Google Analytics Connection Types

Introduction

This article gives a basic overview of the various tracking connection types offered within the official Gravity Forms Google Analytics Add-On. These options are offered within the settings area of the add-on.

Please note that the setup, management, and education on the various Google Analytics technologies and services are beyond the scope of Gravity Forms support. We recommend you refer to the copious amount of materials already published by Google and third parties regarding the implementation and use of the various GA services. To get you started, a few references are included at the bottom of this article.

Acronyms

Connection Types

Google provides multiple generations of analytics, so what connection type you choose will affect the behavior and capabilities, and recording of the events you collect. The Gravity Forms Google Analytics Add-On offers the following three connection types:

  1. Google Measurement Protocol
  2. Google Analytics
  3. Google Tag Manager
  4. Manual Configuration

For more information on setting up your add-on and choosing a connection type, refer to this setup article.

The Google Analytics Measurement Protocol allows developers to make HTTP requests to send raw user interaction data directly to GA servers. This allows developers to measure how users interact with their business from almost any environment. It comprises a standard set of rules for collecting and sending hits from any Internet-connected device to Analytics, which can be particularly useful when you want to send data from a kiosk, a point-of-sale system, or anything that is not a website or web page.

This connection type is probably the easiest way to send form submission events to GA. It is also one of the more reliable GA services due to the simplicity of the server-to-server POST mechanism that is used. It involves only the selection of account/property and view.

It does not track page views, and no tracking code is added to the page (since it is included in the http request). Generally, this means that it is less likely to conflict with any existing page setups you have implemented.

Note that this connection type does not support the sending of ?utm= parameters and does not include data required to use AdWords or Remarketing.

Google Analytics (Flexible)

This is probably the most common type of tracking interaction most are familiar with when it comes to GA,  and will allow integration with AdWords and Remarketing.

This connection type will generate an Analytics Tracking ID for you and will install GA, build it, and output it in the form header. It also offers the option not to do so if you already have it on your page.

Google Tag Manager (Advanced)

Google Tag Manager is an advanced analytics option, and we recommend that most users switch to a more direct method. This connection type is recommended only for advanced GA users whose use case demands Tag Manager functionality. Gravity Forms cannot provide support for the setup of Google Analytics.

Google Tag Manager is a tag management system that allows you to quickly and easily update tags on your website or mobile app from a unified web interface. Once Tag Manager code has been added to your project, you can safely and easily deploy analytics and measurement tag configurations from a web-based user interface.

For advanced users, Tag Manager adds greater customization, broader reach, and centralized management, but it does introduce much greater complexity compared to the more established Google Analytics method.

Manual Configuration (Advanced)

This connection method allows you to configure the Google Analytics Add-On connection manually rather than using OAuth. This is useful when working on a client’s site or when it is impractical to log in to the Google account to connect to Google Analytics. You can use the Manual Configuration connection method with all three connection types: Google Measurement Protocol, Google Analytics, and Tag Manager.

Further Information

For more specific information on setting up your Gravity Forms Add-On connection types, refer to this article.

Here are a few external references to add to your education on Google Analytics technologies.