Track in both App + Web and standard property types
Google Analytics new App + Web property type is where major investments in the Google Analytics product are being made. It is a work in progress, so you should continue to use the standard web property as your source of truth for data collection & analysis. However, we are advising clients to setup & start tracking their digital properties now in parallel in a new App + Web property as well (“Set up an App + Web property alongside an existing Web property“). The tracking tags from the two property types do not interfere with one another.
In our post “Google Analytics no longer supports Service Provider and Network Domain dimensions“, we reference a webinar where we show how to setup & track in a new Google Analytics App + Web property with data that can replace these deprecated dimensions.
Listen & watch at the 18:50 mark in this 04/14/2020 webinar
Note that the name “Apps and web” does not mean you must have both a mobile app and website sending data to use this new Google Analytics property type. You can use this new property type with just a website, or just a mobile app, or to track user activity between both types.
Sending data to this new property type now will allow you to benefit from having a more complete history of data in the new property as it matures. It also allows you to begin to familiarize yourself with this new reporting paradigm. It is a substantial change.
Google Analytics App + Web property tracking with GTM
Per “Google Analytics App + Web properties (beta)“, Google Tag Manager (GTM) tracks App + Web properties with two tags that work in concert:
- Google Analytics: App + Web Configuration
- Google Analytics: App + Web Event
The App + Web configuration tag is available in the GTM tag library. You can check the box to have it send a page view event when it loads, which should be on all pages. This is also where you will set the “Measurement ID” to record activity in a specific app + web property. You get this ID from the Google Analytics admin after setting up a web data stream in this new property type.
The App + Web event tag is also available in the GTM tag library. You’ll associate it with the configuration tag so it knows what Google Analytics property should record related activity. You’ll add any user properties you configured in the new App + Web property – and pair them with related GTM variables. User properties in the new App + Web property are like custom dimensions in the standard property.
