I first started writing about Google Analytics and Etsy in 2014… over a decade ago. Back then, both of those platforms – and my own life – were very different from where they are now!

As I began to sell on Etsy as a maker myself, I enjoyed being able to transfer some of my technical know-how to help the community make the most of an often overwhelming and under-utilised tool: Google Analytics. And I was proud to get feedback that my insights and instructions were actually helpful to many people!

Hearing that my work made something “click” for so many sellers just hit the spot for me in a way that very little in my career had done before.

But times have changed.

I no longer sell on Etsy, or any ecommerce platform. Without using Etsy myself, I don’t have insight into how that platform is developing over time, the latest features or the current controversies.

I still use Google Analytics in my day job, but a lot less frequently. The change to GA4 was so significant that I simply don’t use it enough these days to “catch up” my experience to where it was with Universal Analytics.

It’s very hard to be an expert in something without direct experience. I could still apply my past knowledge, technical background and knowledge of GA4 so far to translate tricky generic GA articles into instructions that make more sense to makers… but it wouldn’t be the same. I wouldn’t know the nuance, the catches, the exceptions. What to ignore or what to pay particular attention to in the Etsy/GA context.

I couldn’t test it myself.

I wouldn’t know it’s correct.

In the era of Artificial Intelligence, it seems more important than ever to produce content that the reader can 100% trust. That we don’t have to second guess whether some small element is actually true or just “felt likely” to the statistical model.

So if I can’t produce tested, trustworthy advice and instructions, then there’s no way I can keep “making things click” for makers: the whole point of the Artisan Analytics project.

The future of Artisan Analytics

In January 2027, ArtisanAnalytics.com.au will be taken offline, including all articles, guides and resources.

Why not keep an archive? Most articles and instructions get out of date quickly if I can’t maintain them. And if I can’t continue to build a body of articles available to searchers (including AI tools) then there’s no real benefit to keeping the few evergreen guides hosted where nobody will stumble across them! Hosting costs money…

Personal information, including email subscriptions and transaction history, will be deleted permanently.

PDF copies of paid resources (past and present) will be available on request (before and after the shutdown) to anyone who purchased in the past.

I’ll be contactable on lesley@lesleyhays.com or LinkedIn.

Thank you

Thank you so much to everyone who has ever commented, emailed me, bought a product or booked a consultation. It was a pleasure to help you get something done, understand a concept (finally!) or figure out an insight about your business.

I wish you all the best of luck with your craft, your businesses and your futures – whatever they may entail.