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GA4: 5 knowledge bombs to calm your nerves as you make the transition

Big changes have arrived at Google, and they impact every business owner who uses Google Analytics. As of July 2023, Google has retired Universal Analytics. You’ll still be able to collect your data in the new version of Google Analytics, GA4.

How will this change impact your Business?

Change is hard, and especially if it’s a change that involves technology.

It’s important to remember that this change doesn’t affect your site’s user experience or change the user behavior in your store. It’s very much different from the change we experienced when the iOS14 update was released.

When iOS14 was released, users had the ability to opt out of tracking. Many store owners felt the effect of this change because when users “opted out”, our ability to retarget web visitors was significantly reduced.

GA4 is Google’s solution to gathering data online, in a “cookie-less” world.

Here’s what you need to do today

It’s going to take several months for the industry to find the best way to find the opportunities and understand the limitations of GA4.

Our best first steps are to learn what’s changed, understand what the “new” metrics mean, and develop solid benchmarks for the metrics that store owners should be tracking.

Leona Griffin is our Inner Circle Ecommerce Coach, specializing in Google products.

A few days ago, I sat down with Leona for a discussion about the most important changes our Inner Circle Members need to know when they start using GA4.

1. Expect to see a significant decrease in traffic. You might be used to tracking the number of “sessions” which includes multiple visits from all users. GA4 is reporting the number of unique “users” that visit your site.
2. Bounce Rates are “out” and Engagement is “in”. Most of us are accustomed to checking our Bounce Rate to determine the quality of the traffic we send to our sites, or the user experience on a page. When you use GA4, you’ll use Engagement to make the same assessments. I think this is a good change, because Google counts an “engagement” when a user lands on your site and clicks on something or spends 10 seconds or more on your site. An “engaged session” is more likely to be a quality session than a visitor that didn’t bounce, but spent just a few seconds on your site.
3. Estimations are the new normal. Google Analytics G4 will apply estimations on the number of sessions which may cause your number of sessions to look higher or lower than what you were seeing in UA. Going forward, we’ll recommend target “ranges” as benchmarks for the metrics that we track and measure.
4. Multiple Conversion Events. When you’re using GA4, expect to see multiple conversion events in one session. Each event in a session is counted in GA4, versus UA which counted an event only one time per session. A perfect example of this is an “Add to cart” event. If a user adds 8 items to their cart, it will display as 8 add to carts.
5. Fewer Reports. It’s significantly harder to get the data that you’ve been used to seeing in the UA version of Google Analytics. Looker Studio is a free tool offered by Google that you can use to create dashboards that are customized for your store.
6. Shipping and Tax Revenue is not reported in your sales. You might get a shock when you log into GA4 and see that your sales are suddenly lower than you expect. Don’t panic, it’s just a change in reporting. In the past, Universal Analytics tracked the revenue you generate from shipping and taxes. Going forward, GA4 does not include that revenue in your sales.

What are your next steps?

If you haven’t installed and configured your store’s GA4 product, you should do it now.

Every member of the Inner Circle has the complete GA4 training in their classroom.
Inner Circle Members, can access their training here.

We know you might need some support. The Mentors can answer your questions in the member’s group. If you need 1:1 help, you can book a session with our Inner Circle Ecommerce Coaches Leona and Sarah.

If you want to skip the set up, and get it done for you, you can book a done for you package with Leona Griffin here.

The Last Word

Google Analytics is an important tool that helps store owners like us understand more about the behavior of our website traffic, troubleshoot problems, and identify opportunities.

Our team is committed to finding a way to simplify the data collected by GA4 and present our members and followers with an effective method of viewing and analyzing their data.

While it’s a great tool, Google Analytics does not provide the insight that every store owner can by building a sales funnel for your store. When you build your Sales Funnel, you’ll be able to predict your sales by tracking the number of people in each stage of your funnel. You’ll understand where you need to focus your attention in order to grow your sales, and you’ll be able to see your progress every month.

I encourage everyone to do this work.

Inner Circle Members, the training is here in your classroom.

New FREE Course coming September 22nd

GROW YOUR SALES

(without breaking the bank)

Conversion School is a step by step process to grow your sales,
without spending a fortune on risky ad strategies, or discounting your products.

Works for Ecommerce stores at all stages.

Start getting consistent sales, and see significant sales growth every month.

New FREE Course coming September 22nd

GROW YOUR SALES

(without breaking the bank)

Conversion School is a step by step process to grow your sales, without spending a fortune on risky ad strategies, or discounting your products.

Works for Ecommerce stores at all stages.

Start getting consistent sales, and see significant sales growth every month.

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Many Ecommerce store owners are surprised when they learn that they need a massive audience to keep growing and reach their long term sales goals. 

It’s not uncommon for higher volume stores to reach millions of people every month. 
They’re highly visible.

Even when you’re a new-ish Ecommerce store owner, you’ll need to make yourself visible to 100,000 – 200,000 people every month in order to create awareness for your products.

It might seem daunting, but the truth is it’s not that hard, or expensive.

