The world of digital marketing is constantly evolving, and staying ahead of the curve is essential to success. One of the most important tools for tracking website performance is Google Analytics, which provides valuable insights into user behaviour and engagement. While Universal Analytics has been the go-to solution for many years, Google Analytics 4 (GA4) represents a major upgrade that offers a range of new features and capabilities. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at the value of the new GA update and how GA4 can help you to make better-informed business decisions and provide greater accuracy on your digital performance.
For businesses, GA4 aims to deliver a redefined analytical experience, from cross-journey analysis to deeper insights into user behaviour and a more streamlined platform for easy use. Meaning you can make fast and more accurate decisions to optimise your digital performance.
Google states;
“We’re focusing our efforts and investments on Google Analytics 4 to deliver a solution built to adapt to a changing ecosystem. Because of this, throughout 2023 we’ll be shifting support away from Universal Analytics 360 and will move our full focus to Google Analytics 4 in 2024.”
What is Google Analytics 4?
Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is going to provide a more precise understanding and measure of user behaviour and engagement. As well as, a more comprehensive and integrated view of user activity across multiple devices and platforms.
So what’s all the fuss about?
A big difference between the two is the data collection method. Universal Analytics uses cookies to track user behaviour which has begun to see problems as rules and regulations like the GDPR and CCPA require website owners to obtain user consent for collecting and using personal data. Whereas, Google Analytics 4 uses an event-based model that captures data from multiple sources, including mobile apps and offline interactions, providing more accurate analysis and deeper insights into consumer user behaviour than ever before.
What are the key benefits of GA4?
In conclusion, Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is a powerful tool that provides businesses with a more precise understanding of user behaviour and engagement, offering several new features and capabilities that were previously unavailable. With GA4's machine learning capabilities, businesses can uncover valuable insights and identify patterns and trends that may have gone unnoticed in the past. Moreover, GA4 has an improved user interface, expanded reporting capabilities, and better integration with other Google products, making it easier for businesses to analyse their data and make better-informed business decisions. Finally, by upgrading to GA4, businesses can improve their conversion rate and gain a more precise understanding of how to optimise their digital performance.
As Google shifts its support away from Universal Analytics 360 and focuses entirely on GA4 by 2024, businesses need to be ready to make the switch to reap the benefits of this powerful analytics tool.
If you are using Universal Analytics and want to make sure you don’t risk losing your previous data and tags, our in-house experts can help you out here.