So if you decide not to switch to GA4 then your current Google Analytics tracking would automatically stop working after July 1, 2023. And to make matter worse, Google will also delete all of your historical universal analytics data in 2023.
So, what does this mean to you?
In 2012, Universal Analytics (GA3) established a new benchmark for gathering and managing user data. With the recent news, you can continue collecting new data in your Universal Analytics (GA3) properties until July 1, 2023. But once it goes into sunset mode, you can access the formerly processed data for at least six months. Moreover, set to expire on October 1, 2023, is the one-time processing extension to Google Analytics 360 Properties.
Google will delete all of your old universal analytics data! We know how much your data means to you, so we firmly recommend that you export your older reports right away, especially if you don't intend to find a replacement for your website analytics.
But if you still want to continue, it's time to embrace the latest measurement tool.
Universal Analytics was for a generation of online measurement rooted in the desktop web, autonomous sessions, and more readily observable data via cookies. With the ever-changing ecosystem, this measurement approach is fast going out of date.
The future of measurement was in mind while developing a new tool. Your primary goals, such as increasing revenue or app downloads, generating leads or bridging online and offline client engagement, are considered while designing Google Analytics 4. Thus, Google Analytics 4 or GA4, launched in October 2020.
GA4 is a new kind of property designed for the future of measurement:
To better understand the consumer journey, GA4 data gathering is from both the website and the app. And instead of using session-based data, GA4 uses events.
Events allow you to quantify specific user interactions on a website or app. You can use events to track interactions like page loading, link clicks, and purchase completions. GA4 automatically gathers specific data, but you can also program events on your website or app to collect more information.
Moreover, GA4 consists of privacy safeguards like cookieless measurement, behavioural modelling, and conversion modelling. Universal Analytics (G3) relied heavily on cookies to track user behaviour. A website can "remember" information about a visitor thanks to cookies. Additionally, Google Analytics cannot provide information on all website visitors because more people choose not to provide their personal information. The data collected is becoming increasingly incomplete. But GA4 can fill those data gaps as the world becomes less and less dependent on cookies.
In addition, GA4's predictive skills provide direction without using complicated models. It also offers direct media platform integrations that encourage users to take action on your website or app.
Before Universal Analytics stops processing new hits, switch as soon as possible to Google Analytics 4 to gather the essential historical data. On July 1, 2023, standard Universal Analytics properties will no longer process data. You'll be able to see your Universal Analytics reports for a period of time after July 1, 2023. However, new data will only flow into Google Analytics 4 properties.
Rest assured if you are a Boost or SEO client with eTourism, you don't need to worry – we will handle this for clients who use our continuous marketing services.
If you are doing your own marketing, make sure you are aware of those mentioned above. Alternatively, you can email [email protected] for more details if you want eTourism to help with the modifications.
]]>Recently, there have been talks about making .au the de facto domain for Australian websites. This means a shift away from the ‘.com.au’ domains which have been traditionally used.
The .au domain ?puts Australia on par with other countries that have already introduced similar second-level domains, such as .uk for the United Kingdom, .nz for New Zealand, .ca for Canada, .cn for China and more.
It also provides Australians with a more competitive edge in the global marketplace.
Registering a ‘.au’ domain will increase the level of trust for Australian customers because there are strict eligibility rules behind its domain registration. To register a ‘.au’ domain, you need to supply an Australian Business Number (ABN), Australian Company Number (ACN) or an Australian Registered Trademark. The .au Domain Registration Ltd (auDA) regulates the ‘.au’ domain space.
So far, more than three million domains with .au have been registered.
Before you register an AU domain name, there are a few things you need to know.
If you already operate a website for your hotel, you might consider holding the corresponding dot au domain to prevent competitor(s) from undermining your online presence.
The .au domain complements existing Australian domains such as com.au and net.au and is not intended to replace them.
If you have an existing com.au or net.au domain name, you can keep it and add the .au domain for your safety. Registering for the new .au domain ensures that you own your business domain and avoid potential confusion amongst other companies or prospective clients.
Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise ombudsman Bruce Billson said the short deadline for the changeover could lead to a rise of cyber criminals taking advantage.
Mr Billson said it was likely large numbers of businesses could have their brand or identity impersonated.
