Google has launched the Gen Z Music lineup, a new tool that helps marketers better connect with young people.

The paid-for feature is now available globally to assist advertisers who would like to increase their appeal to 18- to 24-year-olds.

Why we care. Google has identified that the music favored by Gen Z plays an important role in shaping today’s culture. By finding out what songs are trending and allowing advertisers to have their campaigns displayed near media that uses the music this cohort has on repeat, brands will be seen at the forefront of culture.

The Gen Z Music lineup also provides marketers with an opportunity to better connect with Gen Z – a group of people that is rapidly becoming one of the largest online consumer groups. If advertisers aren’t paying attention to content that engages these potential customers most, then they risk failing to secure their buy-in.

How it works. The Gen Z Music lineup feature uses data from audio, long-form and YouTube Shorts to identify trending music. It follows these steps:

• The Gen Z Music lineup identifies trending songs amongst 18- to 24-year-olds using regularly refreshed data across audio, long-form and YouTube Shorts.
• Google AI then uses this data to package relevant music videos into the Gen Z Music lineup.
• Marketers then have the option to buy the lineup.
• Upon purchasing the lineup, advertisers’ campaign will then be served alongside content that plays the identified trending songs.

What has Google said? Brian Anderson, Google’s Global Head of Music and Audio, released a statement via the Google Ads Help newsroom. He said:

• “Gen Z plays a huge role in shaping the cultural zeitgeist. And this largely happens on YouTube, where Gen Z music fans discover, consume, and participate in music across multiple formats.”
• “Now we’re helping advertisers align their brand with the music Gen Z audiences (18-24) love on YouTube with the new Gen Z Music lineup.”

Deep dive. For more information, read Google’s full Gen Z Music announcement.

Unless you’ve been away on a desert island for the last 18 months, you’re well aware that Google Analytics 4 (GA4) took center stage on July 1 as the source for our web metrics. We’ve had to say goodbye to Universal Analytics (UA), an old friend to many marketers. 

One of the biggest challenges marketing teams may face will be comparing a current period of data to year-over-year (YOY) historicals to measure growth success.

There are fundamental changes in how GA4 measures data vs. how UA does, so comparing data between the two won’t be an apples-to-apples scenario.

The apples-to-apples YOY comparison scenario is why there was a big push by many to get GA4 set up, running and collecting data by July 1, 2022. That would allow for a true comparison.

So what happens if you’re one of the procrastinators (don’t feel bad – there are plenty!) who won’t be able to make a true apples-to-apples comparison? Well, here’s what you need to know.

Fundamentally different data models

UA was based on sessions and pageviews. GA4 is based on events and parameters. Both methods can collect and tally data, but the output in a report will look different. 

So what does this mean in plain English?

Different numbers in metrics you report

You’ll encounter cases where the metric is called the same thing so you’re tempted to believe the number should completely match up (or at least come close). However, you may find some variances. 

For example:

User counts

Here is a small website’s UA user/new user count for one month:

Now here is that same small website’s GA4 user/new user count for the same exact time period:

In the reports snapshot, GA4 rounds the numbers, but you can see the users reported in GA4 is about 8% lower than what’s seen in UA. 

The new users metric is even more pronounced (a difference of almost 14%) if you look at the rounded number. (Actual number reported in GA4 when you drill down is 10,443 – a difference of just under 10%.) 

Sessions

GA4 has a couple of key differences when it comes to counting sessions, which actually make the count more accurate. 

While both platforms have a default session timeout setting of 30 minutes, UA restarts the session at midnight and generates a new one when a UTM promo code is clicked on. 

If you could follow that, basically, the “session count” numbers you’ve been reporting on forever aren’t exactly an exact tally.

GA4 does not restart at midnight and does not generate a new session if a UTM promo code is clicked. 

For example, I have seen some websites put a promo UTM code on a link to an internal page (bad idea and unnecessary, by the way). 

In UA, that causes a new session to be started and it overwrites any other UTM promo code that may have actually driven the traffic.

Conversions

The way conversions are calculated between the two platforms differ.

UA will only count one conversion per session for each goal. So for example, a user clicks on the “click to call ” multiple times. 

However, the user doesn’t follow through and cancels before the call goes through the first time. Only one conversion will be counted for that goal.

Here’s an example of the “Clicks to Call” goal setup in UA: 

In contrast, GA4 will count a conversion every time even if that same conversion event is recorded multiple times during a session (Same user, same site, same visit):

Understanding the proper context matters here. 

On the one hand, you could argue GA4 inflates the actual number of conversions since you basically have the same individual clicking on the “call” link multiple times (presumably for a single purpose). 