Brand Videos are one of the fastest ways to build your product awareness, get more traffic to your site, and make your business visible and memorable.

You might be thinking that Brand Videos are only for “big” businesses, and that you need a high production value, big budget video, but I know that’s not the case.

Every Ecommerce store owner should have a Brand Video. When you have a Brand Video, you’ll be able to use it to:
→Attract the right people, by giving them a  taste of what they’ll find on your site
→Build a massive audience – for a tiny spend 

Listen in as our Inner Circle Traffic Coach, Cathy Hayhurst shares a simple way to create your Brand Video then use it to build a massive audience. 

Grab a pen, take some notes, and before you know it, your store will be visible, and your audience will be full of people who have a genuine interest in your products.

New FREE Course coming September 22nd

GROW YOUR SALES

(without breaking the bank)

Conversion School is a step by step process to grow your sales,
without spending a fortune on risky ad strategies, or discounting your products.

Works for Ecommerce stores at all stages.

Start getting consistent sales, and see significant sales growth every month.

New FREE Course coming September 22nd

GROW YOUR SALES

(without breaking the bank)

Conversion School is a step by step process to grow your sales, without spending a fortune on risky ad strategies, or discounting your products.

Works for Ecommerce stores at all stages.

Start getting consistent sales, and see significant sales growth every month.

or scroll down to get the highlights

Have you heard of an SEO Funnel?

Most of us understand the sales funnel where we’ve got our cold, warm, and hot audiences filtering down the funnel to the purchase goal.

You can apply that same method of thinking to SEO.

An SEO Funnel will bring consistent, high quality traffic to your site, and it doesn’t cost a dime.

Investing time into SEO can be beneficial for any ecommerce business, and you can use a content-based funnel strategy to grow traffic and sales without advertising.

What is a SEO Funnel?
It’s an SEO focused content strategy designed to warm up your audiences and bring them down a funnel, until they make a purchase. Your SEO Funnel has 3 audiences.
Top of funnel audience, middle of funnel audience, and bottom of funnel audience.

Specific SEO focused content is created to attract a top of funnel, middle of funnel, and bottom of funnel audience.

What kinds of Ecommerce stores should use an SEO Funnel?
Every product based Ecommerce business can benefit from this strategy.

Why is this Important to me now?
The SEO Funnel is a slow growing evergreen strategy. You can track and measure your results, so you can see that it’s working and your time is well spent. You can implement it by creating content consistently over time. This isn’t a paid strategy. Your investment is in time, not money.

Traffic that comes to your store from an organic search will often have higher than average conversion rates.

How to get started:
Start by optimizing your Collection and Product pages.

We recommend you do some keyword research, to determine the best keyword phrases to use for each of those pages.
Find the best keyword phrases by using a tool like ubersuggest.
It’s a cost effective way to do keyword research quickly.
You can also use a free tool like the Google Ads keyword planner.
Look for phrases that actually get searched by real people, so you can be confident that the keywords you are using are actually getting some traffic.

Look for keyword phrases that have 1,000 – 10,000 searches a month for products.

Once you’ve done that, make a plan to optimize your homepage, your collections, and your product pages. At a minimum, include your chosen keyword phrase in your title description and image alt text at a minimum.

In the Inner Circle, we have great training  that explains how to do this, step by step.
Learn how to keyword optimize your site. Get the free guide, Simple SEO for Store Owners.

TOP OF FUNNEL: Audience is in the awareness stage. They may not even know that they need your product. They’re asking general questions and considering multiple options. Create broad content that answers questions like What is X? is perfect at this stage.
MIDDLE OF FUNNEL: Audience knows they need your product and are still deciding on which option is best. They may be looking at your products and competitor’s products. Content that is more product specific helps them decide which product will best fill their need. Product comparisons or reviews are two examples of content to create for this stage.
BOTTOM OF FUNNEL: This audience has already made the decision to purchase and they are considering a purchase from you. Your job is to assure them that they are making the right decision by buying from you. Content like lots of reviews, “how to” guides, and in depth product descriptions with specifications can help them make the decision to purchase.

Key points to remember:
1. All store owners should work on an SEO strategy, even if they use paid ads. This content will help buyers feel confident in purchasing from you.
2. SEO is a long term strategy. While sometimes we see quick wins in ranking and traffic, the reality is that bigger wins take months (and sometimes) years to attain.
3. If you use Google ads, working on your SEO will directly and indirectly help those ads. Google P-Max normally uses SEO product titles & descriptions, and optimizing your listings will help you be found more often.

Your next steps:
1. Perform a content audit of your site using the SEO Funnel as a guide.
2.Find the gaps and make a plan to start, or improve, your own funnel. 

For 1:1 help, Inner Circle members can book a call with our SEO Coach, Sarah and get personalized recommendations for your product.

Not a member of the Inner Circle? Use this link to get the details.
https://thesocialsalesgirls.com/inner-circle/

New FREE Course coming September 22nd

GROW YOUR SALES

(without breaking the bank)

Conversion School is a step by step process to grow your sales,
without spending a fortune on risky ad strategies, or discounting your products.

