There is no disputing that Google has become the world-wide de facto tool for website and marketing analytics. But as media measurement and optimization has reached such an advanced and sophisticated level, is it really the right tool for today’s marketers, or is it leading them astray?
The simple answer that I address in this video is that using Google Analytics (GA) for cross-channel optimization is dangerous for today’s marketers, and here’s why.
What is Cross-Channel Optimization
Cross-channel optimization refers to the process of coordinating and fine-tuning marketing efforts across multiple channels (e.g., social media, email, paid ads, and in-store experiences) to create a cohesive and efficient customer journey.
While GA offers an easy way to get lots of media data in one place, it doesn’t seamlessly integrate data from all marketing platforms. Digging deeper into how GA actually calculates its media measurement reporting exposes some glaringly inaccurate metrics when it comes to cross-channel media investments anchored on GA for optimization decisions.
The platform's attribution models, including data-driven attribution, lead to incomplete data on customer journeys and a significant and questionable gap in the reliability of its cross-channel optimization reporting.
Google Analytics and Cross-Channel Optimization
Many brands still turn to GA for cross-channel portfolio optimization – like a drug they can’t quit. But as easy as Google makes it – it’s too great of a risk for marketers to be measuring the performance of any non-Google media channel with GA. You’re wasting millions of dollars and destroying enterprise value.
GA presents a conflict of interest due to both the data it has access to and its configuration, and it only has access to impressions and clicks for Google properties. For non-Google media, GA only has access to clicks.
This means that view-through media and conversions are not being counted and attribution is heavily biased toward the data GA sees, which are clicks occurring at the bottom of the funnel. Add to that, there is no meaningful accounting for cross-device behavior, non-addressable media, or non-media factors.
Furthermore, Google’s Data Driven Attribution methodology is a black box, which upon scrutiny produces attribution results that look awfully similar to last touch. For all intents and purposes, GA is built on a last touch adjacent methodology.
Finally, GA’s methodology is still founded on correlative measurement. It is fundamentally unable to measure the causal relationship between media and sales and gives you no way to incorporate incrementality.
How to Optimize Cross-Channel Media the Right Way
At Measured, we’ve helped save many companies circling the drain as a result of over-optimization to non-incremental media directed by GA and Multi-Touch Optimization (MTA) – and most are finally waking up to how dangerous it is for their brand.
If you’re optimizing cross-channel media with Google Analytics, you are optimizing to the bottom of the funnel clicks. These clicks are often low in incrementality and focus your media on existing or high intent customers that are already leaning in with your brand.
Any media strategy that drives awareness or consideration in the upper funnel doesn’t just receive minimal attribution in GA, it’s ignored completely.
Optimizing your portfolio with Google Analytics is a surefire pathway to handicapping new customer growth.
In this video, I dive into some of the biggest shockers and pitfalls you need to avoid with GA – and present a new way forward. Watch here.