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BEST PRACTICES & STRATEGIES

Consider your level of analysis and the option Decide on an appropriate operating model
to scale
Where you host your web analytics solution depends
Looking into the future is crucial when choosing an on numerous factors. Certainly, security requirements,
analysis tool, because it is probably right now only support needs and costs, are particularly relevant. At
about simple traffic reports, but your needs might grow. first sight, an in-house solution operation might seem to
Therefore, make sure that the tool you choose allows be a cheaper option, but it does not necessarily bring
for functional growth and has the appropriate scalability savings if there is a lack of human resources and the
– without imposing the costs and manpower for an necessary know-how for 24/7 operation. Depending on
oversized tool right now. In general, it is advisable to the requirements of your tool, you can get a profession-
start small with every new tool, for example with a low al solution from a secure cloud for just a few dollars.
entry-level price and to increase as required. This gives For data protection reasons, always pay attention to the
you the flexibility to further develop your web analysis location of the provider and check the service level
as soon as you need it. Keep in mind that you can take agreements (SLAs) carefully. Because a failure of the
historical data with you when you expand your tool, and analytical system not only means a data gap but can
that performance must remain the same despite in- also result in serious costs if the availability of your own
creasing data volumes. website is affected. And don’t forget to check the open-
ness of the system and the ability to connect to third-
Choose the right legal foundation party systems such as Google Ads, Facebook Ads and
others – and ensure smooth and automated processes,
With a legally compliant consent as the basis for web and how easily it can be integrated.
analysis, you reduce your database to an average of
around 15% of users worldwide, according to the Apple Consider the effort and consequences of the
App Tracking study, that also states that around 85% of migration
your website visitors remain unknown to you despite
the analytics tool – and the added value of web analy- The fact is that historical data is lost when there is a
sis is more than questionable. You are better off with system change. This can even be the case if the pro-
tracking that can be justified by your "legitimate inter- vider forces a migration within the system – this is also
est" as the website operator and does not require any the case with Google Analytics. This loss, while annoy-
cookies. Cookie-less and consent-free, you can record ing, is unavoidable. However, it is much more important
well over 95% of your users. that you can take over your online campaigns as auto-
matically as possible. This means that all tracking links
that you have circulated should be able to be moved
automatically. Manually adjusting or changing all track-
ing links is practically impossible. You can also check
right away whether the new tool can also play back the
conversion data as a basis for automated bid strategies
for online ads in the advertising systems in compliance
with the GDPR. This is the only way to ensure a
smooth transition.

Don’t forget to check what kind of support is included in
the service package and which web analysis tools
gives you all important functions: the necessary scala-
bility, a fair price model and, of course, maximum legal
security through consent- and cookie-free tracking. ◊

By Daniela La Marca

22 July 2022: Search Marketing