Works for Ecommerce stores at all stages.

Start getting consistent sales, and see significant sales growth every month.

New FREE Course coming September 22nd

GROW YOUR SALES

(without breaking the bank)

Conversion School is a step by step process to grow your sales, without spending a fortune on risky ad strategies, or discounting your products.

Works for Ecommerce stores at all stages.

Start getting consistent sales, and see significant sales growth every month.

or scroll down to get the highlights

What can I work on that will really move the needle in my business.

What’s the work that will get me closer to my goals, keep me on track, and lead to long term success?

This is the question that swirls around in almost every store owner’s head – all the time.

For years we’ve been giving our Inner Circle Members the exact work they must do in order to get sales.

More often than not, their progress comes in baby steps, and sometimes that’s really hard to see. That’s when many people start to wonder if all their effort is having any impact on their results. And they shift gears or stop altogether.

It’s a problem

This year, we developed new training that solves that problem.

We’re teaching our Members how to build a Sales Funnel for their shops.

When you build your sales funnel, you actually get to see:

• How many potential customers are in your Sales Funnel
• Where they are on their customer journey
• The work you need to do to convert more people into buyers
• What your business needs you to focus on this month.

You are actually able to see what your business needs each month. You’ll do the work, and you’ll be able to physically see the impact of your work when you build your Sales Funnel next month.

Building their own Sales Funnel, and being able to see the big picture has had a massive impact for our Members. They’re focused. And they’re making more progress than ever before.

This training is so important that I knew we must share it with you.

Join us next month for a live, hands-on workshop. We’ll guide you through the process as you build your Sales Funnel.

You’ll leave knowing the big picture for your store, and the work you’ll focus on that will get you closer to your big goals.

You can register here. The cost is $10. Join us live, and come ready to work.

A replay will be delivered to all registrants.

https://classroom.thesocialsalesgirls.com/build-your-sales-funnel-workshop

New FREE Course coming September 22nd

GROW YOUR SALES

(without breaking the bank)

Conversion School is a step by step process to grow your sales,
without spending a fortune on risky ad strategies, or discounting your products.

Works for Ecommerce stores at all stages.

Start getting consistent sales, and see significant sales growth every month.

New FREE Course coming September 22nd

GROW YOUR SALES

(without breaking the bank)

Conversion School is a step by step process to grow your sales, without spending a fortune on risky ad strategies, or discounting your products.

Works for Ecommerce stores at all stages.

Start getting consistent sales, and see significant sales growth every month.

or scroll down to get the highlights

Feeling like your shop is invisible? Do you continue to post on Social Media even though you feel like you’re talking to the wall?

It’s frustrating and exhausting.

I recorded this episode with our Member Success Coach, Tina, shortly after she’d been at an in person event with products from her shop.

I want you to listen, because you’ll learn a different way to think about your ideal customer.

We’re giving you a strategy you can use to improve your messaging.

AND, we’ll give you a way to flip your thinking about your audience and how you can grow it.

New FREE Course coming September 22nd

GROW YOUR SALES

(without breaking the bank)

Conversion School is a step by step process to grow your sales,
without spending a fortune on risky ad strategies, or discounting your products.

Works for Ecommerce stores at all stages.

Start getting consistent sales, and see significant sales growth every month.

New FREE Course coming September 22nd

GROW YOUR SALES

(without breaking the bank)

Conversion School is a step by step process to grow your sales, without spending a fortune on risky ad strategies, or discounting your products.

Works for Ecommerce stores at all stages.

Start getting consistent sales, and see significant sales growth every month.

or scroll down to get the highlights

Today I’m talking to Connor Meakin, the Founder of Bluebird Provisions.

Bluebird Provisions sells bone broth. Pre Covid, Bluebird’s sales were exclusively to brick and mortar grocery stores. The Company was growing and Connor’s days were busy managing and growing the wholesale channel.

Everything changed in March 2020, when stores stopped ordering Bone Broth, and Connor’s sales ground to a halt.

In the summer of 2020, Connor was almost broke and scrambling for cash to keep his Company alive.

There was no budget for ads, so Connor decided to figure out how he could use SEO to get some traffic to his site.

Listen in and hear:

The first steps Connor took to get traffic
What he did next
His results

And…

How you could apply this strategy too!

See Connor’s site here:
https://bluebirdprovisions.co/

New FREE Course coming September 22nd

GROW YOUR SALES

(without breaking the bank)

Conversion School is a step by step process to grow your sales,
without spending a fortune on risky ad strategies, or discounting your products.

Works for Ecommerce stores at all stages.

Start getting consistent sales, and see significant sales growth every month.

New FREE Course coming September 22nd

GROW YOUR SALES

(without breaking the bank)

Conversion School is a step by step process to grow your sales, without spending a fortune on risky ad strategies, or discounting your products.

Works for Ecommerce stores at all stages.

Start getting consistent sales, and see significant sales growth every month.