Google Analytics and third-party web analytics

Since its birth in 2005, Google Analytics has cornered web analytics as the tool of choice. Google Analytics was originally the paid product of a company called Urchin Software Analytics, but Google acquired it, eventually rebranded it to Google Analytics, and made the base-level reporting it offered into a free product. The way Google Analytics works, the data it provides, and the mechanisms by which it compiles and visualizes data have evolved over the years. These days, people use it to check engagement on certain pages of their site, conversion movement on parts, general trends in SEO, and more. As of the publication of this book, Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is the current free standard, but there are enterprise versions that may make sense for you to buy if your use case is complex enough.

Thankfully, Salesforce keeps Google in mind when it designs, because it knows that its marketing products need it. Before you install Google Analytics...