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It seems everyone’s using Google Analytics, so you might be wondering…
“Do I need Google Analytics on my website?”
It’s certainly the most popular analytics solution on the web, but that doesn’t necessarily make it the best, and it certainly doesn’t make it a requirement.
Here’s what we have to say on the matter.
Why do I need Google Analytics?
The answer to this is pretty simple.
You need analytics to know how many people have visited your website. Your analytics can also tell you the following:
- Which sites your visitors came from
- The countries your visitors are in
- How many pages they viewed
- and much more
Without this information, you’ll have no idea how successful your site is, and it won’t be easy to grow it further.
But here’s the thing.
I’ve described the reasons why you need analytics, but these aren’t reasons why you need Google Analytics.
You can get this data from loads of other tools. In fact, there have never been more alternatives to Google Analytics than this very moment.
Even better, they come with some pretty huge advantages.
Let’s look at some of those alternatives now.
What Google Analytics alternatives are there?
Virtually all sites ran Google Analytics over the past decade, and nobody thought anything of it.
However, since GA ran into privacy issues with the GDPR, marketers began looking for alternatives. Now that people are more open to considering alternatives, many new options have arrived.
Here are some of the best.
Independent Analytics
The first alternative we’ll look at is Independent Analytics.
If you’re using WordPress, this is a stand-out option.
As a WordPress plugin, Independent Analytics runs entirely on your site. You don’t have to create a new account or add the tracking script yourself, like with Google Analytics.
The dashboard shows up right inside your WP admin menu, making it easy to check your stats whenever you want.
It’s also more privacy-friendly because it doesn’t use cookies or store personally identifiable information. An additional benefit of not using cookies is that the tracking is more accurate because people can’t opt out via blocking cookies.
And lastly, it has unique features specific to WordPress, like including page types and categories in the data table and even featuring WooCommerce integration in the Pro version.
Koko Analytics
If you want another alternative made for WordPress, you can check out Koko Analytics.
It’s also much simpler than Google Analytics and includes a dashboard inside WordPress. You can see your total visitors and page views and a graph charting them for the past 30 days.
This plugin also lets you see your top pages and the traffic sources that sent you the most visitors.
It doesn’t include sorting and filtering like Independent Analytics or geographic data, but it is very easy to use and highly rated on the plugin repository.
Clicky
If you don’t use WordPress or you want to use an external app, check out Clicky.
Clicky has been around for over 15 years and is a reliable analytics solution. It’s also incredibly feature-rich, including features like video analytics and heatmaps.
It’s free to use for up to a million views per month, so most users will find they never have to pay.
More alternatives
As I mentioned previously, there are many alternatives to Google Analytics beyond these three.
You can view this collection next if you want to see what else is available:
The 9 Best Google Analytics Alternatives for WordPress
There are numerous WordPress plugins included, plus a few more CMS-agnostic analytics platforms.
You need analytics
When you first got here, you wondered, “Do I need Google Analytics on my website?”
Now you know you don’t need Google Analytics at all, but you do need some kind of analytics on your site.
For WordPress users, Independent Analytics and Koko Analytics are both good choices.
Learn more about Independent Analytics
For non-WordPress users, Clicky is a solid alternative.
Thanks for reading this guide on why you don’t need Google Analytics for your website, and please consider using the share buttons below if you liked it.
