Overview, immediacy, control and knowing the audiences –value propositions and their failure in Google Analytics Dashboard

This study scrutinises web analytics, specifically Google Analytics, in its capacity to support content creators in understanding user behaviour and improving digital communication. Google, with its different versions of web analytics software, is dominating the market in collecting and analysing web traffic statistics, and has thus become a central part of how digital environments can know their users. We use the concepts of transcoding culture and social imaginaries to show the importance of scrutinising the value propositions ingrained within the web analytics dashboard. Despite the excitement and fear related to Google knowing too much about the people behind the screens, the analysis shows that Google Analytics 4 strug­gles to provide a comprehensive understanding of audi­ences. Focusing on the four value propositions – overview, immediacy, control, and knowing the audience – we argue that Google Analytics overstates its understanding of audiences. It is in the interest of Google to hyperbolise knowledge about the audience, even with potential privacy concerns, as it supports the social imaginary of an all-knowing digital platform. Thus, a critical and nuanced approach to web analytics, considering their impact on society and privacy concerns, is needed to balance the discussions.