David Fous
Web Analytics & Automation
About David
At Archetix I mainly focus on web analytics: from designing the measurement and the data layer, through implementing tracking with GTM, all the way to alerting and automation on Google Cloud.
Before Archetix I worked purely on implementing Google tools. Within a few months here I learned to work with dozens of new ones, and every day brings requests for more. I love learning how these systems work in depth, so that I understand them better and can offer our clients more than the basic setup: features that help their business grow, and training on how to use them.
My daily work includes both quantitative and qualitative data analysis. For the quantitative side I build Looker Studio reports on data from GA4, BigQuery, server logs and the client’s own systems. Wherever it’s needed, I get hold of the data and shape it until it tells me where the problem is. For qualitative analysis I mostly use Smartlook and, more and more, Microsoft Clarity. I only got to know these tools at Archetix, and I quickly fell in love with their session recordings and heatmaps. Clients then get a quantitative report showing general trends and gaps, plus a qualitative overview from recordings and heatmaps, with separate levels of detail for managers and for developers.
Favourite tools and services
If I didn’t mention GTM, I’d feel like I wasn’t doing my job properly. Since the start of my journey in adtech, GTM has been the tool I fell for. Its simple, clear interface let me get going fast, and its advanced options, such as custom JavaScript and templates, keep the work fun. Server-side GTM builds on top of it, and that is where the future of measurement lies. I got into it much more here at Archetix, and I look forward to every new setup and improvement we can make for clients through server-side tracking.
Working with Archetix lets me spend time on things that interest me, which is how I got to Google Cloud, mainly Google Cloud Functions. I have extended our existing automations, both for internal needs and to make our clients’ work easier, and developed completely new functions that could one day help not only us but the whole industry.
In general I like innovation and the chance to learn and get better at any new tool, so whatever ends up under my fingers, I quickly grow fond of.
How did it all start?
Three years before Archetix I had never heard of web analytics, and it certainly didn’t occur to me that this could be the field where I’d find so much joy and my future. I’m lucky to have a talent for technical things, and I pick up new tools and processes very quickly. Thanks to that I moved fast from supporting small clients to the biggest ones, and then to a role where I handled consultations on the most complex problems and trained people on new and existing tools, internally and externally.
Because I rose so quickly in my previous job, I reached a point where I had little room to grow further, in my career or personally, in marketing and analytics. As a support specialist I helped Marek solve a Google Ads problem for one of his key clients. I was already looking for other options, and I liked Marek’s way of thinking and his approach to work, so I wrote to ask whether they were looking for someone like me. The universe smiled at me. Soon I was smiling too: we clicked on everything, and my journey as an architect began.
Hobbies and interests outside work
If I had to define myself by a single interest, not only I but also my friends would say “World of Warcraft”. Maybe not my best trait, but it’s the truth. Gaming is something I fell for as a kid: first Game Boys, puzzles and board games, today PC games. I discovered WoW around 2006 at a friend’s place. The moment I saw his character jumping over giant pumpkins in a field, I knew I had to play it. My parents thought that buying a game and then paying for it every month was money thrown away, and I agree, but you can’t put a price on fun! A few years later my friends and I got into programming and found out we could run our own WoW server, and from then on I was hooked. I only got to the official version around 2016, when I had my first long-term job and could buy whatever I wanted. In this game I’ve met hundreds of people from many countries, I’m still in touch with lots of them and have even met several while travelling. The biggest thing the game brought into my life is my girlfriend, and we still play together whenever we have a free moment.
Besides gaming I love nature, above all hiking in the mountains and forests. In the city I walk 10 km and I’m tired, but out in nature something gives me energy, and even after 20 km I want to keep going. Nature, away from the noise of the city and the crowds, is my ideal way to relax and recharge.
