Goggle Analytics is probably one of the most popular web analytics platforms available. It provides insightful data about website and app performance, but its use comes at a cost — especially when it comes to user privacy and transparency.
And because of user privacy and data transparency is why many people are now considering alternatives to Goggle Analytics in order to remain compliant with data privacy laws and move away from the big tech giants.
Data transparency is both “the ability to easily access and work with data no matter where they are located or what application created them” and “the assurance that data being reported are accurate and are coming from the official source.”
Source: PC Mag on Data Transparency
Why even looking for a Goggle Analytics Alternative?
One reason to consider using a Goggle Analytics alternative is its simplicity of use.
While Goggle Analytics offers a wide range of features, it can be intimidating for non-experienced users. Most alternatives are much easier to set up and use, with user-friendly dashboards and clear instructions that make it stress-free to get up and running quickly.
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There are several reasons why someone might choose to use free Goggle Analytics alternatives:
- Cost: Goggle Analytics is free to use, but it comes with certain limitations and also requires sharing data with Google. Some businesses or individuals may prefer to avoid these limitations and data sharing by opting for free alternatives.
- Privacy concerns: Goggle Analytics collects and processes a significant amount of user data, which can raise privacy concerns for some individuals or organizations. By using alternative analytics tools, you may have more control over the data you collect and how it is handled.
- Customization and flexibility: Goggle Analytics provides a wide range of features and metrics, but it may not always meet specific needs or requirements. Alternative tools often offer different sets of features, allowing users to customize and tailor their analytics tracking to their specific needs.
- Experimentation: Some businesses and website owners may prefer to test different analytics tools to compare their functionalities and performance. By using alternative tools, they can gain insights into which tools provide the most relevant and accurate data for their specific use cases.
- Diversification: Relying solely on Goggle Analytics for data tracking and analysis can pose risks. If there are issues with Goggle Analytics or changes in its terms of service, having alternative tools in place can help maintain continuity in data collection and analysis.
It's important to note that while there are free alternatives available, they may not always offer the same level of sophistication, scalability, or integration options as Goggle Analytics. Depending on your specific needs and requirements, it's essential to evaluate different alternatives and choose the one that best aligns with your objectives.
The Privacy Act 1988 (Privacy Act) is the principal piece of Australian legislation protecting the handling of personal information about individuals. This includes the collection, use, storage and disclosure of personal information in the federal public sector and in the private sector.
Source: AU Attorney-General's Department
Secondly, using an alternative to Goggle Analytics gives you more control over your data privacy.
Various tools out there offer the ability to store your data locally or have servers located in specific regions depending on your needs – giving you peace of mind should questions arise about who has access to the collected data.
This set of options makes Goggle Analytics Alternatives ideal for those who might not want their information stored in servers overseas or shared with companies they may not trust – something that’s difficult (if not impossible) when dealing with the world’s largest search engine giant.
Search Engine Popularity In China
The most popular search engine in China is Baidu, then come Sogou, Bing, Goggle and then Haosou.
The popularity of search engines is measured by special statistical services. Search engine ratings are radically different across the world map. Despite Goggle's absolute leadership in the global top, this search engine is not in the first place in all countries.
Source: SERPSTAT on Search Engines Popularity (2022 Edition)
As a result, many people are now looking for alternatives to complement or even replace Goggle Analytics altogether in order to get clear and accurate look at their website traffic data.
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What to look for, really? Some key features of web analytics platform.
When choosing a Goggle Analytics alternative, it's important to know what you need to track and how the data is presented to you.
Below is a list of key features that everyone should look for when using a website analytics platform:
- Privacy-focus: do not store or steal user data (IP address, location, etc.) and better if not using cookies.
- Metrics: page views, unique visitors, popular pages, source of traffic, bounce rate, devices, countries, and languages
- Campaign (UTM) and event tracking
- Easy-to-understand dashboard
Optional features might include:
- Real-time reporting
- Heatmap
- Goals
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Are there any free cloud Goggle Analytics alternatives?
Cloud analytics solutions allows you to see website traffic without installing a software on your server. All you need is registering a free account, adding a snippet to your site and start tracking.
Using a cloud solution has some pros:
- You don't have to manage your servers, including installation, security, updates, etc.
- Using it is easy, e.g. simply copy the tracking code and put it on your website
- You have support from these platforms
However, it has some cons:
- Some platforms limit your usage by number of websites or number of page views
- You don't own your data: data is stored on their servers and you only have access to it within some days (normally 30 days)
- Some platforms limits the features for free users
- As the snippet comes from another domain, it might affect your website performance
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WordPress alternatives to Goggle Analytics
If you're using WordPress, then there are WordPress plugins that provide similar functionality to Goggle Analytics.
These plugins can be installed within the WordPress dashboard in a few clicks and provide detailed information about your page views or user behavior.
Using a WordPress plugin for website analytics has some pros:
- Easy to install
- Integrated within WordPress dashboard, so users (or clients) don't have to navigate to another site to view the statistics
- You own your data
However, it has some cons:
- The data is stored in the same WordPress database, which will increase over time. That might cause the performance issue when the database is large.
