This article might save your Google Analytics developer a ton of time.
If you have an email or customer list that engage with your site it can be frustrating to try to figure out how to connect those data with the Google Analytics User Id.
Many tools like HubSpot, Marketo, Leadberry, and Salesforce have ways of tracking individual website browsing behavior. Hubspot has it’s own unique javascript that tracks users, Salesforce lets you connect with Google Analytics with custom dimensions, LeadBerry connects their network data with Google Analytics data to help identify customers.
There are also ways of hacking together systems that let you use the Google Analytics User Id by pushing your site’s user ID into GA. However, be warned that Google Analytics policy prohibits you from adding PII (Personally Identifiable Information) into Google Analytics. So you need no make sure the id pushed in doesn’t have this info – like email address.
The Problem
- Google Analytics User Id’s track past 2 years of website browsing behavior on your site but they are anonymized.
- Tools like HubSpot cost hundreds of dollars a month for this website customer tracking set up in a usable way.
- Pushing your User ID into Google Analytics doesn’t provide a quick way to browse and access this information.
- Developing your own database that matches GA User ID and customer data costs developer time better spent on your actual product. Which is why we created GetLighthouse.io
The Solution
Build it yourself or pay top dollar for a feature from a tool like HubSpot. OR try our free (up to 100 emails tracked) Google Analytics User Id connector that pairs emails/customers that come through your site. GetLighthouse.io
To get started, you will need to log in to your organization’s:
- Google Analytics
- Google Tag Manager (to add Lighthouse tracking code to your website)
- MailChimp (preferred for full functionality, but not required)
Once you have these log-ins ready, let’s begin. Set-up will take about 20 minutes.
Go to app.getlighthouse.io and register your account. Once logged in, you will follow these steps to complete set-up:
- Connect Lighthouse to your website’s Google Analytics account
- Add the Lighthouse tracking code to your website in Google Tag Manager
- Test your connection
- Connect to Mailchimp (to enable full functionality)
- Set up VIP Notifications & Visitor Activity Segments
Then just enjoy as the system populates your customer connections to Google Analytics User Ids in your system over time.
Here are some more fun ways to use the Google Analytics Explorer from folks we trust: