Google Signals are the next thing on your to do list, if you have not already ensured you are collecting them.
Why Google Signals?
Simply put, google is finally going Cookie-less, and Signals give Google Advertisers a clue as to what sites people are looking at in an anonymised way, which means GDPR is not impacted. However, to ensure you are collecting signals there are a few things you need to attend to:
- Ensure Google Signals are activated in Google Analytics (GA4)
- Ensure (if you are using Google Ads) that You Activate Google Signals in the Ads platform too.
Google Analytics (GA4)
In GA4, you need to go to the admin area (bottom left, cog item), and in the second column, you will see “Data Settings“. This is a drop down and offers you a menu, and you need to navigate to “Data Collection“.
At the top, you will see “Google signals data collection” and you will either see this toggled on (which means you do not need to do anything else) or you will see a blue bar with the words “Advertising Features have been upgraded with the activation of Google signals: collect cross-device data, and remarket to users across devices.”
In this blue bar is a darker blue button “Get Started” – if this is available to you, then please click this. This is where you activate your Google Signals.
In this area, Google gives a little more information about what Signals you are activating. This is as follows:
Analytics features are being enhanced to help you better understand your customers across devices using Google data. This new setting will enable:
New Cross-Device capabilities – Including new Cross Device reporting and remarketing.
More Insights using Google data – Provides deeper insights on your customers using Google data such as enhanced Audience and Demographics reporting.
All existing Advertising Features – Includes all existing advertising features such as demographics & interests reports and remarketing.
Learn more about Google signals.
Now click the blue “Continue” button
This will now bring you to a new screen where it will ask you to “Activate Google Signals” – here you should click the blue “Activate” button. You will now see that you Google signals data collection toggle is on.
The next step is to acknowledge that you have the necessary privacy disclosures and rights from your end users for the collection and processing of their data, including the association of such data with the visitation information Google Analytics collects from your site and/or app property.
To do this, scroll down to “User Data Collection Acknowledgement” and click the blue “I acknowledge” button.
This part is now done.
Google Ads
If you are advertising on Google, using Google Ads then there is an additional step you should now take. Firstly, log into your Google Ads account.
At the top, in the black navigation bar, find “Tools and Settings” and in the drop down find and click “Linked Accounts“.
Once here you will see a list of connected/linked accounts, which should include Google Analytics (GA4) and this should be linked correctly. if you have any doubt at all, please don not hesitate to contact us for help and advice.
On the right hand side, under “Apps and web metrics“, you should see the word “Activate“. Please do just that.
This element is also now done.
Need help?
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