Without data, you're just another person with an opinion.
The difference between a data analyst and a data-driven marketer.
Collects and reports on data. Describes what happened.
"Traffic from organic search dropped 18% last month."
Uses data to make decisions. Prescribes what to do next.
"Organic traffic dropped 18%. Our top 3 blog posts lost rankings. Here's a content refresh plan to recover them."
The new standard. Event-based tracking for the modern web.
In GA4, everything is an event. A pageview is an event. A button click is an event. A purchase is an event.
page_view, session_start, first_visit — collected without any setup
Scroll depth, outbound clicks, video engagement, file downloads — toggle on in settings
form_submission, purchase, add_to_cart — configured via Google Tag Manager
The three reports every marketer opens first.
| Channel | What It Includes |
|---|---|
| Organic Search | Clicks from unpaid Google/Bing results |
| Paid Search | Google Ads traffic (tagged with UTMs) |
| Direct | Typed URL or untracked source |
| Organic Social | Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn posts |
| Clicks from email campaigns (UTM tagged) | |
| Referral | Clicks from other websites linking to you |
UTM tags are added to URLs to identify the exact source of traffic in GA4.
arjankc.com.np?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=mba-launch
| Parameter | Purpose | Example |
|---|---|---|
| utm_source | Where traffic comes from | google, facebook, newsletter |
| utm_medium | The marketing channel | cpc, email, organic |
| utm_campaign | Campaign name | mba-module-launch |
| utm_content | Specific creative/version | banner-A, headline-1 |
Who gets the credit for the sale?
A customer's journey before converting:
| Model | How Credit Is Assigned | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Last Click | 100% to the last touchpoint | Direct response, short cycles |
| First Click | 100% to the first touchpoint | Awareness campaigns |
| Linear | Equal credit to all touchpoints | Long B2B sales cycles |
| Time Decay | More credit to recent touchpoints | Time-sensitive promotions |
| Data-Driven (GA4) | ML assigns credit based on actual conversion probability | Accounts with enough data |
From raw numbers to a single source of truth.
A good dashboard answers these questions at a glance:
CTR dropped from 3.2% to 1.8% this week. What changed?
"New creative underperforms. Test reverting to the old image."
A/B test for 7 days. Statistical significance > 95% before deciding.
One customer path: Meta Ad -> Blog -> Email -> Purchase. How would your decision change by model?
| Model | Likely Winner Channel | Budget Action |
|---|---|---|
| Last Click | Increase email production and automation budget | |
| First Click | Meta Ads | Fund top-of-funnel reach and creative testing |
| Data-Driven | Shared credit | Balance spend across assisted channels |
Due before the Capstone Pitch in Week 8.