The migration of tracking tools is a delicate process that can have serious consequences for the accuracy and security of the data processed and collected. It's a key moment for your website, and can happen in a number of ways. To make this migration a success, safely and efficiently, here are 3 best practices to implement.

#1 Deploy your analytics solution continuously 

We're not talking about implementing and testing your entire tagging plan in one go. That's time-consuming, inefficient and risks losing granularity and quality.

The right approach is to deploy the new Web Analytics tool tool and carry out your test plan on an ongoing basis. Think of this deployment as a series of sprints, going live as soon as a new tag or variable becomes available.

Test and monitor updates in real time

To carry out your tests, take advantage of platforms that enable you to check that your Tags are triggered correctly, thanks to a scenario run daily.

These tools check the presence and accuracy of tags in your tagging plan and data layers. You can create trigger sequences and choose the frequency of action (for example, with a trigger every minute).

Let's take a concrete example Your team sets up a new GA4 event in Google Tag Manager, then puts it into production. Then it's up to you to test the tag's triggering! All this can be controlled via a dashboard, as on Governance Manager.

#2 Decommission old tags to control the data collected

Another important tip: when your tracking migration is complete, remember to remove all old tags. It's not uncommon to forget to decommission remnants of the old tagging plan.

This gives rise to two main problems:

1. RGPD : the tracking of these Tags can be triggered, without you being able to control your RGPD compliance ;
2. Performance: these forgotten tags can impact website performance, consuming resources unnecessarily.

The best practice is to scan the site and decommission the old Tags. You can also use a governance platform:

• launch an audit to list all the tools present;
• delete unwanted configurations in the TMS ;
• remove lines of code and Data Layers from leftovers.

#3 Include local specificities in your branding plan

A common reference document

Your branding plan is the translation of your marketing plan. It therefore represents your company's strategic choices, to be shared with all your countries of operation and all the teams involved in tracking.

As your company may be affected, it is essential to set up a shared base of collected data, equipped with a common repository.

Then plan to take into account local specificities, thanks to Tags and variables by locality and by brand. In concrete terms, for each country in which you operate, you'll have different demands and pathways from your local customer base, and therefore different data to adjust.

Best practice: the pilot country It is important to designate a pilot countrywhich will act as a sponsor, taking the lead and testing tracking. Based on the progress made in this country, best practices are then deployed in other countries. This approach helps you to :  - Modulate according to the constraints of site size (starting with a lighter site) and human resources (starting with a larger team). - Set up rules for each country locally (with automated alerts).

Some examples of localized performance indicators

Localized performance indicators, or KPIs, include product quantity, number of products, SKUs, etc., with granularity by site. In addition, some KPIs need to be localized to measure a specific audience and its characteristics: 

• number of visitors, 
• source of traffic, 
• satisfaction rate, 
• conversion rate, 
• brand sales...

The migration of your tracking tool is a strategic moment, during which all your teams are mobilized. Consult our tips for an overview of analytics migration methodology.