It is very important to realize that marketing analytics does not mean spying on your users. Respecting the privacy of consumers should be at the heart of your analytics efforts. In practice, this means not collecting any Personally Identifiable Information (PII). You do not need to collect emails, physical addresses, names or any other personal information to benefit from analytics. Almost all of the analytics reports can be prepared using sampled data. In certain cases, you can use anonymized user-level or transaction-level data to better understand how some users are navigating your web properties, but almost all of your marketing needs can be met by sampled data.

Google Analytics is one of the most popular analytics platforms. For most marketers, the free version is more than enough and it is full of useful tools and reports to help you make sense of your marketing data. With Google Analytics, businesses can track metrics such as website traffic, engagement rates, time on site, and conversion rates. They can also set up conversions and funnels to track specific user actions, such as form submissions or product purchases.

The latest version of this analytics platform is Google Analytics 4 (GA4). It is designed with user-privacy in mind. Thanks to its privacy-centric features, it complies with regulations like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). It also provides features such as data deletion, user consent management, and data retention controls to ensure compliance and protect user privacy.

Another key feature of GA4 is its ability to track data from multiple platforms, including websites, mobile apps, and other digital devices. This cross-platform tracking allows businesses to analyze user behavior across different touchpoints and gain a holistic view of their customer journey. It can seamlessly track user behavior as the user moves from one device to another.