Blog Post 
December 10, 2014 Let’s say that last Christmas time, you got yourself a free version of Google Analytics (free GA, the Christmas Miracle!) Since then, you’ve been rocking that data and begun to optimize your business with all the golden information at your fingertips. Thanks to your tech wizardry, fat data is rolling in and business is booming.
Your next step? Take a breath and make the jump to the Premium Edition of Google Analytics.
Phew. That’s a big commitment and will require a persuasive meeting with the boss.
Remember now. Santa (Google) is watching, and he (they) know who’s been naughty, and who’s been nice. Find out your naughty level here.
The alternative to premium?
Well, you could risk your data being sampled, and or you could get shut down. No data = bad. Sampled data = bad data.
That’s like coal in your analytics stocking.
At Analytics Pros, we work regularly with many customers whose sites exceed 10mm hits per month. Though we haven’t seen Google bring the axe down once the 10mm line is crossed, it’s not a good idea to push your luck, and our analytics guru Caleb Whitmore reminds us with three reasons why.
1) It’s a Terms of Service Violation: (That’s Naughty, Not Nice)
If you care about good data and good business, using a service in violation of the terms is never a good idea. It’s kind of like ordering water at a fast food joint but pouring yourself lemon-lime soda at the self serve station–except, you know, a way bigger deal. It’s not nice. Don’t do it.
2) You Might Get the Boot from Google
If you’re over the data limit, Google is well within their rights to enforce it’s Terms of Service. To comply with terms when you’re over the 10 million hits per month limit of Standard GA, there are two not-s0-great options. You will either have to reduce the volume of data that you send (using sampling at the collection level in your tags or Google Tag Manager settings – and trust me, this is the nuclear option and you want to avoid it), or Google can limit processing or even data access. While it it may seem pretty un-googley to get booted, you can’t game a company’s service terms indefinitely without an undesirable outcome.
3) Data Sampling
If your traffic is over 10mm hits per month, or even when you’re under it but have a lot of sessions (over 500,000 to be exact), exceeding the collection limit isn’t your only concern. Data sampling and the lack of customization in your Google Analytics should be high on your list too. Once you have all that wonderful traffic coming in, you need to be able to measure and understand it well. But at those volumes you’re certainly running into sampled data within the reporting interface, which has many problems.
At the end of the day, being over your data limit is a problem. You’re unlikely to just get cut off without warning by Google but, you know, you can’t expect free lunch forever. Take action now to follow Google’s Terms of Service – if you’re over the limit, either reduce data volume you send, move to Google Analytics Premium, or just don’t use Google Analytics at all (gasp!). And more, think about the overall business value of Digital Analytics. IF you’re looking at a tool like GA and the possibility of having to pay for it as a cost-center, then you’re looking at it all wrong. Analytics is a profit-center, when done correctly.
First, check if you’re over your GA volume limits with this handy-dandy tool.
Next, get your New Year business resolutions started right and look to further explore your Google Analytics Premium options. Let’s talk.