"Domain names are very much the identity of a business and critical to their success. Small businesses cannot afford to have their identity sold to someone else," he said.
"The consequences of not registering your existing business name by this September deadline could be catastrophic for a business if a rival or someone else took their online name, when it opens to the public on the 22nd September."
To help existing registrants of au domains, in the six month period 24 March to 20 September 2022 AuDA (the domain administrators) have set up a Priority Allocation Process. If you already own the equivalent .com.au/.net.au or .org.au you will be allowed to register the .au version of that domain. You will receive the ability to register the equivalent as long as it is uncontested. Contested domains happen where two different parties own a com.au and a net.au separately and both want to purchase the .au.
If you do not yet have the equivalent .com.au/.net.au or .org.au, then no, you cannot register a new .au domain until September 22nd 2022 when all domains will become available for registration to the public, as long as you have a connection to Australia.
There is a surprisingly wide range of pricing for registering a domain in Australia. However, if you are registering your .au domain with eTourism the cost is $33.00 annually.
If you suspect that prospective visitors might try to reach your website by typing the dot au version of your domain, then you could redirect the dot au domain to your current site. We suggest using a 301 redirect for this purpose.
You could also provide a simple ‘landing page’ on your dot au site, from where visitors can click through to your normal site if you would prefer.
If you want to register the .au direct match of your existing domain name, you will need to apply for Priority Status before 23:59 UTC 20 September 2022 (9:59AM AEST 21 September) – please email [email protected] for further information on how to do this.
If no priority applications have been made for the .au direct match, it will be become available for registration by the general public at 21:00 UTC 3 Oct 2022 (8:00AM AEDT 4 Oct). Don’t let another business register your .au domain!
We're excited about this change, and so should you be! If you have any questions or queries, please don't hesitate to contact us at [email protected]. We'd be more than happy to assist.
For further information about auDA policies, you can contact auDA directly using these contact details:
Telephone: 1300 732 929
Facsimile: 03 8341 4112
.au Domain Policies
You can view and download .au domain policies via the following link:
http://auda.org.au/policies/current-policies/
.au Dispute Resolution Policy (auDRP)
For further information about the .au Dispute Resolution Policy, please see the below link:
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For businesses and professionals with a website pulling in a global audience, Google Website Translator was embeddable in widget form, providing visitors with simple, passable language translation at the click of a mouse. However, a visit to its main page now displays the message:
“We no longer provide new access to Google Translate’s Website Translator. This change does not affect existing use of the Website Translator. We encourage users looking to translate web pages to use browsers that support translation natively.”
Why Google has renounced one of its most popular tools is widely considered to be due to the increasing unreliability of machine translation. In contrast with human translation, machine translation, depending on the content, can be unsatisfactory and, in some cases, outright unusable. This, in addition to API abuse and the difficulty of maintaining the quality of the vast indexed content, has seen many turn their heads to new and improved applications.
While the tool is now deemed obsolete by Google – with hopeful new users no longer able to access the Google Website Translator widget – current users with functioning access may wake up one day to find this to be the opposite. So, what next?
If your web content requires translation, the “rebirth” of Google Website Translator is Google Cloud Translation. Aimed at professionals and businesses, Google’s Cloud Translation is the successor to Google Website Translator with dynamic and newly improved neural machine translation. But – and you guessed it – it isn’t for free, and comes with a cost based on the word count of the translated content.
There are other solutions, and one is GTranslate, which utilises Google Translate machine translation with the power to translate into over 100 different languages. It’s also highly compatible with SEO web content, making it a tool that’s worth looking into for businesses.
Unlike Cloud Translation, GTranslate, along with several other translation tools, is free, and while that’s cost-effective, it’s worth considering the perspective of your audience who may notice your business has taken the free route. This is where you can consider the more affordable option of only providing translations on your website’s most important pages, such as your main products and services pages, important blog posts and news announcements.
What are your thoughts on Google’s new direction to website translation? Let us know in the comments below!
]]>If this has affected you, this is due to the mid-2018 introduction of Google’s new Google Maps Platform – a pay-as-you-go service based on overall use of the Google Maps API.
There is good news, however: this new service is a freemium one, handing you $200 credit each month should you want to continue using Google Maps, and depending on your implementation of Google Maps and how many times it’s accessed, this free credit can go a long way, meaning you can avoid paying any charges altogether by spreading out your monthly credit*
Our solution going forward is simple, so don’t fret just yet!
