Google Analytics. When used correctly, it’s one of the most powerful analytics tools out there. When set up properly, it can be used as the virtual yardstick to judge all your digital activity. The thing about Google Analytics is that it needs to be collecting data in order for you to judge anything. I’ve lost count of the amount of dealer’s Google Analytics only to see no data. Just like the dog with homework, there’s always an excuse to why it happened but it means dealers are missing data.

Rather than having to log into GA every day, there’s a way you can have Google tell you any time your code stops tracking. To do that, first log into your Google Analytics account and click on the “admin” gear in the bottom left hand side of the screen. From there, click on “custom alerts” and click “new alert.”

There’s three parts to fill out. First is an impactful name that will make it easy to remember when it shows up in your email. Second, set the period for the day. If the email account you access Google Analytics with is not your main email address, add your main email address to the alert here. Finally, set the alert conditions you want. For this, setting it to be when the sessions are less than 1 in a day is all you need. Click “Save” and you are all done. 

Google Analytics. It's one of the most important tools for a dealership in this digital age, but still there are many dealers out there who aren't taking advantage of the data because they can't access it. If a 3rd party, agency or previous employee was the one to install GA there's a good chance the dealer is locked out.

One of the most common questions I get asked is "how can I get access to the Google Analytics account on my site?" This is meant to be the directions on how to go about reclaiming Google Analytics.

1. Finding out what Google Analytics is installed on your site

First is finding out which account is installed on your site. If you have read only access to Google Analytics, click into the admin menu in the bottom left hand side, and then click into properties. It will list out a code that starts with UA and 9 numbers after, such as UA-8675309-1. If you don't have access to an account at all, you will have to use Tag Assistant for Chrome which is an extension that will allow you to see which Google Analytics properties are installed on your site.

2. Create the ownership file for your website

Create the txt file with the following information on it. The name of the file should be "analytics".

GooGhywoiu9839t543j0s7543uw1 - pls add {INSERT EMAIL ADDRESS} to GA account {INSERT UA-ID} with ‘Manage Users and Edit’ permissions - date {INSERT DATE}

{INSERT EMAIL ADDRESS} - the email you want to give "Manage Users and Edit" permissions

{INSERT DATE} - the date you create the file

{INSERT UA-ID} - your tracking code number we got from step one.

Once you have that file created, you will need to request to have your website provider upload this file to the root domain of your website. Every provider should be able to do this.

3. Reach out to Google

Once the file is uploaded, fill out the “Troubleshooter Reclaiming Form” with Google. For the Ad Words account information, fill in N/A, since you are only reclaiming a Google Analytics account.

Make sure that Google can contact you at resolution. If you select to have them contact you over email, someone needs to be checking that email. If it is over phone, someone needs to be answering that phone.