Is the use of Google Analytics legal or illegal in the EU? More and more website operators and online marketing consultants are dealing with this question. While some claim that the use of Google Analytics is illegal, others simply do not want to believe or admit this and put off looking for professional – and above all: GDPR-compliant – alternatives to Google Analytics.
However, the team at Kapwa Marketing does not want to be caught off-guard when it suddenly becomes clear that it’s no longer possible to use Google Analytics in accordance with GDPR in the EU. For this reason, we have decided to look around for interesting Google Analytics alternatives for our customers and to start a series on the subject in our blog. We would like to start with the etracker Analytics solution from Hamburg, Germany.
The standard configuration of etracker Analytics is cookieless. In plain language, this means that no cookies are set to collect website data and therefore no cookie notice is required for the use of etracker. In contrast to the use of Google Analytics, the standard version of etracker is completely free of an opt-in obligation. Or to put it another way: Even if users should categorically reject statistical or marketing cookies, thanks to etracker Analytics, website operators still receive important data for a professional web(site) analysis.
With cookieless tracking or with the standard configuration of etracker, no data from returning users can be collected and evaluated due to the lack of cookies. However, since the etracker also has the option of activating cookies, professional script adjustments can also be used to collect data from returnees (and much more data) at the end – with existing cookie consent 100 percent GDPR-compliant.
In this context, it is certainly interesting to know that the etracker reports can differentiate between users who accept the etracker cookie and users who have rejected the etracker cookie. It doesn’t matter whether you have given your consent to cookies or not: In any case, valuable data is collected, which is a great advantage of etracker Analytics over Google Analytics!
Adjustment of the data protection declaration
When using etracker Analytics, it is important to adapt the data protection declaration, since reference to the use of this web analysis tool is mandatory. The integration of the data protection notice is not omitted even if only cookieless tracking is used.
Furthermore, there must be an opportunity to object so that users can exercise their right to object to data processing.
In the intuitively logically structured interface of etracker Analytics you can find and copy the text module for your data protection declaration with a slider for the possibility of objection under “Settings” and “Privacy”:
The following sentence in this data protection notice reveals another major advantage of etracker over Google Analytics:
The data generated by etracker on behalf of the provider of this website is processed and stored by etracker solely in Germany by commission of the provider of this website and is thus subject to the strict German and European data protection laws and standards.
from the etracker data protection notice
Standard measurement of click and view events
It is also worth mentioning that in the standard configuration of etracker Analytics, interesting click and view events are measured immediately after the integration of the etracker tracking code. By default, clicks on objects such as certain mailto links or tel links are tracked. Calling up video files or downloading PDF files, for example, is also measured in the standard version without any further action.
So if you’ve had trouble with Google Analytics event tracking so far, you’d do well to take a closer look at etracker Analytics, as many interesting events can be measured without your own prior knowledge or programming skills. The corresponding event reports can be found under “Basic Reports” -> “Events”:
Determination of conversion actions / website targets
Anyone who advertises professionally with Google Ads and uses web(site) analysis methods knows that it is nice to be able to track and analyze events and (micro)events. However, the most important metrics in most Google Ads accounts are conversions, goals, leads and/or sales. All the more so because only “conversions” from Google Analytics and other tools can be imported into the Google Ads account – events, however, cannot!
Since the creators of etracker Analytics are also aware of this, it is fortunate that etracker conversion actions or website targets can also be precisely defined and loaded into the Google Ads account via conversion upload. So if you thought that if you use etracker instead of Google Analytics, you would have to do without automated Google Ads bidding strategies, then you were quite simply wrong.
You can define individual website targets in etracker Analytics here:
Marketing reports and paid media: Campaign tracking
The basic reports from etracker Analytics do not contain data that can be assigned directly to a Google Ads campaign by default. In order to analyze visitor behavior data from the “Google Ads” source, it is necessary that you add a set of parameters to all your Google Ads in the “Final URL Suffix” field (by copy and paste) . CAMPAIGN NAME should be replaced with the specific campaign name or the {campaignid} parameter:
Google Ads upload: Upload website targets tracked in etracker Analytics as conversions to Google Ads
In the last screenshot you can see that conversion data measured in etracker Analytics can be uploaded to the Google Ads account. We will soon write our own (detailed) step-by-step instructions on this topic. First of all, it is important for you to know that the “Google Ads (Conversion) Upload” function exists so that automated bid strategies can also be used with the help of etracker data!
FAQ on “etracker Analytics as a GDPR-compliant Google Analytics alternative”
Since we are increasingly including etracker Analytics for our customers as a professional Google Analytics alternative, we are happy to provide an excerpt of the most frequently asked questions:
Is the use of etracker Analytics free of charge?
No, the use of etracker Analytics is not free (basic package from €9 / month). This is certainly one of the disadvantages of etracker compared to Google Analytics, especially since both Universal Analytics and GA4 are free. However, if you want to collect, analyze and evaluate data that is 100% GDPR-compliant and receive data from all users, you should register now and test the web analysis tool for free !
Can I use Google Analytics and etracker Analytics at the same time (in parallel)?
Yes, that is possible and from our point of view (at the beginning) even highly recommended. Since etracker Analytics can collect data on all users, a comparison can be made and it can be determined how much data is lost in the Google Analytics account by rejecting the Google Analytics cookie. In some accounts we have found that up to 70% of data is lost. (Undoubtedly a bitter loss!).
Is it also possible to track individual events in etracker Analytics?
Yes, this is possible thanks to click and view event tracking using CSS selectors. Up to 100 CSS selector events can be tracked. We will also be happy to write detailed step-by-step instructions for this shortly.
Yes, the cookie consent for the etracker cookie can be obtained relatively easily via the most common CMPs. If there are problems with the respective integration, the expert team at etracker will be happy to help. It is important that if the etracker function of cookie activation is used, the CMP is also adjusted accordingly!
Can e-commerce data also be collected and analyzed with etracker Analytics?
Yes, this is also possible with etracker Analytics. Functional plugins for e-commerce tracking are available for common shop systems.
Conclusion on etracker Analytics as an interesting and GDPR-compliant alternative to Google Analytics
The team at Kapwa Marketing clearly believes that etracker Analytics is a very good alternative to Google Analytics (Universal Analytics and GA4). The biggest advantages of etracker are:
- Cookieless tracking is 100% GDPR-compliant and also collects data from users who reject statistical and marketing cookies.
- In the standard configuration of etracker, various click and view events are already tracked, for example clicks on mailto links, clicks on tel links, downloads of PDFs, opening of video files, etc.
- Individual conversion actions / website targets can be defined intuitively and logically and uploaded to Google Ads using the upload function.
- Campaign tracking is easily possible in order to receive paid media data in the marketing reports with the help of the field “Suffix of the final URL” (standard field of every Google Ads ad).
- You can test all important functions of etracker Analytics for 30 days free of charge. Register here!
In our conclusion, it should not go unmentioned that etracker Analytics, in contrast to Google Analytics, is subject to a fee. At this point, however, we think that the Pro version (for shops & conversion tracking) from EUR 19 / month (up to 25,000 hits) should not be regarded as “unaffordable”…
Do you have any questions or would you like to leave a constructive comment on “etracker Analytics as a GDPR-compliant Google Analytics alternative”? Feel free to use our comment function below! The team at Kapwa Marketing is looking forward to your message!