Annotations in GA4- KRM Digital Marketing Ltd

Why Use Annotations?

Annotations offer a wealth of benefits for understanding and interpreting your website’s performance. Here are a few key ways you can utilise this powerful feature:

Track Algorithm Updates: One of the most valuable applications is documenting Google algorithm updates. By noting when these updates occurred, you can directly correlate any significant changes in your organic traffic and rankings.

Record Content Changes: Did you recently revamp a key landing page or publish a significant piece of content? Add an annotation to see how these changes impact user behaviour, engagement, and conversions.

Monitor Website Development: Keep track of important development changes, such as website redesigns, new feature launches, or significant bug fixes. Annotations can help you understand if these changes have had a positive or negative effect on your analytics.

Document Compliance Updates: If your website has undergone changes to comply with new regulations or policies, annotating these events can help you analyse any resulting shifts in user data.

Highlight Key Observations: Beyond specific events, you can use annotations to simply highlight interesting trends or patterns you’ve noticed in your data for future reference or to share with your team.

By adding these contextual notes, you can truly illuminate what’s happening with your website’s performance and understand the “why” behind the data.

How to Implement Annotations in GA4

Adding annotations in GA4 is straightforward. You’ll recognise the availability of this feature by the presence of a small post-it note symbol within the report section.

Here are a couple of ways to access the annotation feature:

Within Reports: Navigate to any report in GA4 (e.g., Acquisition > Traffic acquisition). Look for the post-it note icon, which will allow you to view existing annotations or create new ones.

Through the Admin Section: Go to Admin > Data display > Annotations. Here, you can also manage your existing annotations, check your annotation quota (up to 1,000 are available), and even export them to a CSV file if needed.

Creating a New Annotation:

Let’s walk through the steps of creating an annotation within a report:

Navigate to the desired report (e.g., Traffic acquisition). Although, really anywhere you see the post it note symbol, you are good to go.

Click on the “View annotations” section (if annotations already exist) or directly look for the “Create annotation” button (often found at the bottom of the annotation panel).

A pop-up window will appear, allowing you to add the following details:

Title: A brief, descriptive title for your annotation (e.g., “Google Core Update”).
Description: A more detailed explanation of the event or observation (e.g., “November 2024 core algorithm update rolled out”).
Date or Date Range: Specify the exact date the event occurred or a date range if the impact was felt over a period. For single-day events like content updates or code changes, you can select a single date. For ongoing events like algorithm updates, you can define a start and end date.
Colour: Choose a colour to visually represent your annotation on the line chart. Consider using a colour-coding system to differentiate between different types of events (e.g., purple for SEO updates, red for code changes, green for compliance, brown for marketing campaigns).

Once you’ve filled in the details, click “Create”. Your annotation will now appear on the relevant line chart as a coloured marker or band (if a date range was selected).

Combining Annotations with Plot Rows

For even deeper insights, you can combine annotations with the “Plot row” option in GA4.

This allows you to overlay specific metrics on the same chart as your annotations, making it easy to visually identify any corresponding upticks or downturns in traffic or other key performance indicators following a particular event or change.

Conclusion: Start Annotating for Better Data Understanding

The introduction of annotations in Google Analytics 4 is a welcome and valuable addition for anyone looking to gain a deeper understanding of their website’s data.

By providing crucial context to your reports, annotations empower you to analyse trends, explain fluctuations, and ultimately make more informed decisions about your website strategy. So, don’t delay!

Head over to your GA4 property and start adding annotations today to unlock a richer and more insightful view of your website’s performance.