Simo Ahava is a Top Analytics Creator. Part of Swipe Insight Select, a curated list of top creators.
Top Analytics Creator
Finland
21 Swipes
Simo is a partner and co-founder at 8-bit-sheep and co-founder of Simmer, an online course platform for technical marketers. A Google Developer Expert for Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager since 2014, he hails from Espoo, Finland. With a background in English language, IT, digital marketing, and web development, he has been programming since 1997. His blog aims to simplify complex topics in web analytics, digital marketing, SEO, and Google Cloud Platform, promoting knowledge sharing.
14 days ago
GA4 Measurement Protocol now allows overriding user geographic location using ip_override or user_location attributes. user_location takes precedence and should include details like country_id and region_id at minimum. The user_location object can specify city, region_id, country_id, subcontinent_id, and continent_id with respective codes. This helps provide accurate geographic info for events.
17 days ago
Cloudflare and Google have introduced first-party domain mapping for Google Tag, part of all Cloudflare plans. This feature allows users to mask Google Tag URLs with a first-party domain, redirecting them to Google in the backend. While it improves performance, more complex setups are needed for additional destinations. Any domain proxied through Cloudflare can serve Google tags, enhancing measurement signals and campaign performance, with early testers seeing an uplift.
1 months ago
Safari 18.4 introduces CHIPS (Cookies Having Independent Partitioned State) to enhance web privacy and functionality. CHIPS allows developers to use third-party cookies with a Partitioned; flag, limiting access to specific site relationships. Safari blocks third-party cookies by default but allows partitioned cookies unless flagged by Intelligent Tracking Prevention. This update balances privacy with development needs, aligning Safari with Chrome and Edge.
3 months ago
Google is moving its Server-side Google Tag Manager from Container Registry to Artifact Registry on Google Cloud Platform. The migration is seamless, with no URL changes, so existing deployments remain functional. Server-side tagging applications need no user action, while Cloud Run Functions will automatically migrate if the Artifact Registry API is enabled. Users of other services that rely on Container Registry should refer to Google's migration guide.
Markifact is a no-code marketing automation platform that lets users create AI-driven workflows for automating marketing tasks. Users can trigger workflows, connect apps, and track performance through a visual interface. The platform offers pre-built templates, integrates with various marketing tools, and supports team collaboration.
4 months ago
Safari's Technology Preview introduces support for the Partitioned flag in cookies, enhancing privacy. This feature is opt-in, meaning cookies are not automatically partitioned. Third-party cookies are blocked by default, but those with the Partitioned flag are exempt. Different browsers handle cookie partitioning differently. The partitioned storage uses a double-keying system based on the site that set the cookie and the site the user visits, limiting access to specific domain combinations.
8 months ago
Google updated server-side Google Tag Manager (SGTM) to automatically fetch Google Analytics 4 (GA4) configurations, impacting data stream consolidation and event tracking. SGTM now retrieves GA4 configurations automatically, applies them to outgoing requests for multiple GA4 streams, and adds a key event flag. Manual key event annotation for new streams is no longer needed. Concerns include transparency, potential network egress, and limited documentation.
9 months ago
Google updated its tag request parameters, adding a 'gcd' parameter with a '9l' flag. This flag activates when a user's geolocation is in Colorado and they enable the Global Privacy Control setting in their browser. The default value is '1l' and indicates the user forbids data sharing or selling. This suggests Google may honor browser-level privacy settings, affecting data handling for Colorado users. The full implications remain unclear.
9 months ago
Google Tag Manager (GTM) has updated its custom template APIs with a new mockObject feature, enabling developers to write unit tests for complex APIs like Firestore and LocalStorage. The mockObject API overrides Sandboxed APIs that return objects, operates only in test mode, and automatically resets before each test run. Using the syntax mockObject(apiName, objectMock), it enhances testing accuracy, debugging, and reliability for custom templates.
10 months ago
Google Analytics 4 (GA4) has updated its BigQuery schema with the session_traffic_source_last_click record, enhancing traffic source data by including last-click attribution information. This allows for more detailed analysis of traffic sources based on last-click attribution within BigQuery, aligning the export with GA4 interface data. Analysts may need to explain differences between this last-click data and other attribution models.
