Successful Analytics by Brian Clifton
A great friend and mentor to me once said, “Advanced web metrics is about doing the basics very well and applying it in a clever way.”
It epitomises everything about my approach to Google Analytics and my books. I am a PhD chemist by training, though my aim is to simplify the process of first collecting and then gaining insights from data. To date, I have written four books on the subject and sold over 100,000 copies worldwide. The last was Successful Analytics.
From Chapter 6 of the book Successful Analytics
“Deep dive into data”
Hello, I’m Brian Clifton and my career in digital started way back in 1997 – developing and marketing websites via SEO. Data collection and analytics rapidly fell into my sphere of interest and in 2005 I was hired as the first Head of Web Analytics for Google Europe. Within a month I was helping launch Google Analytics onto the world – scary and amazing times!
What I write about here
My passion is twofold: A] Getting good quality data that is actionable i.e. relevant to the business; B] Respecting user privacy and advocating “benign” analytics. That is, collecting data in non-invasive ways. Mostly I blog about advanced Google Analytics and GTM setups, metrics understanding, GDPR and online privacy. The purpose is to educate in an actionable way.
Note, I only post on things I have given a great deal of thought to and/or researched myself. I do not aim to be a news service, or broadcast the “latest features”. My approach is to write about long-term, sustainable data strategies.
Two important studies from me (more coming):
- A Google Analytics Enterprise Study – a major review of the Google Analytics setup of 75 global brands, audited for data accuracy and governance.
- Cookie Consent Banner Requirements – what you need to know in order to have a GDPR/ePD compliant cookie banner and not destroy your data collection.
Interested in my latest project…?
Over the past 8 years, myself and the team have built Verified Data software – a forensic data auditing tool with an emphasis on accuracy and privacy compliance – visit verified-data.com.
