Gunnar Griese
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I write about advanced digital analytics architecture – from server-side tracking and GA4/BigQuery integrations to privacy-first solutions and AI-powered workflows. This blog documents the technical patterns and enterprise-scale implementations you won't find in standard documentation. If you're looking to push beyond basic tracking and build sophisticated measurement systems that create competitive advantages, you're in the right place.

GTM Server-Side Data Residency - Regional Load Balancers and Cloud DNS Geo-Routing

GTM Server-Side Data Residency - Regional Load Balancers and Cloud DNS Geo-Routing

Yes, yes, I know. It’s been a while since my last post on this blog. Life got busy, projects piled up, Christmas break came up, and writing simply ...

Jan 14, 2026 22 min read
Moving Beyond Basic Conversion Tracking - Engineering Signals for Sustainable Marketing Advantage

Moving Beyond Basic Conversion Tracking - Engineering Signals for Sustainable Marketing Advantage

“What signals are you actually using to optimize your marketing campaigns?” This is the question I’ve started asking clients after witnessing many ...

Sep 16, 2025 6 min read
MCP Servers in Digital Analytics - Levelling Up Your LLM Game

MCP Servers in Digital Analytics - Levelling Up Your LLM Game

This article is a write-up of my talk at MeasureCamp Copenhagen 2025 - thanks to everyone who attended the session and provided feedback. It’s b...

Jun 26, 2025 22 min read
Server-Side Data Enrichment for GA4

Server-Side Data Enrichment for GA4

The data in the digital analytics tool of your choice alone tells only part of your business’ story. That is because actual information isn’t just ...

May 3, 2025 22 min read
GTM Server-Side Pantheon - Part 4 - Bringing AI to sGTM

GTM Server-Side Pantheon - Part 4 - Bringing AI to sGTM

Welcome to the grand finale of our mythological journey through the GTM Server-Side (sGTM) Pantheon! In this fourth and final part on this topic, w...

Dec 8, 2024 14 min read
GTM Server-Side Use Cases - Building your Digital Command Center

GTM Server-Side Use Cases - Building your Digital Command Center

“What are your main use cases for GTM Server-Side?” I repeatedly ask this question (or a variation of it) when entering engagements with clients wh...

Nov 12, 2024 11 min read
GTM Server-Side Pantheon - Part 3 - Integrate A Marketer's Go-To Tools - Google Sheets & BigQuery

GTM Server-Side Pantheon - Part 3 - Integrate A Marketer's Go-To Tools - Google Sheets & BigQuery

Welcome to part three of my ongoing series on the GTM Server-Side Pantheon. In earlier posts, we explored the power of integrating Firestore into y...

Oct 30, 2024 18 min read
GTM Server-Side Pantheon - Part 2 - Supercharge Your Setup with Pub/Sub

GTM Server-Side Pantheon - Part 2 - Supercharge Your Setup with Pub/Sub

In part 1 of this series about Google’s GTM Server-Side Pantheon I started taking you on a journey, during which we’ll discover how to integrate a ...

Oct 3, 2024 17 min read
Confidential Matching – A Breakthrough for Privacy-Conscious Advertising or a Temporary Fix?

Confidential Matching – A Breakthrough for Privacy-Conscious Advertising or a Temporary Fix?

On September 12, 2024, Google announced a new privacy-focused feature called Confidential Matching aimed at advertisers using their Customer Match ...

Sep 16, 2024 11 min read
GTM Server-Side Pantheon - Part 1 - Tapping into the Power of Firestore

GTM Server-Side Pantheon - Part 1 - Tapping into the Power of Firestore

For those who have been following the evolution of GTM Server-Side (sGTM) and Google Cloud Platform (GCP) services, you might recall my early enthu...

Sep 9, 2024 21 min read
Who are my website users? And if so how many? - User IDs in GA4

Who are my website users? And if so how many? - User IDs in GA4

Google Analytics 4 (GA4) can unify your users’ journeys using various methods, like User ID, Device ID, and Modeling. These methods allow GA4 to cr...

Aug 31, 2024 28 min read
Ensuring Data Quality for GA4 at Scale with Google Cloud Platform

Ensuring Data Quality for GA4 at Scale with Google Cloud Platform

Disclaimer: This post of mine was first published on IIH Nordic’s website and has been slightly modified here. Head over there to read it in its...

Jul 5, 2024 15 min read
Mapping GA4 Conversions in BigQuery for Comprehensive Dashboarding

Mapping GA4 Conversions in BigQuery for Comprehensive Dashboarding

Recently, I found myself in a situation where I needed to use Google Analytics (GA4) conversions in BigQuery (BQ) for a dashboarding project. The d...

Feb 7, 2024 15 min read
Consent Mode v2 - A Comprehensive Technical Guide

Consent Mode v2 - A Comprehensive Technical Guide

In fall 2023, the EU has deemed Google as a gatekeeper in the digital space under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), placing it under heightened legal ...

Jan 30, 2024 35 min read
GA4 Client-Side Data Redaction - How to remove PII from your data before you collect it

GA4 Client-Side Data Redaction - How to remove PII from your data before you collect it

In my recent article, I explored the potential of GA4 as a core component in crafting a lightweight Composable CDP. One of the capabilities for a C...

Sep 26, 2023 19 min read
GA4 - The CDP You Didn't Know You Had

GA4 - The CDP You Didn't Know You Had

This article is a write-up of my talk at MeasureCamp Czechia in Prague in September 2023 - thanks to everyone who attended the session and provided...

Aug 12, 2023 18 min read
GA4 Time Travel - Bridging UTC and Local Timezones

GA4 Time Travel - Bridging UTC and Local Timezones

Navigating the intricacies of data in GA4’s raw-data has its own hurdles. A good example is the event_timestamp which is logged in microseconds and...

Aug 9, 2023 8 min read
Debugging Google Analytics Tracking for Mobile Apps - A Guide for Beginners

Debugging Google Analytics Tracking for Mobile Apps - A Guide for Beginners

Are you a digital analyst looking to implement and debug Google Analytics tracking via Firebase for your mobile iOS apps and have no clue where to ...

May 5, 2023 19 min read
Unleash the Potential of PostHog Analytics Platform with Google Tag Manager

Unleash the Potential of PostHog Analytics Platform with Google Tag Manager

In today’s data-driven world, understanding user behavior is crucial for any business. Product analytics platforms like PostHog have emerged as ess...

Apr 10, 2023 7 min read
How to replicate the GA4 Path Exploration report with BigQuery SQL?

How to replicate the GA4 Path Exploration report with BigQuery SQL?

The New Google Analytics (GA4) comes with a new Exploration feature, which allows GA users to deep-dive into their data — beyond the capabilities o...

Oct 23, 2022 5 min read
GTM Server-Side Tagging – Better Data & More Control

GTM Server-Side Tagging – Better Data & More Control

Over the last many months we have been running a series of beta tests and projects for a group of selected clients to get both practical experience...

Aug 21, 2020 7 min read

Gunnar Griese

Independent consultant specializing in digital analytics & analytics engineering. Helping businesses activate their data for measurable results.

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