Popular with businesses, Google Maps is a handy tool for your website, allowing each visitor to pinpoint your location via a well-placed interactive map.
Google Maps is also the most intuitive map available, offering customisation, quick viewing of local landmarks and live traffic, various map styles to fit each user’s preference – such as Dynamic Street View – along with adjustable routes and directions made easy.
All in all, if you need your customers to know and see your exact location when they visit your website, Google Maps is the best online tool to go about it.
Google now requires the billing details of your business to get Google Maps up and running again on your website in conjunction with the $200 monthly credit. As one of our clients, we’re more than happy to implement this quick update on your behalf please don’t hesitate to contact us for more information.
If, however, you no longer wish to make use of Google Maps, the other alternative we can offer is to remove Google Maps altogether (which isn’t recommended) or to have your location displayed on your website via a static Google Maps image, however this will not be interactive for your visitors.
We’re dedicated to the best online experience for your customers, so in light of this information, please feel free to get in touch with us on how you would like to continue regarding the new Google Maps Platform and we will happily update your website as per your suggestion.
Ready to chat or need more information? Contact us today!
]]>That’s because from the start of October 2017 onwards, Google Chrome released an update that will display a “Not Secure” warning on any web page, contact form or input field without one, signalling to your guests that your pages are potentially unsafe to browse. This is going to cover all forms whether the data contains private information or not. This can potentially result in less traffic, possible reduced enquiries and a potential drop in online bookings.
But don’t panic: here’s everything you need to know so you’re ready for the change come October 1st.
Short for Secure Sockets Layer, an SSL certificate enables a secure and private connection from web server to browser. It’s signified by a padlock symbol and gives your guests the confidence they need to share their personal information and credit card details and make a booking.
It’s highly likely that your property’s website already has an SSL certificate, but if you’re not sure, it’s important to check now or risk losing bookings.
If you would like to discuss this further or arrange a quote to have your site upgraded please contact our eTourism Support Team.
]]>Although similar messages have been sent to mobile websites with design issues before, this is the first time Google has contacted sites with no mobile design at all to warn them of the ranking repercussions.
Most agree that this is an obvious sign that the company is getting ready to launch a major new mobile ranking algorithm, especially taken in light of a string of new mobile-usability related tools launched towards the end of last year (Google’s mobile-friendly testing tool, mobile usability reports and mobile-friendly labels.)
The news is another urgent reminder to any of you who have still not made your content accessible to a mobile audience that it should be your number one priority – either by creating a mobile version of your resort’s website or by implementing responsive design which will perform optimally across all devices.
Did you receive an email notification from Google? Do you have anything else to add? Let us know in the comments below!
This seems to go beyond the broken mobile site penalty Google had in 2013. It also seems to go beyond having problems with your mobile-friendly site – where it is targeting this communication to sites that are knowingly not mobile-friendly.
Typically, these are all signs of something big to come on the algorithm side. But we have not been able to get a confirmation from Google on this as of yet.
– Mobile Website Checklist
– Social Media Sharers Go Mobile
– Mobile Email Optimisation For Beginners
Set to go on sale early next year, the highly anticipated product is Apple’s first all-new design since the original iPad in 2010. It is also the company’s first foray into the world of wearable technology and the latest in a string of smartwatches to hit the market in recent years. So what makes Apple’s take on the product stand out from all the others? Here’s what we know about it so far.
The Apple Watch can play music, conduct local search enquiries, monitor health and fitness, make payments via Apple Pay, connect with your iPhone to send and receive messages, act as a remote control for Apple TVs…oh, and keep the time of course.
One of the features that’s attracting the most attention is the product’s potential to act as a wrist navigation device. With a multi-touch enabled screen designed to make panning and zooming maps with your finger quick and easy, and a haptic feedback feature which uses sound to alert you when to turn right or left, the watch could make losing your way in a new city a thing of the past.
The Apple Watch comes in three editions with two different screen sizes and is controlled by what has been dubbed a ‘digital crown’ – a metal dial attached to its side which can be used to magnify and scroll through content.
Although we can’t say for sure how popular the Apple Watch will be, if Apple has got all these features right, it seems inevitable the product will create a huge buzz when it launches in 2015.
