Author: Carolina Delfini Junqueira Franco

Countdown to the installation of Google Analytics 4

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes

By Jonas Marinho
Business Intelligence & Analytics Manager at Simplex.

The worldwide message is given. According to Google, all standard properties of its Universal Analytics tool - version 3 of Google Analytics used to bring data about navigation and searches made by users on websites and applications - will stop processing data on July 1, 2023. That's 15 months for companies to migrate to the new version, Google Analytics 4 (GA4). It may seem like a long time. But it's not. After all, the sooner the new version is adopted, the further ahead companies will be refining their own data measurement processes, to understand the behavior of their customers and leads, fundamental to optimize conversion, from the new platform. And by knowing more about user behavior on the internet, they will consequently achieve better results in their business, more competitiveness and confidence in the market. It will also be a change in the usability of the tool, so professionals will also need to adapt to the new platform.

GA4 was created to bring new proposals for search optimization, where platforms seek to integrate with greater agility, in the face of an increasing relevance of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning in the elaboration of companies' strategies. Its great differential is precisely the characteristic of allowing a complete view of the customer journey with a flexible measurement model based on events that is not fragmented by platform or organized in independent sessions, but taking into account interactions on different platforms.

In other words: unlike the predecessor version, the new tool integrates the entire user journey, regardless of how many devices have been used by the same person via website and/or apps in a given search until the eventual purchase. This unique user identification is performed by three methods: by the website logins system, by the Google account and by the device used by the user.

Google Analytics 4 should also impact the quality of advertising and marketing actions. With the possibility of understanding that the user who browses the site and uses the application is the same, it will be possible to avoid excessive advertising and make the experience much more friendly and more likely to stick.

Importantly, GA4 will also no longer store IP addresses and will not rely on invasive and controversial cookies. This solution and control is especially necessary in the current national and international data privacy scenario, in which users expect more and more protection and control of their personal information, meeting the Brazilian General Data Protection Law (LGPD) and the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

With these features, Google Analytics 4 makes it possible to predict new and more valuable insights. Most importantly, it is designed to keep pace with an ever-changing ecosystem. Therefore, the platform helps companies meet evolving needs and user expectations with more comprehensive and granular controls for data collection and use, enabling more accurate delivery of analytics in a more rational and secure model.

It only remains to be seen whether, in the future, Google will be able to refine and identify subgroups of users. In a country like Brazil, where there is device sharing, whether computer or cell phone, there is the challenge of identifying who actually did a particular search. How to do this measurement? We await the next chapters.

From jewelry to soybean oil: find out what Brazilians desire on the Internet

From jewelry to soybean oil: find out what are the items of desire of the Brazilian on the internet

Radar Simplex reveals this post-Carnival a greater search for pregnancy tests

São Paulo, April 18, 2022 - Despite high inflation rates, or even to alienate themselves from this challenging reality, Brazilians are rescuing their consumer dreams. Among them, luxury objects, such as jewelry, or the Iphone 11 Pro Max. In the opposite direction, basic basket products, such as soybean oil, also gain prominence, perhaps in an effort to make the household budget behave price variations. This is what Simplex Radar points out, a Simplex platform that uses artificial intelligence to capture the trends indicated by online surveys, from 1 million landing pages of large national e-commerces.

In March there was a 44% increase in online searches for jewelry compared to searches made in February. "It is likely that the fall in the dollar, which devalued 7.7% in March, has increased the purchasing power of the Brazilian for items quoted in the US currency, and this may have rekindled the consumer's hope of acquiring goods that normally have a high impact on the domestic budget," says João Lee, founder of Simplex. He cites, as an example, the strong increase in searches for the Iphone 11 Pro Max throughout March, whose demand grew 475% compared to February.

The next day

The post-Carnival period had a direct impact on another type of internet search. Searches for the term "pregnancy test" more than doubled: up 144% from the same period last year and 27% from February. Future moms and dads searched for coombs tests, a blood test that helps identify diseases that affect fetuses, such as leukemia and fetal erythroblastosis.

