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The Google Analytics Setup I Use on Every Site I Build

philipwalton.com

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Re: The Google Analytics Setup I Use on Every Site I Build

#11

Post by lsagar »

coderdude wrote: post #3
caleblloyd wrote: post #2

With the surge in Ad Blocking recently, part of me wonders how accurate the Google Analytics JavaScript tracker is today, and how accurate it will be in 5 years. I wonder if we'll see a trend back to server-side analytics soon.

The percentage of visitors with an ad blocker depends on your site's audience. Outside of computer geeks and gamers, almost no one uses ad blockers. I wouldn't buy into the hype that the whole world is installing ad blockers.

Actually, number of people using ad-blockers has more than doubled between 2015 and 2016 according to the PageFair report [1].

[1] https://pagefair.com/blog/2016/mobile-adblocking-report/

Re: The Google Analytics Setup I Use on Every Site I Build

#12

Post by endorphone »

coderdude wrote: post #3
caleblloyd wrote: post #2

With the surge in Ad Blocking recently, part of me wonders how accurate the Google Analytics JavaScript tracker is today, and how accurate it will be in 5 years. I wonder if we'll see a trend back to server-side analytics soon.

The percentage of visitors with an ad blocker depends on your site's audience. Outside of computer geeks and gamers, almost no one uses ad blockers. I wouldn't buy into the hype that the whole world is installing ad blockers.

Reports are from 20-30% of desktop and mobile users make use of some sort of adblocker/privacy tool. That is a very large set of users, and in some industries and domains the numbers go much higher.

Purely for self-protection/anti-aggravation I absolutely recommend it to every casual user I advise.

Re: The Google Analytics Setup I Use on Every Site I Build

#14

Post by coderdude »

krrrh wrote: post #10
coderdude wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The percentage of visitors with an ad blocker depends on your site's audience. Outside of computer geeks and gamers, almost no one uses ad blockers. I wouldn't buy into the hype that the whole world is installing ad blockers.

It is significant: https://pagefair.com/blog/2017/adblockreport/

Reading a couple of slides in, this report applies to Asia-Pacific demographics.

Re: The Google Analytics Setup I Use on Every Site I Build

#16

Post by coderdude »

lsagar wrote: post #11
coderdude wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The percentage of visitors with an ad blocker depends on your site's audience. Outside of computer geeks and gamers, almost no one uses ad blockers. I wouldn't buy into the hype that the whole world is installing ad blockers.

Actually, number of people using ad-blockers has more than doubled between 2015 and 2016 according to the PageFair report [1]. [1] https://pagefair.com/blog/2016/mobile-adblocking-report/

"More than doubled" doesn't mean much if it's 0.0000001% to 0.0000002%. It certainly wouldn't refute what I said.

Re: The Google Analytics Setup I Use on Every Site I Build

#17

Post by Klathmon »

caleblloyd wrote: post #2

With the surge in Ad Blocking recently, part of me wonders how accurate the Google Analytics JavaScript tracker is today, and how accurate it will be in 5 years. I wonder if we'll see a trend back to server-side analytics soon.

Honestly, I prefer the Google Analytics setup.

People who block my tracking scripts don't want to be tracked, so I won't track them.

I use that info to see how people use a product, how they interact with it and what I can do to improve it. Where my time and money will be best spent.

If people want to block them, that's fine, I'm not going to try and get around them, but their "voice" is also muted here. I'm no longer factoring in their usage patterns, their usage at all.

Re: The Google Analytics Setup I Use on Every Site I Build

#18

Post by coderdude »

endorphone wrote: post #12
coderdude wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The percentage of visitors with an ad blocker depends on your site's audience. Outside of computer geeks and gamers, almost no one uses ad blockers. I wouldn't buy into the hype that the whole world is installing ad blockers.

Reports are from 20-30% of desktop and mobile users make use of some sort of adblocker/privacy tool. That is a very large set of users, and in some industries and domains the numbers go much higher. Purely for self-protection/anti-aggravation I absolutely recommend it to every casual user I advise.

I don't believe that figure at all for the general populace.

Re: The Google Analytics Setup I Use on Every Site I Build

#19

Post by achairapart »

f4rker wrote: post #4
coderdude wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The percentage of visitors with an ad blocker depends on your site's audience. Outside of computer geeks and gamers, almost no one uses ad blockers. I wouldn't buy into the hype that the whole world is installing ad blockers.

This is correct. The vast vast majority of people are not using adblock.

Sometime ago I read an interesting interview[1] with the Economist deputy editor, Tom Standange, saying things like:

> The other thing about ads is that 41 percent of millennials are using ad block. My daughter has ad block and she goes around infecting every machine she gets to. She puts it on everything.

> But the other thing is that she lives in incognito mode. She’s a total nightmare for advertisers, because she’s not leaving any cookies and she’s not seeing any ads.

Digital privacy is an undeniable rising trend. Just stating the vast majority of people are not using adblock is, at minimum, shortsighted.

[1]: http://www.niemanlab.org/2015/04/the-economists-tom-standage...

Re: The Google Analytics Setup I Use on Every Site I Build

#20

Post by true_religion »

coderdude wrote: post #18
endorphone wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Reports are from 20-30% of desktop and mobile users make use of some sort of adblocker/privacy tool. That is a very large set of users, and in some industries and domains the numbers go much higher. Purely for self-protection/anti-aggravation I absolutely recommend it to every casual user I advise.

I don't believe that figure at all for the general populace.

It's 50 percent on my work site and we are general entertainment for the 20 to 35 year old demographic.
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