What do you think? Will you be an early adopter of the Apple Watch? Let us know in the comments below!
– Email Consumption On Mobile Up 50%
– How Mobile Technology Has Transformed Travel
– How Will Google Glass Change Online Marketing?
As always, Google has remained fairly tight-lipped about their plans, but has stated that moving forward local search will draw more deeply from web search capabilities, pulling in features such as Knowledge Graph, spelling correction and synonyms with the goal of serving up the most accurate and relevant results possible for its users. The algorithm tweak will also improve distance and location parameters.
Early evidence suggests that high quality local directory sites have been the first to benefit post-Pigeon. In the first week since the algorithm update, local review sites like Yelp, TripAdvisor, Urbanspoon and OpenTable have been finding their way into the top rankings of Google search results, along with lesser known directory pages from local newspapers and magazines. The change should please ‘online urban guide’ Yelp, in particular, who have previously accused Google of giving prominence to its own listings, even when a user specifically included ‘Yelp’ in their search query.
Right now, Pigeon is only impacting an uncertain percentage of English searches made in the US. When the update starts rolling out around the rest of the world you can expect to see changes in both local and web search results. You may notice a change in your local search rankings, traffic, leads and bookings as a result, so get ready to analyse and adapt as the shake up continues over the coming months.
– Dead or Just Different? The Evolution of SEO
– Why Link Building Is Far From Dead – And Crucial To Your Online Campaign
– Who Needs Google? 5 Simple Ways To Generate Traffic Without Organic Search Results
Following similar changes Google made to mobile search last year, the new look removes underlines, increases the font size of search results, and perhaps most significantly, changes the way Google AdWords are identified. The revamp has removed the pink shading that previously distinguished ads from organic search results, replacing it with a simple, small yellow box labelled ‘ad.’
"It’s cleaner and simpler, optimized for touch, with results clustered on cards so you can focus on the answers you’re looking for," explained Google's senior vice president of search Amit Singhal in a recent blog post.
It seems some users started noticing the changes on desktop around November. However, Google has only begun rolling out the refreshed style on a wider scale recently, perhaps signalling their intent to create a more consistent experience for all users, no matter how they access search.
Have you noticed the recent changes to the Google search results pages? Let us know in the comments below!
– Goodbye Keyword Data, Hello Secure Search
– Bing Adds TripAdvisor Content to Search Results
– How Will Google Glass Change Online Marketing?
In this blog, we’ll take a look at some of the changes that might be in store for us after the arrival of the futuristic specs, and how you can start to prepare.
The End of Facebook?
As you might expect, Google have taken care to integrate its own social network, Google+, very closely into Glass. Early reviews have confirmed that most activities users can complete with Glass somehow involve contacts and circles from the social platform, and that this comes at the direct expense of other social giants like Facebook. If you were looking forward to using Glass to quickly share pictures with your Facebook friends, you might be disappointed – you’re going to have convert them to Google+ first.
While it’s still unclear how popular Glass will be, if adopters of the product are able to convince significant numbers of their friends to spend their time on Google+ instead of Facebook, it could spell the end of Mark Zuckerberg’s social networking empire, or at least the start of its downfall.
And if Google+ becomes the most popular social network, Google will have more and more content to integrate into its social graph, and the search results pages could start to look very different very quickly.
Has your property got to grips with Google+ yet, or do you still devote most of your time to chasing Shares and Likes on Facebook?
Search Gets Personal
Each time someone makes a search enquiry using Glass, they’re automatically logged into their Google account. This has a few marketing repercussions:
Again, are you working to build up your audience on Google+ so your property’s content appears higher in your guests personalised search results? Are you building connections with other businesses and important influencers on Google+ so their followers see your content in search results too?
Apps For Glass
New apps for Glass are popping up almost everyday, and thanks to the highly interactive nature of the new wearable technology, it’s likely that those that play up to its virtual-reality potential will prove to be most popular. All this could mean exciting things for marketers in the travel and tourism industry where creating a sense of place and experience is integral to driving conversions.
Have you thought about how you could use videos or augmented reality to enhance your content strategy? If so, you could be onto a winner if and when Glass takes off over the coming months and years.
How do you think Google Glass will change search? Let us know in the comments below!
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