On the other hand, you could argue that all you really cared about was whether the user converted on the call to action – not how many attempts it took on a particular session. Regardless of which method you feel is better, the GA4 method is now the way forward.

If we’re talking about an “Add to cart” conversion where the user put one pair of shoes in a cart, then continued to shop and added socks, GA4 would count this as two conversion events. 

You could argue that GA4 counting two conversion events is appropriate (depending on how you choose to look at it).

Rethinking our web performance metrics

GA4 is giving us a new way to think about success metrics for the business and what really matters. Here are a couple of examples:

Sessions 

We already covered the differences in how the two platforms calculate sessions, but GA4 steers us to thinking about sessions that actually result in meaningful engagement on the site. 

One of the first callouts you’ll notice is “Engaged sessions,” which is simply a count of sessions where the user actually did something.

An “engaged session” can only be considered if it lasts longer than 10 seconds, has one or more conversion events, or has two or more page/screen views. 

You may or may not agree, but that’s what GA4 uses for its standard. “Engaged session” is not a canned metric in UA.

Bounce rate

For a generation, marketers loved to report a low bounce rate as a measure of success. However, it’s not always a great metric. As with any success metric, context is king. 

For example, a simple recipe page could do its job perfectly but show a high bounce rate. 

The user got what they came for (the recipe) and then made a happy exit. Is that bad? 

No, actually. It’s a good thing for the user. 

Bounce rate is now gone as a stand-alone metric in GA4. Now you can refer to the engagement rate intended to show you the percentage of quality site visits. (Again, according to the definition of quality.) 

If you start with 100 and subtract the engagement rate from it, in theory, you get something similar to a bounce rate.

Events

How GA4 handles events could easily be the subject of a separate article. (See Event tracking in Google Analytics 4: What marketers need to know for more details.)

For this article, just a quick high-level reminder of the differences:

In UA, events are used to track site actions that don’t necessarily generate a success page. 

For example, you have a video on your home page. That video is played all the way through. 

Upon completion of that video, there is no “Thank You” page you can easily set up as a standard conversion goal. This is where events come in.

UA lets you give “events” a category, action, and label to provide more description and context. An event is counted when an action is triggered. For example, if you have a video on the home page and track completions.

GA4 has no category, action, or label, so there’s no point in learning it now. And with GA4, everything is an event. For example:

• Pageview = Event
• Session Start = Event
• First Visit = Event
• Scroll = Event
• Click = Event
• Video Start = Event
• File Download = Event
• Video progression = Event
• Video complete = Event
• Newsletter Signup = Event
• Contact Submission = Event
• View Search Results = Event

You get the idea.

Everything remotely worth measuring is an event.

Views vs. data streams

In UA, you can have one simple website and a mind-boggling number of views set up. You can see different numbers depending on which view you’re looking at, so it was worth understanding. 

There are no more views in GA4. Instead, there are data streams. Those can be seen in Admin > Data Streams:

If you had previously set up multiple views in UA, you’ll want to look at the data stream settings in GA4 to make sure you’re measuring what matters to your business. 

One of the benefits of GA4 is you can better see a more accurate reflection of the number of users. 

For example, a data stream can be a website or an app. If your business also has a native mobile app, that can be a plus. 

Moving on from UA to GA4

If you didn’t have GA4 set up and running by July 1, 2022, you will not have a true apples-to-apples YOY comparison for July 2023 data. So be careful how you report the numbers. 

If you have no choice but to show UA data for the previous year, include a big asterisk along with an explanation. Hopefully, this article provides a little context and backup info when you’re asked why.

Despite constant reminders to create helpful content and the importance of E-E-A-T (expertise, experience, authoritativeness and trustworthiness) – Google Search still finds ways to rank content on Page 1 that shouldn’t be there.

Look no further than A Chronological List of Star Wars Movies & TV Shows, published yesterday on Gizmodo (note: it was updated today with multiple corrections).

The author: Gizmodo Bot.

Page 1 for [Star Wars movies]. Despite multiple errors, the article ranked just fine:

Now it is in Position 5, but earlier in the day, it was in Position 3, above the Rotten Tomatoes page.

Freshness may have been a key factor here. Also, Gizmodo is a strong brand and publishes lots of content on this and related topics.

This article. It lives on the io9 section (which publishes content around science-fiction and fantasy movies, TV, books, comics) of the technology blog Gizmodo.

