What Data Is Google Analytics Goals Unable To Track

What Data Is Google Analytics Goals Unable To Track?

published on: 15.03.2021 last updated on: 14.10.2024

What Data Is Google Analytics Goals Unable To Track? There can be various options coming to your mind, or you might be thinking if there is anything at all that Google Analytics Goal cannot track. However, there are certain limitations to it and things which it cannot rack.

If you are looking for the answer to “what data is Google Analytics Goals unable to track?”, the answer would be “Customer’s lifetime value”. Now, take a brief look at the subject.

Brief Outlook at Google Analytics

You have surely heard the name Google Analytics at least once in your life. Google is a platform that is known by every person on the globe, even children as well. Google always stuns us with something new every now and then. And among all the services that Google provides, Google Analytics is one of the major names. 

Google Analytics is a free web analytics tool offered by Google. It shows a complete overview of a website. Google launched this service in November 2005. As of 2021, Google Analytics is the most widely used analytic tool in the world.  

Google Analytics helps us to track a website’s performance based on multiple metrics. It collects the websites’ data and produces a compact result that shows the website’s activity. 

Google Analytics can show every piece of data related to your website. The traffic, real-time visitors, Geographical locations of the visitors, The type of traffic(Organic, referral, or others), bounce rate, and even the visitor’s behavior. It even shows us the devices that the users use to reach our sites.  

These data are very valuable for market research and other purposes. When you have all this data at your fingertips, it helps you understand what is going well for your business and what is not. This eventually helps you create a more impactful marketing strategy with ease. 

Google Analytics is a very useful analytic tool when it comes to digital marketing. When you have a business that runs on digital platforms, then it needs the best exposure, and Google Analytics helps you figure out what is essential to grow your brands digitally.

What Are The Datas Which Google Analytics Cannot Track?

Every coin has two sides; the same goes for Google Analytics. There are numerous ways Google Analytics helps you to analyze your website’s performance, but there are limitations as well. Certain data is there that Google Analytics is unable to track.

Yes, you heard it right. Google Analytics is unable to track data such as “Customer’s lifetime value.” Now, if you have never heard of this thing or don’t have any idea about it, then keep on reading to learn what “Customer lifetime value” means. And why Google Analytics doesn’t show it.

What Is The “Customer’s lifetime value?”

what is Customer's lifetime value

“Customer’s lifetime value” or CLV is a metric that is calculated in order to identify the value of a customer. In simple words, it is the annual amount of money that a customer will bring to your brand. It is obvious that the more profit a customer will give, the more investment the brand will make to sustain that relationship.

CLV is a calculative term. The higher the CLV is, the higher the chances are that the customer will come back to you. So, when a brand knows and identifies a customer who would come back to make a purchase again, it is indeed a priority to keep a good relationship with him/her.

Now when you have a brief idea of “What is the “Customer’s lifetime value” is, now you should know how to calculate it.

How To Calculate “Customer’s Lifetime Value”?

Customer’s lifetime value = (average value of purchase) X (number of times the customer will buy each year) X (average length of the customer relationship (in years)) 

Example – If a person buys shoes of your brand 3 times a year, the average value of the shoes is $100 per pair, and if the customer has been buying your shoes for three years, then- 

The CLV would be – $100x3x3 = $900  

Now, you know what is CLV and how to calculate it. But the sad part is Google Analytics doesn’t show us this result. Though it is one of the most important metrics that every business should analyze, Google Analytics is unable to track the Customer’s lifetime value. 

Even though this is something widely accepted, there are certain other limitations of google analytics. It is unable to track offline conversions and user behavior beyond the website.

Offline Conversions

Google Analytics cannot track offline conversion. It is only limited to online conversions and interactions that happen inside the app or website. They are unable to track offline conversions directly that happen because of the online marketing efforts. 

Here are a few examples of offline data that Google Analytics cannot track. 

  • Phone calls: when a user goes through your website, finds your number, calls you directly, or makes a purchase, depending on that, there is no way Google Analytics can track that. 
  • Purchases and in-store visits: when a user visits the website, takes the location of the store, and then makes an in-store purchase, Google Analytics cannot track that. 

Engagement And User Behavior

Google Analytics goals are designed in a way that can only track specific events or actions that happen inside the app or website. However, it is unable to give a complete update on engagement and user behavior beyond its owned properties. Here are a few examples of user behavior data that Google Analytics cannot track. 

  • Third-party interactions: If there is content or ad on a third-party website, Google Analytics would not be able to track the interaction with the assets if the user does not click through the website. 
  • Social media interactions: Google Analytics tracks referral traffic from social media platforms. However, it is unable to measure user engagement directly with the content, like shares, comments, and likes. 
  • Clicks and email opens: When you send email campaigns to your subscribers, it cannot track the clicks and opens that happen inside the website. You can only rely on the analytics of this platform to measure the metrics.  

Wrapping Up!

As the digital landscape is evolving, it is important that you stay up-to-date with all the latest tools and their practices in web analytics. You need to learn about the new platforms and the updates they are coming with.  

For instance, GA4 or Google Analytics 4 offers better tracking and more flexible data collection compared to Universal Analytics. By expanding and adapting to the analytics tool, you can will have a better hold on data-driven decision-making.

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Tags analytic tool CLV calculations google analytics cons google analytics lifetime value how to track website traffic lifetime value of a customer track website performance
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A self-proclaimed Swiftian, Instagram-holic, and blogger, Subhasree eats, breathes, and sleeps pop culture. When she is not imagining dates with Iron Man on Stark Tower (yes, she has the biggest crush on RDJ, which she won’t admit), she can be seen tweeting about the latest trends. Always the first one to break viral news, Subhasree is addicted to social media, and leaves out no opportunity of blogging about the same. She is our go-to source for the latest algorithm updates and our resident editor.

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