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Sorry, but what is a web analytics software again?
Web analytics software is (apparently) crucial to today’s digital marketing strategies. Web analytics don’t just help you track and measure website traffic and page-views, but also other online channels, including social media, video, and mobile.
As marketers adopt an omni-channel approach it’s important to understand the relationship between each channel and how they contribute to your website traffic and conversions.
Businesses have the ability to access more data than ever; a company’s web analytics now include:
- Social media marketing
- Search engine optimization
- A/B testing
- Retargeting campaigns
- Display advertising optimization
- Email and marketing automation
- Mobile website tracking
- application tracking
Research indicates companies who have adopted a data-driven culture are the most successful. 76 percent of executives from top-performing companies cite data collection as very important or essential, and data-driven companies are three times more likely to rate themselves as substantially ahead of their peers in financial performance.
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If you feel comfortable with managing web analytics
If you feel comfortable with installing and managing your server, then check out some open source alternatives to Google Analytics below:
Plausible
Plausible Analytics is an excellent choice for website owners who are looking for a privacy-friendly alternative to Google Analytics.
Plausible is incredibly intuitive and easy-to-use for those unfamiliar with analytics tools. All reports are presented on a single page featuring a clean and simple design so that users can quickly access comprehensive data.
Since its code snippet is really small (< 1 KB), Plausible also has minimal impact on your website’s loading time. These features make it the top choice for small businesses and individuals looking to track their site’s performance without digging too deep into analytics lingo or worrying about data breaches.
What really sets Plausible apart from other analytics solutions is that it doesn't rely on cookies or collect any personal information, so it's compliant with many privacy regulations such as GDPR and CCPA. This makes it a great option for businesses wanting to ensure they are operating within the law when collecting data from their visitors.
Pricing: Plausible has two versions:
- Cloud version which is available on their website, which starts at $9 / month.
- Open source version: which you can self-host on your server to access to all features and use it for unlimited websites.
Matomo
Matomo (formerly Piwik) is an open-source web analytics platform that provides powerful insights and is renowned for its focus on privacy. It enables users to track traffic, visits, user behaviors, and general website analytics truly objectively.
As it has gained popularity in the market – currently boasting usage from over 1.4 million websites worldwide spanning 190 different countries – Matomo has come to offer additional features like heatmaps, session recordings, SEO keyword analysis, and A/B testing.
Unlike most traditional web analytics platforms, Matomo prides itself in its adherence to major privacy laws such as the GDPR and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). Its security measures even go so far as ensuring users do not have to provide customers with any disclosures or obtain consent for use of the platform whatsoever. This commitment to privacy makes Matomo invaluable for all types of businesses operating within these laws’ respective jurisdictions.
Pricing: Matomo has two versions:
- Matomo On-Premise: which is a self-hosted version. You can install it on your server and use all features.
- Matomo Cloud: is a cloud version which starts from $19 / month.
Burst Statistics for WordPress
Burst Statistics is a great alternative to Goggle Analytics for WordPress users. It provides detailed insights into visitors' behavior with a privacy-friendly analytics dashboard.
What we like about this plugin is the clean and easy-to-use dashboard. It shows essentials metrics on the same page, giving you a quick overview of your website traffic.
At the time of writing, this is one of the most popular WordPress alternatives for Google Analytics with more than 100.000 active installs.
Features:
- Essential Metrics: Pageviews, Visitors, Sessions, Time on Page and Referrers.
- Privacy-friendly: Locally hosted, and anonymized data in collaboration with Complianz.
- Cookieless Tracking: Get data based on anonymous parameters without storing data in browsers.
Independent Analytics for WordPress
Independent Analytics is another Goggle Analytics alternative for WordPress users. It's fast, lightweight and comes with important GDPR compliance features, making it easy to stay compliant with the latest privacy laws while also gathering analytics data on your website.
The main advantage of using this plugin is its deep integration with WordPress. Rather than simply displaying a list of URLs like some other software programs do, Independent Analytics drills down into your post data, allowing you to view additional metrics such as authors, publish dates and views alongside them. This comprehensive information lets you get a better understanding of how well your content is performing.
This is a free plugin and doesn’t require you to create an account on another site. All features outlined below are included in the free plugin:
- Shows your most popular posts and pages
- Lists your top traffic sources
- Geodata with interactive world map
- GDPR compliant
Choose the Goggle Analytics Alternative that's right for You
Choosing an alternative to Goggle Analytics can be daunting. With so many options available, it may feel overwhelming to find the right analytics tool for your unique needs. But with the right research and due diligence, you can find an ideal solution that fits your budget.
If you don't want to manage your own server or not experienced with installing software on a server, then it's best to go with a cloud solution. However, if you want to fully control and own your data and don't want to be limited by the number of sites or page views, then an open source solution is better for you.
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And if you are using WordPress, and want a built-in solution that gives you insights about your traffic, then a WordPress plugin is best.
While choosing a Goggle Analytics alternative, pay attention to the dashboard design, the metrics they provide and also the limitations you might have.