Another category that stood out in the March Simplex Radar was furniture, showing an increase of 50% in the monthly comparison and 42%, compared to the same period in 2021. These figures indicate a trend that has been strong since February: the desire to make purchases that contribute to the comfort of the home. This segment was mainly leveraged by searches related to closets, which registered a peak of an impressive 6,030% in the annual comparison.

Making the account close

According to the Simplex Radar, soybean oil is another product that is among the highlights in the surveys conducted in March. Item of the basic basket, this product was one of the most expensive in the period. According to the IPCA-15 (National Broad Consumer Price Index), considering the official inflation preview, the price of soybean oil has increased by 6.09% since 2022. In March, the 900 ml bottle cost an average of R$9.41, according to Dieese (Inter-Union Department of Statistics and Socioeconomic Studies). The price increase can be explained, in part, by international speculation around the product caused by the war in Ukraine, as well as by the crop failure, which originates from the drought that punishes southern Brazil.

Time to celebrate

Another food that, in March, emerged on the Simplex Radar registering a growth in searches, is the darling at Easter lunch. We are talking about cod. Its presence among the searches that accelerated in the period indicates that Brazilians anticipated the search for some typical products of this celebration so ingrained in Brazilian culture. The trend makes perfect sense since, now, when the pandemic is apparently under control in the country, it is possible to gather family and friends on commemorative dates.

Check below the ten items that grew the most in the online environment in important Brazilian e-commerces in March:

Jewelry
Furniture
Pregnancy check
Soybean oil
Fan
Iphone 11 Pro Max
Cod
Wholesale beverage
Stainless steel microwave
Men's accessories

The month of Carnival was marked by a search for alcoholic beverages and home furnishings

February's Simplex Radar also shows increased demand for men's accessories

São Paulo, March 2022 - Carnival and alcoholic beverages are closely associated. What was empirical knowledge was proven in the monitoring of consumer searches on the internet in February. Radar Simplex - a platform that uses artificial intelligence to capture trends in online searches carried out on more than 2 million landing pages of large national e-commerces and the main search engines in the market - indicated the term "alcoholic beverages" as the growth champion in February, with a 46% increase in clicks compared to January.

"This makes sense, especially in this year 2022, marked by the return of Carnival parties at a time of improvement in pandemic statistics", comments João Lee, founding partner of Simplex. "The party 'live and in color', on the streets and in the blocks, alongside travel during the holiday, was a trigger for a demand dammed up since last year to manifest itself strongly", he points out. "Even if the traditional parades of the samba schools, for the most part, have been postponed to April, due to restrictions on Covid-19", he adds.

"Fetal sexing", a type of examination to know the sex of babies intrauterine has also taken off. "The growth of this item can be linked to this new tradition and the return of parties and gatherings," Lee believes. "Tea-party" events, where parents and friends organize parties for moms to find out the sex of the baby, have become a tradition among pregnant women, which may have led to greater demand.

And one trend that has continued for two years, also recorded in the Simplex Radar monitoring in February, is the constant search for a more welcoming home environment. This is the result of the greater importance that home, sweet home, has assumed over 24 months of pandemic. In February, the survey once again pointed to high online searches for items such as closets, sofas, dining tables and dressers.

Check below the ten items that grew the most in the online environment in important Brazilian e-commerces in February.

Alcoholic beverages
Fetal sexing
Men's wallet
Closet
Sofa
Men's chain
Carnival games
iPhone XR
Dining table
Dresser

What has the Internet revealed in the second year of the pandemic?

What has the Internet revealed in the second year of the pandemic?

By Carol Junqueira

We have always known that the aspirations of the population leave their marks on the Internet. But in 2021, in the second year of the pandemic, the history of consumer searches in the country reveals, with even more nuances, the tensions experienced by the population in the period. While many adapt to the return of intermittent social interaction, others are still forced to stay at home to work and study. Divided between "preserving oneself" and the resumption of face-to-face meetings and travel, "com.br" searches reflect this ambiguity.

