Google Analytics
Stay up to date with the latest news, tips, and insights about Google Analytics on Search Engine Land, including strategies to optimize your use of Google Analytics 4 (GA4), which replaced Universal Analytics in mid-2024. and the forced migration to Google Analytics 4, starting July 1, 2023, from Search Engine Land.
You’ll find a variety of up-to-date and authoritative resources, including the latest news, tutorials and data to help you work smarter and make better decisions.
Navigating Google Analytics 4 and beyond
The transition to Google Analytics 4 (GA4) marks a significant change in how businesses track, measure, and analyze their website and app data. Search Engine Land offers in-depth insights and strategies to help you adapt to GA4 and leverage its new features for actionable results.
Discover tutorials on using GA4, creating custom reports, and getting the most out of the platform. Stay updated on understanding GA4’s new interface and interpreting its improved insights into customer behavior.
We also cover GA4’s expanded cross-platform tracking capabilities and its emphasis on privacy-focused measurement.
What you read here is written by our experienced in-house team, and subject matter experts from leading brands and agencies.
Don’t miss out! Get the Search Engine Land newsletter delivered daily to your inbox. Subscribe for free!
Google Image search updates referrer URL to help publishers track image search traffic
In coming months, the Google Image search referral URL will be changing. Make sure your software tools are ready.
Ask an SMXpert – Google Tag Manager
SMXperts Stephanie Wallace and Tom Bennet answer questions on how Google Tag Manager works, its key benefits and why you should be using it.
SearchCap: Google Search Console, negative SEO & more
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Webinar: Close the Online/Offline Data Gap with AI-driven Call Intelligence Jul 13, 2018 by Digital Marketing Depot With mobile search and voice interactions on the rise, it’s more important than ever […]
PPC’s #fakenews: 9 ways bad numbers might look good
Did you know it’s super-easy to fake your way to seemingly good PPC performance? Contributor Andreas Reiffen shares multiple ways to arm yourself against the pay-per-click version of “fake news.”
Google Marketing Live: Here come fully automated ads & campaigns for Local, Shopping & more
Google announces machine learning-loaded initiatives at its annual advertiser event.
SearchCap: #SMXperts, Google Analytics, cutting content & more
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Ask the SMXperts – Page Speed, Site Migrations & Crawling Jul 6, 2018 by Debra Mastaler Three #SMXperts answer questions from the Advanced Technical SEO session at SMX Advanced and share […]
SearchCap: YouTube video ads, AI-driven call intelligence, link building & more
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Internal links: Link building’s secret sauce Jul 2, 2018 by Andrew Dennis Contributor Andrew Dennis explains why you shouldn’t overlook internal links on your site: They leverage link equity from external […]
SearchCap: Adwords retired, SMX Advanced recap, Smart Campaigns launched & more
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Google Home and Chromecast device currently offline Jun 27, 2018 by Barry Schwartz Google can only respond “sorry, something went wrong, try again in a few seconds” at this moment to […]
Google is retiring the AdWords & DoubleClick brands in a major rebranding aimed at simplification
Welcome to Google Ads, Google Marketing Platform, and Google Ad Manager.
5 things to check if your traffic suddenly drops
No one’s immune to traffic drops, and the causes may be easy to overlook. Still, to avoid barking up the wrong tree, gather the evidence first: look closely at the overall stats for a long enough period in your Google Analytics to see if the traffic spike really looks out of place or if it […]
SearchCap: Google updates ad settings, negative SEO & more
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Google updates ‘Ad Settings’ to allow users to turn off targeting signals Jun 14, 2018 by Amy Gesenhues Google is also extending ‘Why this ad?’ notices to all services that display […]
SearchCap: Search Engine Land awards, Facebook gets serious about local & more
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: The 2018 Search Engine Land Award winners: The full roster of this year’s search rock stars & superheroes Jun 13, 2018 by Amy Gesenhues The SEO and SEM community recognized the […]
SearchCap: Google tests AMP labels, AdWords personalization & understanding user intent
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Google testing AMP label in Search ads Jun 8, 2018 by Ginny Marvin The label is showing on some text ads with AMPed landing pages. Advanced AdWords Strategies to Personalize Experiences […]
AdWords notes have arrived: How to get started
Easily add notes about changes, testing details and results and more in the new AdWords interface.
Search and direct mobile navigation surpass Facebook as traffic referrers
The shift is likely the result of Facebook algorithm changes, but other factors may also be at work.
SearchCap: Google’s new local search world, Abraham Ortelius Google doodle & more
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: How to survive Google’s new local search world May 21, 2018 by Wesley Young Google has made some significant changes in the area of local search. Contributor Wesley Young gives an […]
SearchCap: Bing Ads Editor, Chrome HTTPS, HomePod & Google Home
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Report: Google Home making gains on Alexa, Apple HomePod in 4th placeMay 18, 2018 by Greg Sterling Even if Apple’s smart speaker sales don’t grow, they could still generate $800 million […]
SearchCap: AdWords parallel tracking, negative SEO, Yext with TripAdvisor
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: AdWords sets parallel tracking deadline & will warn advertisers using HTTP landing pagesMay 17, 2018 by Ginny Marvin Advertisers using third-party click measurement systems need to prepare for parallel tracking. AdWords […]
SearchCap: Google News updated, standout tag gone & e-commerce SEO
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: The new and AI-improved Google News now available for iPhone and iPadMay 15, 2018 by Greg Sterling Google News redesign in more than 120 countries on the web, Android and iOS. […]
Old AdWords interface will be phased out by year-end
Google will notify advertisers ahead of the final switch to the new AdWords experience.
