Google Analytics has long been viewed as the industry standard for measuring success in digital marketing. However, the expectation that Google Analytics can provide perfect data is a misconception.
Starting in 2025, we should focus our data analytics efforts on using Google Analytics to identify trends and directionality rather than focusing on absolute numbers.
The Imperfect Nature of Google Analytics
For years, marketers have operated under the belief that Google Analytics can track every action a user takes. However, changes in technology, privacy laws, and user behavior have made this notion increasingly unrealistic. Several factors contribute to the growing gaps in Google Analytics data.
- Ad Blockers & Tracking Consent: More users are employing ad blockers and rejecting cookie tracking. This means a significant portion of visitor data is missing from Google Analytics.
- System Silos: Many businesses use third-party booking systems, CRM software, or other tools that don’t fully integrate with their Google Analytics, leading to fragmented data.
- Cross-Device Challenges: Users access websites from multiple devices, making it difficult to track them as a single individual all the time.
- Data Sampling in GA4: Google Analytics 4 (GA4) uses data sampling, meaning not all reported figures reflect 100% of actual data.
Given these realities, marketers must move away from striving for absolute accuracy and instead focus on trend insights or directions that guide decision-making.
Use Trends in Reporting
Instead of chasing perfect data, marketers should focus on identifying trends and patterns. Directional reporting helps answer important business questions without the endless pursuit of perfection.
- Which landing page is driving more conversions? Instead of raw numbers, presenting data as a percentage of total conversions makes it easier to identify high-performing pages.
- Is organic traffic increasing or decreasing? Instead of focusing on exact numbers, tracking overall growth trends over time is more actionable.
- Does video content drive sales? By segmenting audiences into those who watched a video versus those who didn’t, marketers can assess effectiveness of videos on their websites.
Use Correlation Metrics
One way to overcome attribution gaps is by using correlation metrics—a straightforward method to measure how marketing efforts impact business goals. Correlation is calculated by comparing inputs (e.g., impressions, email sends) with outputs (e.g., purchases, conversions). Some examples include:
- Ad impressions vs. sales: Are higher ad impressions resulting in increased sales?
- Technical SEO fixes vs. revenue growth: Are site optimizations improving business performance?
- Content marketing vs. churn reduction: Are educational blog posts helping retain customers?
By focusing on correlation rather than 100% accuracy, marketers can uncover meaningful insights and make better decisions.
Moving Forward: The Good Enough Approach
The shift toward accepting imperfect data is not about settling for lower standards—it’s about adopting a more realistic and practical mindset. Here’s how marketers can implement these changes:
- Simplify Reporting: Remove unnecessary decimal places and emphasize trends over absolute values.
- Educate Stakeholders: Help leadership understand why analytics can never be perfect and why directional data is more valuable.
- Use Visual Storytelling: Graphs, charts, and percentage-based reporting can make insights more intuitive and actionable.
The Future of Google Analytics
The reality is that Google Analytics will continue to evolve. Instead of resisting these changes, marketers must adapt. By focusing on trends, directionality, and correlation metrics, businesses can make smarter, data-informed decisions without being bogged down by 100% accuracy.
The time to embrace this change is now. Google Analytics isn’t perfect—and that’s okay.
