Welcome to Part I of Edition No. 23 of my weekly newsletter, providing practical analysis in the world of digital content strategy.
Highlights from Friday’s updates:
Twitter’s Latest Feature (Straight from Instagram)
Reels Made Easier (and More Repetitive) than Ever
YouTube Channel Analytics Get a Boost
Contents
I. Tip: Is GA4 tracking your site searches?
II. Analysis: Twitter Links are ‘nofollow’ once again. What does that mean anyway?
Tip: Is GA4 tracking your site searches?
Google Analytics 4 tracks site searches by default. The enhanced measurement event used to do this is called view_search_results.
This event tracks searches that take place on your website. Not to be confused with searches on Google, Bing, etc. that bring people to your site.
Here’s how to check your site search settings and make sure data is collected.
1. Do a search on your website. Any search. Now look at the URL.
Here’s what the URL looks like when I search for “custom dimensions” on my website:
https://bradgerick.com/?s=custom+dimensions
The key here is that letter “s” after the question mark.
What do you see there for searches on your site between the “?” and the “=”? Keep that in mind for a moment.
Here are the site search query parameters Google Analytics 4 captures by default in the site_search_results event:
If what you see between the ? and the = is any of those five options – q, s, search, query or keyword – you’re all set.
If you see something different, proceed to step 2.
2. Here’s how to update your search term query parameter:
A. In GA4, go to Admin
B. Click Data Streams (in the Property column)
C. Click on your Web data stream
D. Click on the settings symbol ⚙️ for Enhanced measurement events
E. Click “Show advanced settings” under Site search.
Your window should now show what’s in the previous screenshot above
F. Erase q,s,search,query,keyword and enter the query you found in your URL (between the ? and =).
Your GA4 dashboard should now begin collecting data about what users search for on your site.
You can see this by going to Reports > Events or by setting up a site search report in Explore.
Did you find this tip useful? Share it to help spread the word.
Analysis: Why are Twitter links ‘nofollow’ again and what the heck does that mean anyway?
Twitter recently reverted its links to “nofollow”.
For a few weeks this spring, they had been changed to “dofollow”.
Let’s look at what this means, exactly, and how it affects your website.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Gerick News(letter) to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.