Consolidated data from 2021 from Radar Simplex, Simplex's monthly monitoring of the most searched terms on 6 million pages of major Brazilian e-commerce, in addition to information from the Year in Search report for the same period on Google, reveal desires, fears and practices of those who need to deal with challenges unimaginable until then. We have separated the most prominent searches into three categories. Each describes a reverberation of Covid-19 in 2021: Digital Life, Pandemic and Lifestyle.

Digital Life

TVs, cell phones and notebooks - the rise in searches for these items may reflect the need to "be at home" and make it more comfortable. The concern with classes that continue online and with work that, for some, remains restricted to the home office, are highlighted at various times of the year. From January to February 2021, a 169% growth is recorded in the demand for cell phones and 520% for notebooks. In the week of Black Friday, this number is even higher. There is a 646% increase in searches for notebooks from November 2020 to November 2021. The term TV has an expansion of 262% in the week of Black Friday, compared to the same period in 2020.

"Stay at home" has another impact on the Simplex Radar results. Items such as office chairs and tables, as well as desks, appear among the most searched for in the monitored e-commerces. In parallel, the Google survey indicates a 100% increase in global searches for "landscaping ideas for the garden" and 400% for "economical ideas for small bathrooms". Similarly, interest in "Carnival at home" experienced a 110% increase in February 2021.

Pandemic

The pandemic is omnipresent and explicit in the online world. In January, at the same time that one of the main searches detected by Google is "how to help Manaus", at this point fighting an explosion of Covid-19 cases, the Simplex Radar points out a demand for "masks", a term that grows 362% compared to the same period in 2020.

March 2021 is a watershed. At that moment, daily deaths in the country jump from 53 to 1,160. It is at this point that searches for items and themes related to Covid-19 basically go viral. "When will I be vaccinated" is the most common question on the internet in April, according to Google: it grows 2,250%. The same concern is reflected in the Simplex Radar. From February to March, there is a 226% growth in the search for N95 masks.

Since November, with the approach of the Christmas and New Year's Eve parties, Covid and Influenza tests have gained relevance. In that month, both items suffer a rise of 4,550%. In December, the increase reaches 10,600%! In the last month of the year, in addition to the fact that cases of infected people almost double - from 27,000 per day at the beginning to more than 50,000 at the end - the demand for these tests reflects the expectation for family and friend reunions. It also indicates the desire to travel. According to Google, there is a 600% increase in global searches for information on "border restrictions" and a 300% increase for "international travel" by the end of the year.

Lifestyle

The pandemic also impacts lifestyle-related searches. Google indicates a 150% increase in online searches for "near me with outdoor tables".

After more than a year cloistered in 2020, love shows its face in 2021. The Simplex Radar points out, in January 2021, the search for "wedding or engagement rings", which grows 105% compared to a year earlier. On Google, worldwide searches for "micro wedding" are double what they were in 2020.

Who emerges with strength in internet searches, especially among paulistanos and cariocas, is beach tennis. With an increase of 341% from March to April, it is probably linked to the fact that the sport allows a greater distance between players on outdoor sand courts.

With the arrival of winter, and the intense cold - data from the National Institute of Meteorology indicate that Rio records in 2021 the winter with more days with an average temperature below 20 degrees in the last decade - searches for second skin (a type of thin sweater to put under woolen knitwear), rise 244% in May compared to April. And in July, it's "thermal clothing" that's unashamedly on the rise, up 1,704% on the previous month.

The economic crisis is also present in 2021. The IGP-M shows annual inflation of 17.78% in August. In parallel, the expression "Stock Market" grows 169% in the month, compared to the same period of the previous year. The Google report points to a 60% global growth in the expression "how to invest", proving the same concern of people with the protection of their assets.

In short: if 2020, before the debut of Covid-19, can be characterized as a watershed, 2021 deserves to be named as the "year of resilience". We tied the knot, we jumped small, we took a deep breath, we swam in a rough sea. May 2022 be more generous!

How to find and optimise your MVPs (most valuable pages)

How to find and optimise your most valuable pages (a.k.a. MVPs)

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

Your most valuable pages can bring the biggest business impact and quickly identifying and optimising your MVPs is a skill that requires continuous attention.

