Clearly

Guides

Practical guides for marketers who own their data.

Platform how-tos, best-practice setup, and the explanations that don't have obvious answers. GA4, Google Ads, Search Console, Merchant Center, and BigQuery.

Cornerstone guides

Platform
Level
GA4 · Beginner

Google Analytics 4 for Beginners

The event model, the four report areas, and the five metrics to read first, in plain English.

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GA4 · Beginner

Sessions vs Users vs Engaged Sessions in GA4

The three denominators behind every GA4 chart, and which one to put in the report.

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GA4 · Beginner

Naming Conventions for GA4 Events

One house style for event and parameter names, so your reports stay readable as your tracking grows. With a copy-paste cheat sheet.

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GA4 · Beginner

Recommended vs Custom Events in GA4: Which to Use

When a Google recommended event beats a custom one, and why the choice changes what GA4 can do for you.

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GA4 · Intermediate

How Many GA4 Events Is Too Many

Event and parameter quotas, the hidden cost of sprawl, and how to audit and prune without losing signal.

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GA4 · Intermediate

GA4 Event Parameters: The Hidden Key to Useful Reports

Parameters are what separate a generic event from actionable data. What they are, how they work, and what you'll regret not setting up early.

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GA4 · Intermediate

Session, User & Item Scopes: When to Use Each

Why the same metric gives different numbers depending on the scope you pick, and how to choose the right one for your question.

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GA4 · Intermediate

Event-Scoped vs User-Scoped Custom Dimensions

Pick the wrong scope and half your rows read "(not set)". How to choose event, user, or item before you register.

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GA4 · Beginner

How to Choose Your GA4 Key Events

Picking the three to five events that actually represent business value, and leaving everything else as a plain event.

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GA4 · Beginner

GA4 Conversions vs Key Events: What Changed and Why It Matters

GA4 renamed "conversions" to "key events" in 2024, but the change affects more than the label. What it means for your reports.

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GA4 · Advanced

Implementing the dataLayer for Optimal GA4 Reporting

The dataLayer is GTM's source of truth. Get the structure wrong and no amount of tagging will fix it. Here's what a clean implementation looks like.

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GA4 · Beginner

GA4 Default Channel Groupings, Explained

What each default channel really means, how GA4 picks one from source and medium, and why good traffic lands in Unassigned.

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GA4 · Intermediate

Brand vs Non-Brand Traffic in GA4

Splitting branded search out of Organic, so a brand spike stops masquerading as SEO success and real growth stops getting buried.

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GA4 · Intermediate

Content Grouping in GA4

Bucket pages into Pricing, Blog, and Product instead of reading four hundred URLs one row at a time.

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GA4 · Intermediate

Grouping GA4 Events Into Conversions

Bundling lead_form_header, learn_more_a and friends into one "Leads" number, without re-tagging and without losing history.

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GA4 · Beginner

Filter Internal Traffic Out of GA4

The IP rule, the two-part mechanism, and the Testing-state gotcha that leaves your own visits in every metric.

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GA4 · Advanced

GA4 Sampling and Thresholds: When Your Data Isn't Your Data

GA4 applies sampling and thresholds silently. Here's how to spot it, what triggers it, and how to work around it.

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GA4 · Intermediate

GA4 Attribution Models Explained: From Last Click to Data-Driven

How you credit conversions changes which channels look effective. A plain-English breakdown of each model and when to use it.

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GA4 · Beginner

UTM Parameters: The Right Way to Tag Your Campaigns

Inconsistent UTM tagging is the most common source of broken channel attribution. A complete reference for teams who want clean data.

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Search Console · Beginner

Google Search Console for Beginners

Clicks, impressions, CTR and average position: what each one means and how they move together.

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Search Console · Beginner

Clicks, Impressions, CTR & Position: A Worked Example

One scenario that shows how the four organic-search metrics move together, and where they mislead.

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Search Console · Intermediate

Why Search Console Clicks Never Match GA4 Organic Sessions

The two numbers will never be equal, and that's expected. Understanding why stops you (and your clients) chasing a phantom discrepancy.

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Google Ads · Beginner

Google Ads Reporting for Beginners

Account structure and the metrics that matter, CTR, CPC, ROAS and CPA, each with its formula.

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Google Ads · Beginner

ROAS, CPA and Conversion Value, Explained

The three numbers clients ask about, with their formulas and how to set sensible targets.

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Google Ads · Intermediate

Building Client-Ready Google Ads Reports

Campaigns, ad groups, keywords: what to show, what to hide, and how to structure reports that tell a clear performance story.

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Google Ads · Intermediate

Connecting Google Ads to GA4: What Flows and What Doesn't

Linking the accounts unlocks auto-tagging, imported conversions, and audience sharing, but some data still doesn't cross over. Here's the map.

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Merchant Center · Beginner

Google Merchant Center for Beginners

The product feed, the offer attributes that drive it, and reading performance by product and brand.

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Merchant Center · Beginner

Free Listings vs Shopping Ads

Same product feed, two placements: where each shows, what it costs, and how to read them.

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BigQuery · Intermediate

BigQuery for Marketers

What the warehouse is for, your first query, and the bytes-scanned cost model, no SQL background needed.

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BigQuery · Advanced

The GA4 BigQuery Export Schema, Explained

What the events_ tables hold, and how to UNNEST the nested event_params into a column.

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Meta · Beginner

Meta Ads Metrics Explained: CPM, CTR, Frequency & ROAS

The four numbers as a chain, not a list: where to diagnose, and why you never average a ratio.

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Meta · Intermediate

Creative Fatigue on Meta: Spot It in Your Numbers

Frequency up, CTR down, CPM up: the pattern that warns you two weeks before ROAS does.

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Meta · Intermediate

The Three Creative Formats Every Meta Ad Set Needs

Square image, feed video, vertical video: the minimum set that unlocks every placement, and the safe zones.

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Meta · Intermediate

Brand vs Performance Creative on Meta

Two jobs, two creative styles, two scoreboards: why judging both by ROAS kills the wrong campaigns.

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