Privacy, the transition from Google Universal to GA4 and client side tagging versus server side tagging. These are the three biggest trends for web analysts in 2023 that were discussed at the first DDMA Digital Analysitcs Summit. On October 13, our web analysts Anouk and George attended, including. Simo Ahava, Krista Seiden and Steen Rasmussen in the lineup. In this blog, a brief recap, so you are immediately provided with the latest insights.

Theme 1: Will Google Analytics be banned in the EU?

One of the big themes in recent years has been Privacy and the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The relevance of the topic of privacy remains unchanged in 2023 and will continue to grow in the coming time, as many Data Protection Authorities (DPAs) will issue a ruling on the use of Google Analytics. While the Dutch DPA (Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens) has kept us waiting for an official answer for quite some time, the Danish DPA has said that they will not determine whether Google Analytics will be banned, but will only test whether companies are complying with the law.

The GDPR revolves around 7 key principles: Lawfulness (fairness & transparency), Purpose limitation, data minimization, accuracy, storage limitation, Integrity (and Confidentiality) and Accountability. In order to be compliant, it is especially important that you provide the user with clear and proper information regarding his/her personal data at the time you collect it.

Google is preparing adjustments for possible consequences of the rulings of various DPAs. The most important adjustment is the switch to GA4 which overcomes some of the privacy concerns. Unfortunately, many factors are still unclear at this time and it remains to wait for the ruling of the Personal Data Authority in the Netherlands.

Fortunately, there are actions you can take right now:

• Check your cookie banner for consent and accurate information
• Check that your privacy & cookie statement contains all the necessary info
• Seek advice from an attorney on what should be in your statements and cookie banner
• Ask yourself what (personal) data you really need
• Stay up to date on the tools you use and their role in the privacy discussion. They often report these in their newsletter, but you can also actively request them from your account manager.

Theme 2: GA4 vs. Google Universal (GA3)

It will not have escaped anyone's notice that a big change is coming regarding Google Universal (GA3). The transition to GA4 should be completed by July 2023, so analysts are already starting to feel more and more at home with the new interface. Whereas now a large portion of visitors already have GA4 running, hardly anyone is using it as their default environment yet. Krista Seiden spoke about the many advantages of GA4. It is increasingly becoming a full-fledged replacement for GA3 and more and more features are being added.

One is Filtering. A common shortcoming is the creation of an additional property/view. Using filters, you can now create custom reports. This would allow you to recreate existing views Universal in GA4. The connection to BigQuery will be the biggest turnaround for analysts.... The standard connection to GA4 creates a different way of analyzing and requires a different skillset. Wondering how to make this switch to BigQuery? Here are some helpful websites and tutorials to get you started:

• Google Dev Codelabs
• The BigQuery Cookbook
  
• Google Cloud Quickstarts: interactive tutorials
  
• Looker Connect: online learning environment

Theme 3: Serverside tagging v.s. client side tagging

Is serverside tagging the solution to all data privacy issues with Google Analytics and all cookie issues? No, not right away. But it does have some advantages over client side tagging. It provides performance gains and it is easier to link other data streams to your web data. On the other hand, it is not the solution in terms of user permission. The fact that a user on the client side no longer sees what is being measured does not mean that you can just measure everything. Even serverside tags must meet privacy requirements.

Serverside tagging is a topic on which much has been written, and where the
coming year will be given a lot of attention. Want to know more about this? Then read one of Simo Ahava's many blogs. He explains it in different ways.

We thought the DDMA Digital Analytics Summit was a success. The next edition will probably take place again in October 2023. We are already looking forward to it! Want to learn more about the impact of GDPR on your organization or the transition to GA4 within your team? Please feel free to contact us. Our analysts will be happy to help you.

This blog has also already been published by our colleagues at Webanalists.com