Data Analysis 2021: How to Interpret Data Even with Less Data!

Have you noticed that you have significantly fewer user data available in web analytics than before? Current data protection regulations pose great challenges for online marketing and data analysis. The German Telemedia Act will also follow suit as of December 1, 2021.

Cookie-based tracking requires user consent, leading to data losses if consent is not given. Cookie-less tracking, as made possible by tools like eTracker and Matomo, would technically be excluded from the Consent Manager (“Cookie Banner”), but it comes with other drawbacks. For example, recurring users cannot be tracked, and the assignment to channels and campaigns involved in the purchase funnel is thus complicated or impossible.

In this article, we have explored the future of (marketing) cookies and ventured a look into the future. Today we ask ourselves: What options and methods exist to obtain meaningful data despite these challenges? Our web analytics warriors have compiled the top 6 tips for you.

1. Ensure error-free tracking

Especially when less data is available or certain analyses are omitted, it's particularly important to set up tracking without errors to obtain correct, meaningful data. All online marketing activities rely to some extent on user data to evaluate the success of campaigns and channels and optimize actions. Faulty data can significantly distort this picture and lead to false conclusions. Correct tracking is therefore essential for effective online marketing.

The most common errors include, for example:

• Tracking errors or missing tracking after a relaunch (the tracking code is not implemented)

• Faulty base code

• Tracking code implemented in the wrong place in the source code (a code placed too far down may not trigger for users who leave quickly)

• Faulty transmission of e-commerce data, for example, due to incorrect integration of the data layer for Google Tag Manager

• Faulty filter settings in the data view (for instance, more data being filtered out than intended)

It is therefore important to carefully review the tracking integration and settings in the analysis tool and ideally have the tracking set by a web analytics expert.

2. Evaluate data through extrapolation

Even if data is lost due to the implementation of the Consent Manager (“Cookie Banner” in common parlance), there are ways to approximate real user data. Companies possessing data collected prior to the cookie banner implementation can extrapolate what percentage of users might no longer be tracked due to non-consent. Correspondingly, all data can be extrapolated to get an impression of the total number of visitors.

Depending on the implementation, the Consent Manager can mean data loss of well over 50 percent. Extrapolations help create a realistic picture. Also, comparing with one's own data warehouse provides insight into what is actually happening in the shop, even if not all users and interactions can be captured.

Using additional tools is also important in this context - see the following tip.

3. Use additional tools for data analysis

Not all tools rely on cookies or personal user data and therefore do not require consent in the Consent Manager. An example is Google Search Console, which provides a very good insight into users of unpaid search ads on the Google search engine. Comparison can also be useful: how many organic users are captured in the web analysis tool, like Google Analytics, and how many are shown by Google Search Console? How does this ratio differ compared to the time before the cookie banner introduction? How many more users are correspondingly not captured in Analytics afterward? However, it should also be considered that user numbers can be captured differently in both tools.

Other tools that provide good data are professional SEO tools (Sistrix, SEMrush, ahrefs, etc.), which provide information about keywords and rankings, sometimes also about click behavior and corresponding extrapolations on expected clicks per keyword. Here, too, cross-referencing with web analytics data is very helpful and sensible.

4. Use microconversions

If only so-called macro conversions are tracked (for example, completing a purchase), you not only miss the chance to learn more about users and their behavior, but you also risk losing data if users decide against tracking during the conversion process, and thus the macro conversion cannot be tracked.

Examples of so-called microconversions include:

• Submitting a contact request

• Downloading a PDF document

• Creating an account

• Adding items to the cart

• Opening the cart

• Adding payment methods.

If these are tracked, you take the opportunity to better understand what users are doing on the site and where there is potential for optimization.

5. Understand users better

With less data available, it's not only important to track correctly but also to capture all relevant data on user behavior to better understand users. Not everything that can be measured has to be tracked. It is about creating a concept and defining which data is measured for what reason and what insights you can draw from it. (Capturing data for its own sake contradicts the idea of data economy and can quickly lead to losing oversight.)

For instance, clicks on a specific button can provide valuable insights, as can the scroll depth of users: how far do users scroll on the page, which elements and content are noticed at all?
The distinction between actual interactions with the site and mere staying on the site is also important. Implementing events that go beyond just a page view or click is helpful, for instance, for measuring staying on the site (to provide another data point to tools like Google Analytics).

6. Increase the share of captured users

From our experience with many different websites, we can say: You can influence how users respond to your consent banner, i.e., what percentage of users refuse tracking. To capture and analyze as much data as possible, it makes sense to test (keyword A/B testing) rather than integrating a standard banner. Design and wording can make a significant difference.

Users should never be forced to consent, everything must remain transparent, but there is still some leeway in terms of wording, colors, and button or link sizes. Users are, for example, more willing to consent if it is explained that data is used to improve the user experience rather than if the impression is given that it’s solely for advertising purposes.

Professional web analysis with internetwarriors

Would you like to set up your tracking professionally or have it checked and optimized by our experienced web analytics warriors? We not only bring a lot of experience in optimizing consent managers and have achieved a significant reduction in data loss for many clients but have also set up effective tracking for many different companies and websites over the past years. As we engage in online marketing ourselves, we understand the requirements and can customize your tracking to your needs, channels, and campaigns.

Contact us, we look forward to improving your web analytics for you, for more meaningful data evaluation and successful online marketing campaigns!