Content Strategy Tracking
Your GA4 tracking automatically includes custom dimensions on every page view.
ℹ️ How It Works: Each page/post in WordPress has content strategy metadata (set in the editor sidebar). This metadata is automatically sent to GA4 with every event, allowing you to analyze performance by content type, intent, and topic.
Custom Dimensions Sent to GA4
| Parameter Name | Description | Example Values |
|---|---|---|
post_type | WordPress post type | page, post, project, etc. |
altc_primary | ALTC Strategic Lens (Authority cluster) | AI-First SEO, Conversion Optimization, etc. |
altc_topic | ALTC Topic (Specific focus area) | Content Strategy, Technical SEO, UX Design, etc. |
content_intent | User search intent for this page | informational, commercial, transactional, navigational |
content_purpose | Content role in your strategy | pillar, service-page, supporting, case-study, conversion-hub |
pillar_page | Parent pillar/service page | Page title of linked pillar |
pillar_type | Type of parent | pillar, service, none |
service_pathway | Service/Product pathway page | Page title of linked service pathway |
content_plan | Content workflow status | approve, testing, revise, merge, archive |
content_maturity | Content Maturity Level | beginner, intermediate, expert, advanced |
lead_tier | Lead Quality Tier (Form-based) | hot, warm, cold, unknown |
lead_type | Lead Type (Form-based) | quote_request, contact_form, newsletter, etc. |
cta_label | CTA Label (Form context) | Text of CTA clicked before form submission |
cta_location | CTA Location (Form context) | Section where CTA was located (header, footer, atf, etc.) |
cta_type | CTA Type (Form context) | main, micro, assist, unknown |
🆕 ALTC Dimensions (Green Rows): Authority-Led Topic Clusters (ALTC) parameters help track how your strategic content clusters perform. These allow you to measure the effectiveness of your authority positioning and topic targeting strategy.
📝 Form Context Dimensions (Yellow Rows): Lead tier, lead type, and CTA context (cta_label, cta_location, cta_type) are automatically captured on form submissions. These help you understand which CTAs and content sections drive conversions. Note: CTA dimensions are only sent with form_submit and generate_lead events.
📈 How to Use These Dimensions
1. Register Custom Dimensions in GA4
- Go to GA4 → Admin → Custom Definitions → Create Custom Dimension
- For each parameter above, create a dimension:
- Dimension name: Content Intent (user-friendly name)
- Scope: Event
- Event parameter: content_intent (exact parameter name)
- Repeat for all parameters
💡 Pro Tip: Prioritize the ALTC dimensions (altc_primary, altc_topic, content_maturity) if you’re using the Authority-Led Topic Clusters strategy. These provide powerful insights into how your strategic positioning affects conversions and engagement.
2. Use in Reports & Explorations
- Analyze by intent: See which content types drive conversions
- Topic performance: Compare engagement across topics
- Pillar effectiveness: Measure supporting content impact
- Optimization ROI: Track before/after optimization changes
3. Example Reports You Can Build
- Conversion rate by
content_purpose(which page types convert best?) - Engagement by
content_topic(which topics are most popular?) - Form submissions by
pillar_page(which pillar drives leads?) - CTA clicks by
optimization_status(do optimized pages perform better?) - 🆕 ALTC Cluster ROI: Conversion rate by
altc_primary(which authority clusters convert?) - 🆕 Topic Performance: Engagement by
altc_topic(which topics resonate most?) - 🆕 Maturity Targeting: Bounce rate by
content_maturity(are expert articles engaging?)
⚠️ Important: Custom dimensions can take up to 24 hours to appear in GA4 after registration. Historical data is NOT backfilled – only new events will include them.
🌱 GA4 Event Seeding
⚠️ Events Not Yet Seeded
Your GA4 event taxonomy hasn’t been initialized yet.
Why Seed Events?
With low traffic, natural event registration could take months:
- ⏳ First form submission might not happen for 4-8 weeks
- ⏳ Meeting bookings could be 2-3 months apart
- ❌ Can’t set up conversions or attribution until events fire
- ✅ Seeding registers all events immediately
What Happens When You Seed?
- Script fires each event once with zero-value test data
- GA4 registers event names within 30 seconds
- Events appear in Admin → Events within 24 hours
- You can mark conversions and build funnels immediately
- All seed events are clearly labeled and filterable
ℹ️ Note: If your IP is excluded in GA4 filters, you won’t see the seeding in Realtime reports. But the events ARE being sent and will appear in Admin → Events.
🔍 Filter Seed Events in Reports
To exclude seed data from reports, use this filter in GA4 Explorations:
event_label does not contain "[SEED]"
