Google Analytics for Shopify
How to get complete sales and marketing data from Shopify to Google Analytics
Google Analytics and Shopify: A short history
- Shopify's default Google Analytics tracking is incomplete.
- Common issues include incomplete sales data and broken marketing attribution.
- You used to need to hire a developer to fix this, but now most brands use an automated data pipeline like Littledata to fix the tracking. This is easy, fast, accurate and customizable via GTM.
Common problems with Google Analytics for Shopify
- Cross-domain tracking setup incorrectly
- Server-side tracking is missing
- Sales data doesn't segment between first-time purchases and recurring transactions (subscriptions)
- Refunds not included in Google Analytics
- Too much traffic attributed to "Direct"
- And more...
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Checkout funnel tracking
It's essential to have a clear view of your checkout funnel, but Shopify stores find this difficult in Google Analytics. Here's how to set up better tracking.
- Set up an automated solution like Littledata, or manual tracking for your checkout flow
- Add checkout funnel labels that match the checkout steps on Shopify
- View the Checkout Behavior report in Google Analytics
Marketing attribution (is your marketing working?)
Complete marketing attribution is difficult with Shopify and Shopify Plus because the marketing campaign interaction, like on a PPC ad on Facebook Ads, looks like it's a different user than the customer who checks out on your ecommerce site. If it looks like a disproportionate amount of your site traffic is "Direct", this is likely the issue. Littledata's smart tech fixes this by stitching sessions together automatically.
How to add Google Analytics to Shopify
The easiest way to get complete Google Analytics data like Enhanced Ecommerce from Shopify is just to use the Littledata's Shopify app for Google Analytics. This includes complete Enhanced Ecommerce data and it's far more affordable and reliable than any other option. All Littledata plans include unlimited connections and integrations with apps like Recharge, Bold Subscriptions, CartHook and Refersion.
Other options
You can also hire a developer to try to set up custom Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager (GTM) tracking for Shopify, and keep them on retainer, but that is an expensive way to do this - and it doesn't guarantee accurate data! Instead, if you need more support consider a Littledata enterprise plan with account management from a Google Analytics expert. We offer different options for enterprise support, and can recommend agency partners when needed.
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