Background

We’ve known for years that consumers are interacting with our brands across multiple devices. And for years, marketers have dreamed of the ability to track those cross-device interactions, unlocking the insights that valuable data holds.

Google Analytics’ User ID allowed marketers to do just that, but with one big catch—it’s expensive and complicated to implement. Developers need to code your site to assign a unique User ID to each signed-in site visitor and then tie that Unique ID to data gathered by Google Analytics.

This allows multiple sessions across various devices that match the Unique ID to be pieced together, creating a “picture” of one visitor’s cross-device experience.

However, the high cost and complex implementation pushed cross-device tracking out of reach for all but the brands with very deep pockets, and still left marketers without a good solution for targeting ads to consumers across their devices seamlessly.

This gap in cross-device capabilities has kept marketers chasing their tails, constantly searching for a solid solution while siphoning off precious marketing dollars testing “revolutionary” products that promised results but fell short of their aspirational pitches.

Enter Google Signals.

Solution

Google Signals, introduced in beta in 2019, changes all that. Leveraging Google’s vast product portfolio and their ubiquitous tracking tools (namely Google Analytics and Ad Personalization), Google Signals allows cross-device tracking and ad remarketing with a simple modification to your Google Analytics setup.

How to Implement

Enabling Google Signals is as easy as clicking a few buttons in your Google Analytics property. Seriously.

Learn how to enable Google Signals »

Limitations & Issues

Sounds too good to be true? Admittedly, Google Signals isn’t perfect. Since it’s in beta, there are limitations on how the cross-device data can be used in Google Analytics reports.

There are also some limitations for when cross-device user journeys are tracked. Google Signals relies on the user having Ad Personalization turned on and having logged in to a Google product (Chrome, YouTube, Gmail, etc.) on each of their devices relatively recently.

Read more about the limitations of Google Signals »

Privacy

Cross-device tracking and ad targeting can be an incredibly powerful tool for marketers, but there is a definite creep factor. While no data for individual users is exposed, there is a definite possibility for abuse. Nefarious marketers (or other actors) might attempt to identify individual users within the aggregated data by circumventing protections. Don’t do that.

As with any consumer data, treat it well and secure it properly. Abide by all Google’s remarketing and personalization guidelines, as well as applicable laws. In short, be a good data steward—and a good human.