The editor’s response. As well all know, AI-generated content isn’t bad just because AI created it. However, this was so bad James Whitebrook, deputy editor, took to Twitter to make it clear that neither he, nor his team, had any part in the editing or publishing of the article:

His full statement:

• “For 15 years, io9 has grown an audience that demands quality coverage of genre entertainment, from critical analysis, to insightful explainers, to accurate news and industry-shaping investigative reporting. These readers have grown io9 into one of the best performing desks at Gizmodo, G/O Media’s flagship site in terms of traffic, and they have done so by rigorously holding this team and the colleagues that came before us to a standard of expertise and accuracy that we have been product to achieve. The article published on io9 today rejects the very standards this team holds itself to on a daily basis as critics and as reporters. It is shoddily written, it is riddled with basic errors; in closing the comments section off, it denies our readers, the lifeblood of this network, the chance to publicly hold us accountable, and to call this work exactly what it is: embarrassing, unpublishable, disrespectful of both the audience and the people who work here, and a blow to our authority and integrity. It is shameful that this work has been put to our audience and to our peers in the industry as a window to G/O’s future, and it is shameful that we as a team have had to spend an egregious amount of time away from our actual work to make it clear to you the unacceptable errors made in publishing this piece.

The correction. The editorial team has now updated the article and added a note at the bottom:

• “A correction was made to this story on July 6, 2023. The episodes’ rankings were incorrect. In particular, The Clone Wars was placed in the correct chronological order in the corrected list.“

If you’re curious about what the original version looks like, you can see it via the Wayback Machine.

Why we care. You absolutely can publish AI-generated content. Some of it may rank well – even on Page 1. But if that content has incorrect information, because it hasn’t been reviewed by an editor and/or subject matter expert, there could be severe long-term damage to your brand’s reputation.

Not the first, nor the last. Many brands – in an attempt to save costs by laying off human writers (see: Red Ventures’ BankRate and CNET) – are turning to AI-generated content. It’s faster and cheaper to produce, but the end result hasn’t always been good:

Fewer U.S. adults are beginning their product searches on TikTok than a year ago, according to a CivicScience study.

Why we care. This is the latest evidence that Amazon is a platform that retail brands must pay attention to. While TikTok intends to build a $20 billion ecommerce business, the U.S. won’t be a big factor yet – and may never be. Regardless, marketing and advertising budgets will continue to follow users. But ultimately it comes down to whether TikTok is an effective platform for your brand.

Amazon and Google reign. Overall, the starting point for product searches among online shoppers is Amazon (49%, up from 46% in 2022), followed by Google (34%, down from 35% in 2022).

Amazon also increased its popularity among younger age groups, compared to last year:

• 18- to 24-year-olds: Up 45%
• 25- to 34-year-olds: Up 44%.

Additional context. These results are similar to another U.S. survey we reported on in Amazon beats Google as starting point for product search. That survey found 38% of shoppers began product searches on Amazon, while 35% started searching on Google.

TikTok’s YoY decline. After hitting a new high in 2022, CivicScience noted a “steep decline” for TikTok among younger generations this year:

• “Usage fell from 18% to 11% among Gen Z (18-24) and from 10% to 5% among young Millennials (25-34) from August 2022 to June 2023.”

Most people who start their product searches on TikTok, Instagram or Reddit are between the ages of 18-34, CivicScience noted.

About the study. The CivicScience study asked U.S. online shoppers: “When shopping for a product online, where do you typically start for product searches and research?” It then compared 5,638 responses received between June 6 and 26 to 4,643 responses from August 2022.

In just 48 hours we received around 400 responses to our poll question about Google Analytics 4.

With the standard version of Universal Analytics sunsetting tomorrow (July 1), we asked you:

What level of readiness are you (and/or your team) at when it comes to switching to GA4 from Universal Analytics?

Despite plenty of frustration:

• Almost a quarter of respondents said they have fully implemented and already are using GA4.
• Just over half said they had implemented it but were still learning how to use it.
• Almost 16% have it set up but have not started using it.

The takeaway from those statistics: more than 90% of our joint readership is aboard the GA4 train, for better or worse.

• Only 2.6% of respondents said they had no plans to use GA4.
• 4.6% have just not set it up yet.

Why we care. At first glance, this looks like a vote of confidence in Google’s analytics strategy. After all, there are plenty of alternatives to GA4. But it’s not that simple.

Rightly or wrongly, it’s possible to adopt a tool even though you really don’t like it.

“An unfinished product rushed to market.”

“It’s not that the masses aren’t ready for GA4, it’s that GA4 isn’t ready for the masses. The UI is terrible.”

“Terrible UI, terrible reporting.”

Selected comments from poll respondents.

We might need to wait a while to see if people can make GA4 work for them or if frustrations with it start to make the alternatives look more attractive.

YouTube is disabling videos for people using ad blockers as part of a new trial.

