How it Starts
You’ve just landed the client. You’re setting up all the tracking. Both parties are excited to get started, and suddenly the client tells you, “I’m sorry, but we can’t grant Google Analytics Admin Access to your company.” Most of us have been in this scenario, and it can be rather disheartening. There are plenty of reasons to allow your agency admin access, and the few reasons to deny the access are often based out of irrational fear.
What does Admin Access Grant You?
- Goal Creation: This part is so critical. Every new Thank You/Confirmation Page or funnel that needs to be set up helps in determining whether goal metrics are being met. Often, goals are not fully set up or are set up incorrectly. While Advanced Segmentation can frequently help determine this information, and it is retroactive, it is not the be-all-end-all. Goals don’t require any digging to investigate. They can be fed back into Google AdWords as conversions, and e-commerce revenue, products, etc. can be tracked this way.
- Filter Creation: Filters are critical for accurate data. Internal users will constantly hit the website, thereby skewing data.
- Profile Creation & Editing: What if a user wants certain portions of a website tracked separately, like mobile clicks? What if they want to track SEO or PPC separately? Additional profiles, while not retroactive, are perfect for this. Filters would need to be created for each one.
- Tie into Google AdWords: Profiles can be tied into AdWords, but only at the Administrator level of access. Analytics and AdWords count things somewhat differently. When they are tied together, it makes the AdWords data far more accurate and easy to use.
- Ability to Grant Access: This is the obvious one. Users are able to grant their subordinates access since most agencies have multiple people that will require access to the data. The permission to grant access should be agreed upon between the two companies.
Reasons for the Fear
Most users who have access to a Google Analytics account don’t really know how to fully use the program, to begin with. Often, the control is coming from someone in management who doesn’t understand the implications of Google Analytics Admin Access. They hear, and quite correctly I’ll admit, that someone is going to be able to take their Google Analytics account away from them. They believe that another company will be able to assume full control of their data, make changes, and basically be able to alter the course of their company.
The Solution
The truth is that they are somewhat correct. Any Administrator may remove others from an account. But, Google is aware of this loophole in the system, and there is a simple process to follow that will rectify the situation.
If your company had its Google Analytics account taken away from it, here are the steps to get it back:
1) Contact the Google Support Line: 1 (866) 246-6453; be sure to have your Customer or Client ID handy
2) Google will email the company that has control of the account. They will wait seven business days for that company to respond.
3) If access has not been given back, they will ask the company that owns the domain to post a .txt file to the website that will verify the owner.
4) Access will then be granted back.
So, even in a worst-case scenario with a very remote chance of occurring, the drawback to giving Admin Access in Analytics to an agency is far outweighed by the benefits.
