Analytics and Tracking: Setting Up Data Collection After Leaving Squarespace

Leaving Squarespace? Here’s how to set up analytics for your new site.

To keep tracking user behavior, marketing performance, and site effectiveness after migrating from Squarespace, follow these steps:

1. Export Your Data: Back up your historical analytics from Squarespace and Google Analytics 4 (GA4). Include key metrics like traffic sources, conversions, and ecommerce details.

2. Install Google Analytics (GA4): Create a new property, get your measurement ID, and add it to your new site.

3. Use Google Tag Manager (GTM): Simplify tag management by setting up a GTM container and configuring tags for GA4 and other tools like Google Ads.

4. Track Events and Conversions: Define and test key user actions (e.g., downloads, purchases) using GA4 or GTM.

5. Build Dashboards: Monitor traffic sources, user engagement, and conversion rates using custom dashboards in GA4.

6. Review Regularly: Schedule monthly and quarterly reviews to refine strategies and track growth.

Key Tip: Always test your tracking setup to ensure accurate data collection. This helps you make informed decisions for marketing and site performance.

Save Your Historical Data Before Moving

Make sure to export your historical data now to keep performance insights intact and maintain consistency in your reports.

Export Your Current Analytics

Here’s how to export data from Squarespace and GA4:

Google Analytics Export

• Use your GA4 Measurement ID to pull reports on traffic sources, user behavior, and conversions.

• Create custom reports to include data points specific to your business needs.

For ecommerce businesses, ensure your export covers key details like Order ID, purchase totals, store names, customer locations, product names, and SKUs.

Document Your Migration Timeline

Track export dates, activation times, and any tracking updates in a detailed migration timeline. Remember, GA4 has a 24-hour delay in data processing, so plan exports, activations, and tracking changes accordingly. Don’t forget to set up an IP filter in GA4 to exclude internal traffic from your baseline data.

Once your historical data is backed up, you can move forward with setting up analytics tools for your new site.

Install Analytics Tools on Your New Site

Set Up Google Analytics

To get started with Google Analytics (GA4), follow these steps:

• Create a GA4 property within your Google Analytics account.

• Locate and copy your measurement ID (it looks like this: G-XXXXX).

• Add the measurement ID to your site's global header or analytics settings.

Once that's done, check the Realtime report in GA4 to ensure data is flowing correctly.

Implement Google Tag Manager

Google Tag Manager (GTM) simplifies managing tags on your site. Here's how to set it up:

• Create a GTM container and add its code snippet to your site's header.

• Inside GTM, set up a GA4 Configuration tag using your measurement ID.

• Add any additional tags, like Google Ads conversion tags, and assign triggers (e.g., page views or clicks).

With analytics and tag management in place, you can move on to configuring event and conversion tracking.

Track Events and Conversions

Identify and define the key actions users take on your site as events, and make sure these are set up correctly before diving into analysis.

Create Custom Events

Before creating custom events, review the built-in options in GA4, such as enhanced measurement and recommended events. If none fit your needs, you can add custom events. Stick to snake_case formatting for names - use letters, numbers, and underscores. Keep event names to 40 characters or less, and values to 100 characters or less.

For instance, if you want to track when a visitor downloads a PDF, you could create an event called welcome_packet_download that triggers when someone clicks on the file welcome-packet.pdf.

GA4 vs. Tag Manager

For simpler event configurations, the GA4 interface works just fine. However, for more complex setups involving tags and triggers, Google Tag Manager is your go-to tool.

Test Your Event Tracking

Make sure your event tracking is working correctly by testing it. Use tools like GA4 Realtime, DebugView, Tag Assistant, or Analytics Debugger. You can also double-check everything in the GA4 Admin panel to confirm proper setup.

Use Analytics Data for Marketing

Once your event and conversion tracking is set up, use analytics to steer your marketing efforts in the right direction.

Build Analytics Dashboards

Set up custom dashboards in Google Analytics to keep an eye on the metrics that matter most. Focus on key performance indicators (KPIs) that align with your business objectives:

• Traffic sources: organic, referral, paid, and social

• User engagement: time on page, page depth, and cart abandonment

• Conversion data: goal completions and conversion rates

• Top-performing content

These dashboards provide a quick overview of your performance and serve as a starting point for deeper analysis.

Analyze Performance Metrics

With your dashboards ready, dive into the data to uncover areas that need attention. Pay close attention to these metrics:

• Average time on page

• Page depth

• Cart abandonment rates

By regularly reviewing these numbers, you can spot trends in your traffic sources. For example, if a particular channel isn't delivering quality traffic, it might be time to shift your focus to channels that attract more engaged visitors.

Schedule Regular Data Reviews

Consistency is key. Set up a routine for reviewing your analytics and define goals for each review cycle:

• Monthly reviews: Check on channel performance, conversion patterns, and adjust tactics as needed.

• Quarterly reviews: Look at the bigger picture - growth, ROI, and strategic adjustments.

During these sessions, focus on identifying peak traffic times, evaluating content performance, and analyzing channel conversion rates. This approach helps you fine-tune your strategy over time.

Conclusion: Next Steps with Your Data

Once your dashboards are up and running and you've established review routines, it's important to keep your data accurate and useful. Here are some steps to maintain its quality:

• Use GA4's Realtime report to ensure your Google tag is functioning as expected.

• Connect Google Ads, Search Console, and Merchant Center to GA4 for a more complete view of your campaign performance.

• Focus on tracking your own data trends rather than relying solely on industry benchmarks.

• Define clear, measurable goals tailored to your business, such as:

  • Increasing monthly visitors

  • Boosting sales

  • Lowering bounce rates

  • Monitoring other metrics that align with your objectives.