What is a roll-up property?
Web AnalyticsA roll-up property in Google Analytics is a special type of property that combines multiple properties into one, because Roll-up reporting enables a broader, more comprehensive view of user behavior, conversions and traffic attribution across various websites.
Concept of Roll-Up Reporting
Roll-Up Reporting in Google Analytics aggregates data from various properties, offering a comprehensive view of behavior data across multiple websites.
It enables a holistic understanding of user interactions, especially when navigating between these websites is a common behavior pattern, e.g. when all sites belong to an umbrella organization.
The most important is, that it allows analysts to determine if users converted on any of the websites within the organization after marketing budget was spent on digital marketing campaigns. So it allows you to attribute conversions to traffic channels across multiple sites.
What are the benefits of using a roll-up property?
A roll-up property in Google Analytics provides a consolidated view of user activity across all your sites, which simplifies tracking and comparison of overall performance.
It allows you to monitor trends, understand user behavior on a macro level, and gauge the effectiveness of your marketing efforts across multiple domains in one GA property.
How do you set up a roll-up property?
To establish a Google Analytics (GA) roll-up property using Google Tag Manager (GTM), you typically use one container for each website. Each container will then run Google Analytics tags that send data to the roll-up property.
Drawbacks and Limitations of Roll-Up Properties
The limitations of Google Analytics roll-up properties stem from the general restrictions of free Google Analytics and the data collection cap, which may be reached quicker due to data from multiple websites being tracked.
Have a look at the most-noteworthy limitations below.
Limitations of free Google Analytics Properties
- There is a 10 million hits per month per property limit.
- There are 500 events maximum allowed per user per day
- There are other limitation in Google Analytics 4 like sampling, thresholding & cardinality which take effect when you send a high amount of data with many varying data points.
How exactly does creating a roll-up property benefit my data analysis in Google Analytics?
Creating a roll-up property in Google Analytics enhances your data analysis in several ways:
- It enables easy comparison of performance across multiple digital platforms.
- It aids in identifying successful strategies and problem areas across all properties.
- It ensures accurate measurement of return on marketing investment across domains.
Can I view data from multiple properties together without using a roll-up property?
While Google Analytics does not inherently offer the functionality to view data from multiple properties together outside of a roll-up property, you can manually compile data from different properties into a single report using data export features or third-party tools.
However, this is a time-consuming process and it doesn't offer the same analysis features that the Google Analytics Interface offers. A roll-up property solves that issue.
Can I add or remove properties from a roll-up property after it has been set up?
Indeed, properties can be added or removed from a roll-up even after setup.
However, these changes only affect future data. Historical data remains unchanged in the roll-up reports, irrespective of any additions or removals.
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