Switch to Google Analytics 4 now
Switching to Google Analytics 4 can’t wait. On July 1, Universal Analytics will stop collecting data, so if you don’t make the move now, you’ll lose visibility into your data from that date. Your Google Ads campaigns won’t be able to perform at their best either, which means your marketing budget won’t be spent as effectively. In this post, we explain what Google Analytics 4 is and why it’s important to switch.
What is Google Analytics 4?
Google Analytics 4 is the latest version of Google’s popular analytics platform. Since October 14, 2020, Google has described it as the new default version of its software for collecting data and analyzing web traffic. When you create a new property, Google Analytics 4 is used automatically unless you choose otherwise.
Google built this smarter version of Google Analytics to help marketers achieve a better ROI over the long term. It’s based on the App + Web property introduced in beta last year, uses machine learning to generate insights automatically, and gives you information about your customers across devices and platforms.
How GA4 differs from UA
Google Analytics 4 differs from the current Universal Analytics in many ways. Below are the most important differences, though this isn’t an exhaustive list. Google Analytics 4 is constantly being updated, so some of the points below may change over time.
- Google Analytics 4 is event-based, treating every hit as an event. The data model is more flexible, and you no longer need to use ‘event category,’ ‘event action,’ and so on. You can send any custom parameters you want.
- Another major change: if your business has both a website and a mobile app, you can now send data from both to a single property.
- Google Analytics 4 gives you a direct, free integration with BigQuery. In Universal Analytics, this was only available to premium users.
- Google Analytics 4 offers enhanced measurement, tracking more than just pageviews without requiring any changes to your website’s code. Outbound link clicks, scrolling, YouTube video engagement, and other interactions can all be tracked automatically.
- Google Analytics 4 adds several new reports and analysis tools in the Analysis Hub. However, it offers fewer predefined reports than Universal Analytics.
- Finally, some integrations, such as Search Console, aren’t available in Google Analytics 4 yet, though it does open the door to new ones, such as BigQuery.
Why you should switch
Universal Analytics stops collecting data on July 1, so you’ll have to switch either way. But there are several other good reasons to make the move.
- Improved data collection: Google Analytics 4 uses a new data collection method that focuses on users rather than sessions. This gives you a more accurate picture of how users interact across multiple devices and channels.
- Better Google Ads integration: Google Analytics 4 integrates more closely with Google Ads, giving marketers clearer insight into their ad performance and the effectiveness of their campaigns.
- Greater focus on machine learning: Google Analytics 4 uses advanced machine learning techniques to generate insights and predict future user behavior, helping marketers make better data-driven decisions.
- Future-proof: Google Analytics 4 is designed to keep up with the ever-changing digital landscape and privacy regulations, such as the European Union’s new privacy rules (GDPR) and the stricter privacy rules in Apple’s iOS 14.
- Cross-platform reporting: Google Analytics 4 gives marketers better insight into the performance of their website and app, as well as other channels like YouTube and social media. This can help them make informed decisions about allocating their marketing budget.
Pros and cons of Google Analytics 4
Google Analytics 4 has several advantages over the previous version, including automatic alerts for significant trends in your data and the ability to create predictive audiences to improve campaign performance. It also offers detailed customer reports and deeper integration with Google Ads for more valuable insights.
That said, switching to Google Analytics 4 can be challenging, because it measures and analyzes website traffic differently. Drawbacks include the lack of filtering options (other than by IP address), the need for Google Tag Manager to create goals, no way to create separate views, and no way to transfer historical data from the previous version. In addition, some behavioral metrics, such as bounce rate, pages per session, and exit rate, are no longer shown in Google Analytics 4.
Webinar
Not ready to switch to Google Analytics 4 yet?
Our partner Multiply is here to help! On Friday, May 26, at 10:00 a.m., they’re hosting a webinar to walk you through Google Analytics 4. Why should you join?
📊 Starting July 1, you can only collect data with GA4.
📊 You want to keep spending your marketing budget effectively.
📊 You want to stay on top of your data.
📊 You’ll learn the differences between UA and GA4.
📊 You’ll discover the benefits GA4 has to offer.
and…
📽️ You’ll get a tour of the new Google Analytics, so you’ll know exactly where to find your key data and how to use it.
Sign up for the Google Analytics 4 webinar now using this link.
This post was written in collaboration with our partner Multiply