The social media platform is asking users to either turn ad blockers off or pay £11.99 a month for YouTube Premium if they want access to its extensive video library.

Why we care. If this trial is expanded to the general population, all YouTube users, who want to continue watching videos for free, will be forced into allowing ads to play. This is great news for marketers as it will increase reach for campaigns, which ultimately, could result in more conversions.

How it works. Right now, the trial is being tested on a small group of people around the world that have ad blockers enabled. When they sign in to watch content, all videos will be blocked unless they either change their settings to disallow ad blocker or they sign up for YouTube Premium.

What has YouTube said? Oluwa Falodun, a spokesperson for Google, told The Verge in a statement:

• “Ad blocker detection is not new, and other publishers regularly ask viewers to disable ad blockers.”
• “We take disabling playback very seriously, and will only disable playback if viewers ignore repeated requests to allow ads on YouTube.”
• “In cases when viewers feel they have been falsely flagged as using an ad blocker, they can share this feedback by clicking on the link in the prompt.”
• “We want to inform viewers that ad blockers violate YouTube’s Terms of Service, and make it easier for them to allow ads on YouTube or try YouTube Premium for an ad free experience,” 

Why now? YouTube has said that it is taking these measures to ensure that its content creators are compensated for their work. “YouTube’s ad-supported model supports a diverse ecosystem of creators, and provides billions of people globally access to content for free with ads,” the company said in a statement.

Deep dive: For more information on YouTube’s ad policy, you can visit the YouTube Advertising hub.

Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is a sophisticated web analytics tool. But it isn’t your only option.

Despite its many advantages, there are also plenty of disadvantages to consider.

Luckily, there is no shortage of analytics tools that can compete with it, both in features and price.

Here, we’ve compiled a list of 15 free and low-cost alternatives to Google Analytics 4 that you may want to consider.

1. Matomo

Matomo is an open-source analytics platform that provides similar features to Google Analytics. It offers real-time analytics, customizable dashboards and detailed reports.

Matomo also gives users complete control over their data and offers a range of privacy features.

One of the most popular Google Analytics alternatives, Matomo is free if hosted on your servers.

2. Piwik PRO

Piwik PRO is a commercial spinoff of Matomo. The main differences are enterprise-level support and the integration of a customer data platform.

Like Matomo, it has an integrated privacy consent manager.

Piwik has free and paid plans.

3. Clicky

Clicky is a flash-free, real-time analytical platform that is easy to use and records and tracks user actions in detail.

It offers features like heat mapping, backlink analysis, and mobile compatibility.

Clicky has a free option and four paid options.

4. Heap

Heap is best suited for online products.

It lets you measure every interaction on your website, including swipes, clicks, tabs, form submissions and page views.

Heap also offers retroactive analytics, which allows you to examine the impact of changes to your website or app.

Heap offers both free and paid plans.

5. Clarity from Microsoft

Clarity from Microsoft focuses on users interacting with your website.

It summarizes information in a convenient dashboard and provides data like rage clicks and excessive scrolling, which could indicate user frustration. Clarity also offers session recording features, which can help you understand user behavior.

Clarity is free.

6. Woopra

Woopra provides website analytics based on four data types: people, journey, trends, and retention.

It analyzes user actions based on their journey through different touchpoints like customer reactions after introductory emails.

Woopra tracks usage through your website and apps with real-time analytics and data. It also offers customized live reports that can help you use data to improve your customer retention and engagement.

Woopra offers free and paid plans.

7. Countly

Countly is an open-source analytics tool that prides itself on being a GDPR-friendly alternative to Google Analytics.

It offers real-time analysis across websites and apps, as well as a unique user ID feature that allows the same user to be identified more easily across multiple browsers and devices.

It has free and paid options.

8. Smartlook

Smartlook is an analytics solution tool for websites, iOS/Android apps and various app frameworks.

It helps users understand how customers interact with their website or app by providing features such as session recordings, heatmaps, automatic tracked events, and conversion funnels.

Smartlook has free and paid options.

9. GoSquared

GoSquared is a web analytics platform designed for ease of use.

Its features include heatmaps, session recordings and funnel analysis. It is also privacy-focused, with features like IP anonymization and consent management.

Plans start at $9.

10. Kissmetrics

Kissmetrics tracks and analyzes user behavior based on first-party data it collects from your website or app.

Features include heatmaps, session recordings and funnel analysis. Kissmetrics helps personalize the user experience by showing different content to different users based on their behavior.

Plans start at $299.

11. Cabin Analytics

Cabin Analytics is designed to have a very small carbon footprint.

