Did you know it is possible to permanently or temporarily manipulate Google Analytics data? If you do not have the correct expertise or know-how, affordable SEO packages can help to boost the traffic to your site.
A lot of people and organizations do not have the knowledge needed to modify Google Analytics data. But learning how to do this can be very powerful to procure stellar business insights. There are two proven methods to manipulate data; temporary and permanent methods.
Permanent Google Analytics manipulation
Being able to permanently manipulate the data collected and shown on Google Analytics can be extremely powerful, but it also comes with several risks.
Here are some tips to permanently manipulate Google Analytics data:
Data import
Data import allows you to join your offline business systems data and the online data collected by Google Analytics. It is instrumental because it helps you organize, analyze, and act on this data set in ways that are more aligned to your unique and specific business needs.
There is a variety of data that you can upload to Google Analytics:
- Hit data
- Extended data – this can be user, content, product, geographical, or custom data.
- Summary data
Google Analytics filter
This strategy is ideal if you want to manipulate data in a report view. You can productively use Google Analytics filters to:
- Help collect data on your primary target.
- Remove third-party and employee IP addresses from your information.
- Excluded once all technical query parameters
- Setting up a separate test view in Google Analytics is critical if experimenting with filters to avoid completely ruining your Google Analytics.
Google Tag Manager
Implementing the Google Tag Manager (GTM) is a more practical approach to manipulating and tracking data collected through all the available options in GTM.
Temporary Google Analytics manipulation
You can temporarily modify your Google Analytics data in several ways. It is usually advantageous because you get better insights when you receive different views of your data.
Here are some tips to temporarily manipulate Google Analytics:
Report filters
Report filters fall into two categories: standard and advanced.
A standard report filter allows you to filter the first dimension of your report, which can be limiting at times. On the upside, it is straightforward to work with.
On the other hand, an advanced report filter allows you to add multiple selections for the reports you are looking at. In addition, it allows you to further drill down on the Google Analytics data that you would like to review.
Segments
Segments are probably the most excellent features you can find on Google Analytics. They allow you to manipulate ad-hoc and retroactive data in very effective ways. Since Google Analytics allows you to compare data for different audiences, applying a segment is a very strategic check that every marketer and analyst should know.
Hopefully, the tips above have given you better insight into how you can manipulate your Google Analytics data. However, it would help if you exercise caution when permanently modifying your Google Analytics data or, to be on the safe side, use affordable SEO packages from a reputable company to avoid completely messing up your data.