SearchCap: Local search ads, Intent keywords & The Flying Housewife
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Look Ma, no keywords! Phrase-free AdWords campaigns are hereApr 26, 2018 by Andy Taylor Contributor Andy Taylor discusses Google’s new Local Search Ads Experiment in AdWords, which uses address and location […]
SearchCap: PPC branded content & bad local reviews
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: How to use good ol’ PPC to support fun and creative branded contentApr 25, 2018 by Kevin Lee Contributor Kevin Lee looks at creative synergies and the power of collaboration to […]
To comply with GDPR, Google asks publishers to manage user-data consent for ad targeting in EU
Publishers are being asked to manage the consent process on behalf of Google.
Google News Initiative kicks off with Subscribe With Google, other efforts
Subscribers will see articles from their subscribed publications higher in the search results and be logged in to those publications across devices.
SearchCap: Google My Business update, AdWords ad grants & voice search
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Spring Equinox Google doodle introduces Quinn, an animated flower fairy & musicianMar 20, 2018 by Amy Gesenhues Designed by Google doodler Sophie Diao, the image leads to a search for Spring […]
Notes are coming to AdWords, plus Recommendations & an Account Performance Score
Google has announced several productivity updates for the new AdWords interface, including the ability to note important changes right in the UI.
SearchCap: Google AMP render on idle, spidering & Google doodle
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: International Women’s Day Google doodle honoring females around the world arrives a day earlyMar 7, 2018 by Amy Gesenhues The doodle is a collective of 12 stories from female artists, each […]
SearchCap: Mastering mobile SEO, Google sells Zagat to The Infatuation & more
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Last chance: SMX West kicks off next week. Be there! Mar 5, 2018 by Search Engine Land SMX West is coming to sunny San Jose in just a few days, and […]
SearchCap: Bing Entity Search API, Yelp’s new ad customization & Google’s Holi doodle
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Community Corner: Spotlight on Search Engine Land Award Winners Brainlabs & Trimark Digital Mar 2, 2018 by Amy Gesenhues An interview series highlighting 2017’s Award winners: A look at the work […]
SearchCap: Linking law, Google crawl change & map directories
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Keyword infringement: Edible Arrangements files $209M trademark suit against GoogleFeb 19, 2018 by Greg Sterling While use of trademarked keywords has been allowed by courts, this case may be more complicated […]
SearchCap: Google Images changes, Google Maps iOS app update & SEO ROI
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Google Image Search removes View Image button and Search by Image featureFeb 15, 2018 by Barry Schwartz After making a deal with Getty Images, Google has revamped some of their image […]
SearchCap: AMP Stories, Google Shopping links & more search refinements
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: AMP Stories: The new Accelerated Mobile Pages format from GoogleFeb 13, 2018 by Michelle Robbins Does this doubling down on the mobile framework by adding the new, heavily visual and interactive […]
SearchCap: Google EU rivals, Bing Ads tracking fix & Google speed index update
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Google’s Page Speed Update does not impact indexingJan 31, 2018 by Barry Schwartz In response to questions raised in the community, here’s clarification about how indexing is impacted by the Google […]
Bing Ads has a conversion tracking fix for Apple’s Intelligent Tracking Prevention
Advertisers must enable auto-tagging of the Microsoft Click ID in their accounts to get consistent ad conversion tracking from Safari.
SearchCap: Google local news, voice search usage & Facebook content
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Google Bulletin: Hyperlocal news, Nextdoor competitor or both?Jan 26, 2018 by Greg Sterling Google has already proven it can crowdsource local content at scale through its Local Guides program. Survey: People […]
Search in Pics: Google bison, bowling balls & game controller tables
In this week’s Search In Pictures, here are the latest images culled from the web, showing what people eat at the search engine companies, how they play, who they meet, where they speak, what toys they have and more. Meet the Google bison: Source: Twitter Game controller tables at Google office: Source: Instagram Google Chrome […]
PPC 2017: Epic review of the biggest trends & updates in paid search
This year, artificial intelligence and machine learning underpinned nearly every paid search update.
How to generate links that drive traffic, not just ranking
Links are a crucial element of search engine optimization, and columnist Kevin Rowe believes that long-term SEO success relies on building links that drive real traffic.
SearchCap: Bing & Reddit, Google travel pricing & meta descriptions
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Google: Fundamentals of writing meta descriptions don’t change with longer search snippetsDec 14, 2017 by Barry Schwartz Google has officially commented about what webmasters should focus on when writing meta descriptions […]
Shopify meets call tracking
As we enter the 2020s, e-commerce is set to generate more than $480 billion in the US and nearly $2 trillion globally. And while Amazon takes a lot of credit for online everything, they’re hardly the only game in town. A significant chunk of online retail is generated by smaller players, thanks in part to […]