It is similar to Kissmetrics in that it is based on first-party data and can personalize user experience.

Cabin Analytics has free and paid plans. 

12. PostHog

PostHog is an all-in-one product analytics platform that includes session recording, A/B testing and other features to track user behavior in your app or website.

It is an event-based platform, which means you only pay for the events you track.

PostHog offers a generous 1 million events per month for free, so most smaller users can use it for free.

13. Plausible

Plausible is a leader in the trend of lightweight, privacy-oriented analytics tools.

It is easy to use and does not collect any personally identifiable information, making it ideal for complying with the E.U.’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This comes at the cost of functionality.

Plausible, and tools like it, only track very basic website metrics like pageviews, session duration and referrer information. It is a good option for content and marketing teams who just want easy-to-use, basic website analytics.

Plans start at $9.

14. Fathom

Fathom is another privacy-focused analytics tool like Plausible.

It doesn’t have the deeper features of GA4, but it’s a solid choice if you want a lightweight website analytics tool.

Plans start at $14.

15. Counter

Counter is an open-source analytics tool that uses a “pay what you want” model.

As with Plausible and Fathom, it is privacy focused and has very basic features and measurements.

The big difference between it and the previous two entries is you can’t drill down deeply into individual page performance. However, it is free.

TikTok is testing a new feature that connects advertisers and creators in a financially beneficial way for both parties.

Under the new program, titled TikTok Creative Challenge, marketers can share ad briefs with relevant U.S.-based creators, who will then have complete creative freedom to make a video entry for consideration.

Should their submission get approval from the marketer, that creator will then receive payment based on the video’s performance.

Why we care. Advertisers will have access to influencers with already established followings and a deep understanding of the TikTok audience. Not only will this type of collaboration potentially give brands better insight into their target audience, which could result in higher engagement, but the fee they have to pay is dependent on ad performance, which reduces financial risk.

How it works. The TikTok Creative Challenge is an in-app feature that creators must sign up for. Once enrolled, they will have access to briefs posted by marketers, which should include reward pool details, rules and requirements.

Here’s a step-by-step breakdown of what happens next:

• If creators are interested in applying to a marketer’s brief, they will need to submit a video entry that meets the requirements specified in the ad.
• For each brief, advertisers will receive up to 30 ad creatives within 10 days.
• Should advertisers wish to ask creators for revisions or modifications, they have the option to notify them.
• If the final entry is given the green light, approved videos will run as ads on the For You feed.
• Videos will not be displayed on the creator’s profile.
• Creators will be able to track the performance of their submissions on the in-app feature, including views and monthly earnings.

@tiktoknewsroom

⭐️TikTok Creative Challenge⭐️ A new way for creators to collaborate with brands with full creative freedom! We’re excited to continue recognizing and rewarding creators for their creativity through this new in-app feature.

♬ original sound – TikTok Newsroom

How much will advertisers need to pay creators? Rewards will differ from project to project as multiple variable factors are considered, such as:

• Qualified video views.
• Clicks.
• Conversions.

However, creators will not just benefit financially from signing up to this feature. Once enrolled in the TikTok Creative Challenge, they will also have access to a number of rich resources, including a dedicated Creator Community group and a Mentor Program to connect with other creators.

The rules. Content creators wishing to take part in the TikTok Creative Challenge must adhere to certain rules and regulations set out by the platform:

• Creator must be at least 18 years old.
• Creator must also have a U.S.-based account.
• Creator needs to have a minimum of 50,000 TikTok followers.
• All videos submitted for the TikTok Creative Challenge must abide by the platform’s Community Guidelines.
• Videos should be high-quality, well-edited, original content.

What has TikTok said? TikTok explained via a statement posted in its digital Newsroom that the TikTok Creative Challenge is aimed at helping all parties involved – however, the initiative remains a pilot for now, which is still under review:

• “TikTok Creative Challenge is currently in testing as we explore this new solution with select brands.”
• “We will continue to listen to the feedback of our community to further develop the program and continue to make it easier to advertise and drive results on TikTok. We’re committed to working with our community to bring new features that enrich the TikTok experience and look forward to continuing that journey with the TikTok Creative Challenge.”
• “TikTok Creative Challenge provides brands with authentic, high-performance and easy-to-use creative content at scale to help drive their performance advertising campaigns.”
• “By simply creating a creative challenge on the platform, advertisers are given up to 30 ad creatives within 10 days created specifically for the TikTok audience developed by creators who truly understand the community.”

Deep dive. To find out more about how creators can monetize or collect rewards on TikTok, including Series, Creativity Program Beta, Pulse and LIVE Subscription, visit the platform’s Creator Portal.