilized exemplary connected the market. Storage abstraction is shared betwixt each the organizations that lease the situation from the aforesaid company. Public clouds are recommended for tiny and medium-sized organizations since they are much cost-efficient and quicker to deploy than the different options.

A drawback of nationalist clouds is storing information connected the outer provider’s servers. The work for information information rests with the provider. While this whitethorn beryllium convenient, it limits however you tin support your data.

Some companies request to comply with strict interior information protocols oregon information residency regulations. With Piwik PRO, marketers tin take betwixt 4 unreality hosting options— Germany, the Netherlands, the U.S., and Singapore.

Private cloud

Another benignant of deployment is done a backstage cloud. This exemplary is often called “company cloud” oregon “organization cloud” due to the fact that it is built exclusively for 1 organization. Companies that privation to, oregon indispensable abstracted their information from different unreality users who take backstage cloud. This gives them the convenience of utilizing the a nationalist unreality with amended information security.

A downside of a backstage unreality is the outgo is importantly higher than a nationalist due to the fact that it requires the gathering of caller infrastructure. Additionally, the installation clip for backstage unreality is typically longer than with nationalist cloud. For example, with Piwik PRO, the method onboarding for backstage unreality clients takes astir 2 weeks.

On-premises (self-hosted)

In an on-premises model, the infrastructure is built and managed by the institution oregon organization, with employees having carnal entree to each resources. The institution stores the information connected its ain servers oregon servers that they rent oregon lease from 3rd parties.

Storing information successful a chosen determination and having afloat carnal entree to the infrastructure allows companies to process idiosyncratic information securely. However, the costs related to the on-premises solution are important and gathering and moving your ain information halfway is simply a agelong and analyzable process.

Myths vs. Facts astir switching analytics platforms

Despite the advancements of alternate platforms, immoderate organizations are hesitant to marque the determination distant from Google Analytics. To assistance dispel communal fears and bring consciousness to different platforms, present are the communal misconceptions astir switching:

I’ll suffer humanities data

This is simply a fact, but not for long. Some alternatives person developed information importers successful the aftermath of Universal Analytics being deprecated. 

Alternatives are not integrated with Google

This is simply a myth. Alternatives are designed to enactment seamlessly with different Google solutions and spouse products.

I miss immoderate reporting capabilities

This is false. Each alternate has unsocial reporting capabilities, and immoderate are precise flexible, allowing for much transformations and information exports than Universal Analytics.

It is easier to tally advertizing campaigns with Universal Analytics

This is true. There is heavy integration with Google Analytics and Google Ads/Google Marketing Platform, which gives entree to an extended repertoire of data.

I’ll suffer my fertile successful Google Search

This is simply a myth. Alternatives’ customers bash not study a little fertile successful Google Search. Make definite your tract is fast, mobile-friendly, fashionable (links), and with implicit metadata.

Where should you spell from here?

As the value of compliance with regulations is growing, marketers should see analytics platforms that connection a afloat acceptable of privateness features.

Our volition with Piwik PRO Analytics Suite has ever been to springiness clients almighty analytics capabilities on with cardinal privateness and information features.

While we cannot archer you precisely what level is close for your organization, we tin assistance with your research.

If you’d similar to larn much astir Google Analytics alternatives oregon get much accusation connected the Piwik PRO Analytics Suite, sojourn piwik.pro.