How to find MVPs?

Once you have clarity on the metrics or key success measurements, it will be much easier to decide on the pages that become MVPs and evaluate new priority pages or what changes to make to MVPs over time.

For visibility metrics
- Such as online impressions, click-through rates, search volume, clicks and other areas such as an average page or term rank; Google Search Console is a useful tool to use.

For post-click data
- Such as traffic, site events, goal completions, purchases, bounce rates and more; Google Analytics is usually the main target.

There are many other tools for more specific tasks linked to MVP selection, such as competitor comparison, backlink growth and other areas such as user experience. Ahrefs and Semrush are good starting points if you need to expand your data collection

Optimising MVPs

Optimisation comes in many forms and with numerous goal-led outcomes.

As you would expect, the type of optimisation activity you undertake is closely linked to the intended gains you set out to achieve, the primary purpose of the page or content in question, plus other factors such as the marketing channel being deployed.

It's important to have a varied and consistent way of looking at performance spanning key marketing channels and reviewing them in conjunction with objectives. With each channel, traditional and key optimization tactics associated With most (if not all) website and marketing optimizations, MVPs should always be part of your digital marketing strategy. Always look at aligning MVPs to company goals and page purpose.

iPhone and antigen tests top searches this early Black Friday 2021

Simplex Radar identifies first movements of Esquenta Black Friday in the second year of the pandemic; according to Google Trends, the term "Black Friday" represented, last week, 21% of the peak of 2020 searches; already, the search for "Esquenta Black Friday" is 85% higher

São Paulo, November 9, 2021 - iPhone, tires, wholesale beverages, antigen test and office chair are the top search terms among the 6 million e-commerce pages monitored by Radar Simplex in the week between October 31 and November 6 - the first of the official Black Friday season, also identified as "Black Friday Warm-Up".

Noteworthy is the 1,600 or so searches for Apple's iPhone phone in its various forms during the week. "In practice, the total number of clicks on terms related to specific devices and the iPhone brand was close to ten times higher than the clicks on the term 'cell phones on sale'. This gives the dimension of the strength of the brand ", comments João Lee, founding partner of Simplex, a startup specializing in technology to increase traffic and sales conversion for e-commerces, and who created the Simplex Radar.

Consumers and COP 26

Among the terms on the rise, another surprise is the expression "net zero", which refers to products whose carbon footprint is neutral - just on the eve of the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 26) in Glasgow, Scotland. "It's as if the consumer is indirectly engaging in the defense of the planet," Lee speculates.

Already, the greater demand for the antigen test for Covid-19 makes perfect sense. "There is a pent-up demand for activities with many people, such as parties, concerts and soccer matches, at this stage of the pandemic when much of the population is vaccinated and contact restrictions are easing," says Lee.

Google Trends

Google Trends for the week of October 31 to November 6 is still 21% away from the peak of searches for the term Black Friday, which occurred at the height of the e-commerce promotion in November 2020. E-commerce, therefore, has to go another 79% further to reach the same movement recorded at the height of last year's Black Friday. "It is curious, however, that the term 'Black Friday heat' today registers 185 points, which is 85% higher than its peak recorded last year." For Lee, this indicates that retailers have adopted the term to try to anticipate Black Friday sales, avoiding the incredible concentrations of flows in the days close to November 26. "It's an important learning from online retailers, as it avoids such overloaded websites on November 26 and the consequent loss of sales - either due to slowdowns or websites being down," Lee summarizes.

September online searches already target summer's hottest days

The return of face-to-face events and the drop in pandemic numbers may be responsible for the increase in searches for alliances, wholesale alcoholic drinks and Covid antigen testing - which has a faster result and a lower cost than RT-PCR..

São Paulo, October 2021 - The warmer days with the arrival of spring and the reopening of events, parties and trips with the drop in the numbers of the pandemic encouraged Brazilians who started to search more on the internet for topics related to summer, wholesale drinks and alliances. This is what Radar Simplex points out, a platform from the startup Simplex that uses artificial intelligence to capture the trends indicated by online searches, from 6 million landing pages of large national e-commerces.

