INTRODUCTION
Google Analytics 4 (GA4) can help PR professionals gain deeper insights into campaign performance and optimize their efforts. As the latest version of Google Analytics, GA4 offers more precise tracking of how users interact with content across devices and channels. This allows PR teams to obtain knowledge of website traffic for specific PR activities and gain a clearer understanding of the customer journey.
Here is how to use Google Analytics 4 to track PR efforts:
ACTIVATE ENHANCED MEASUREMENT TO TRACK PR EFFORTS
Before starting your PR campaign, ensure GA4 is set up to track key user actions, such as form submissions or media kit downloads.
Go to Admin > Data collection and modifications > Data streams and choose your stream. Toggle on “Enhanced measurement” and then click on settings (the sprocket icon). Scroll down and toggle on “Site search,” “Form interactions,” “Video engagement” and “File downloads,” and then click “Save.”
To view a report of these actions, go to Reports > Engagement > Events. To download the report, click on the share icon > Download file.
TRACK INBOUND TRAFFIC FROM MEDIA SOURCES
Measuring the success of PR campaigns also involves tracking inbound web traffic from media placements and analyzing user behavior on your site. To do this, go to Reports > Acquisition > User Acquisition and adjust the date range to match your campaign timeframe. In the first column, click the drop-down menu and select “First user source,” then set “Rows Per Page” to a large enough number so you can see all the rows (e.g., 250). You will now be able to identify which media sources, such as print or blogs, have referred visitors to your website.
Beyond referral traffic, it can be useful to examine how users navigate your website after arriving from media placements. By understanding the path users take on your website, you can help identify popular content and potential drop-off points.
Go to the “Explore” section then select “Path exploration.” From here, you can manipulate the inputs and see the sequence of events or pages users interact with during their sessions. For example, what page(s) did users visit after your press release page?