The search for the term "wholesale of alcoholic beverages" continues to lead for the second consecutive month and showed a growth of 3.8% compared to August and an increase of 21% compared to the same period last year. "We believe that the return of face-to-face events, which has been happening in recent months with the expansion of anti-Covid vaccination and the drop in pandemic numbers, has helped to pull these figures up," says João Lee, founding partner of Simplex.

The slowdown of the pandemic

The slowdown of the pandemic in recent months may also be the reason for the growing number of searches for alliances. In the September Simplex Radar, the term appears in second place, a growth of 21.4% compared to the same period last year. People are definitely resuming wedding ceremonies with parties, which for more than a year have been postponed, which brings us to the third place of this month's Simplex Radar, the Covid antigen test.

The specific search for this type of test grew by 257% compared to September 2020. The Covid Antigen test is performed to identify current coronavirus infection and, despite lower sensitivity, has a super fast result: 20 minutes and can cost up to 3 times less than RT-PCR. This type of test has also been accepted for entry into some closed events, such as parties for example.

Summer

Summer-related items were also present in the September Simplex Radar, such as the term beach tennis, and all sports accessories, such as rackets, for example. The term registered a search growth of 41% compared to the same period last year. Terms such as flavored ice and bicycle also appeared on the platform, in addition to tires, which have a recurring appearance on the Simplex Radar.

Check below the 10 items that showed the greatest variation in searches in September:

Wholesale of alcoholic beverages
Alliance
Covid Antigen Test
Beach Tennis
Tire
Jewelry
Flavor Ice
Living room rack
Sofa
Bicycle

Stocks, drinks and alliances were in the sights of Brazilians this August

Stocks, drinks and alliances were in the sights of Brazilians this August

Radar Simplex Platform registers what are the main trends in consumer searches on the Internet

São Paulo, September 15, 2021 - Brazilians are looking for ways to dodge the effects of inflation on their assets, want to buy drinks wholesale and are more willing to commit affectively. These are the main variations of searches on the Internet, pointed by Simplex Radar, a platform from startup Simplex that uses artificial intelligence to capture trends indicated by searches made online, from 6 million landing pages of large national e-commerces.

Online search for the term "stocks" was surprising for the month. It showed a jump of 169% above the average of the last eleven months. The variation may be a reflection of the highest IPCA for August in 21 years, when inflation hit 9.7% in 12 months. "With the gains of traditional investments being eroded at this rate, it is natural that citizens seek other forms of investment," believes João Lee, founding partner of Simplex.

Cheapest Wholesale Shopping

Similarly, Simplex Radar captured a continued and growing movement of searches for "beverage wholesale." The term, compared to last year, grew by 9.2%. If compared to May, searches were up by almost 70%. "We believe that with a tight budget, people are looking for new ways to buy cheaper. And many retailers are already offering delivery services to the final consumer," informs Lee.

Those who follow consumer behavior on the internet realize that Brazilians maintain hope, despite a challenging economic scenario. A sign of this is a slight increase in searches for alliances. It is 5% higher than last year and reached the third place in the Simplex Radar of August. This is an item that traditionally registers search peaks in January, when people make their New Year's resolutions, and in June, because of Valentine's Day.

Father's Day

Also in August, due to Father's Day, there was an impact on the searches for men's rings, a product whose demand rose 287% compared to July. The result, however, is still below last year's Father's Day.

In the case of tires, one of the Radar Simplex's top hits in its entire historical series, we see that searches in 2021 are 20% above those registered last year, indicating a steady and consistent upward trend. In August alone, the Radar Simplex registered 77 thousand clicks on the term, very close to the record of November last year, during Black Friday.

Check below the 10 items that showed the greatest variation in searches in August:

Stock Market
Wholesale of alcoholic beverages
Alliance
Tire
Jewelry
Male ring
Closet
Office Chair
Beach tennis racket
Table for 4 chairs

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