GA4 – What You Need to Know
2023 brings a lot of changes for data analysis. Perhaps the most significant is Google’s doing away with the Universal Analytics platform and switching to Google Analytics 4 for good by July 2023.?
But is it that big of a change? And are you and your business ready for it??
When it comes to ecommerce, the importance of data analytics cannot be overstated. You need good data to make sound business decisions for your ecommerce business to survive and grow.?
And if you want to get good data, you must use good, up-to-date tools like Google Analytics - one of the biggest web analytics service providers today.?
The breadth of Google’s reach cannot be understated. Google Analytics is widely used, holding over 55 percent of the total market share and 74% of the most popular 10,000 websites, according to BuiltWith.com.?
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With the deadline for the complete switch just a few months away, you may wonder, what’s all this about??
Let’s take an in-depth look at Google Analytics 4, how it differs from its predecessor Universal Analytics, its top features, why you should make the switch, and more.
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To start, let’s look at…
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Google Analytics a Very Brief History
?Google Analytics started in April 2005 after Google acquired Urchin Software Corp. They developed their current analytics program based on Urchin on Demand. The current format also stems from ideas from Measure Map, an Adaptive Path product.?
The official Google-branded amalgamation of these services was officially released in November 2005.
Since its initial release, Google Analytics has undergone many changes.
Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is its 4th iteration, and since October 2020, it has been its default installation. As of the time of writing, users still have the option to install Universal Analytics (UA), but that’s only until July 1, 2023.
By that time, they will stop processing new hits on Universal Analytics, and users will have to upgrade to GA4.
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What’s New with GA4?
UA collects data based on page views or events called web sessions and hits. Both first and third-party cookies power this data.
With UA, you must set up Google’s Firebase SDK and parameters specific to the platform to track data from mobile usage.
One of the most significant changes to UA came in 2019 when they introduced the ‘Web + App’ property type. As its name suggests, this combines tracking for both platforms, which has evolved into Google Analytics 4.
?The way GA4 collects data addresses some concerns, such as:
GA4 is more intuitive than UA as well. You often don’t have to configure triggers to track engagements manually.
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Other Notable Changes:
In addition to multi-device tracking and doing away with the third-party cookie, GA4 also changes key metrics.
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????????Bouncer Rate Vs. Engagement Rate
An example is Bounce Rate, which Engagement Rate is replacing. This parameter measures sessions that last longer than 10 seconds, have a conversion event, and have a minimum of 2 page views.
If you are used to reporting using the bounce rate, you will have to change how you go about reporting these new metrics.
Many analysts believe the engagement rate is better at measuring engagement than the bounce rate.
It’s the addition of the time element that has made a difference. For example, in UA, a visitor who took the time to read a 1000-word post was considered a bounce when they were, in fact, engaged.
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????????BigQuery Linking, For Free
GA4 now offers free linking with BigQuery. To do so, you just have to import your data to BigQuery, and you will then have that data available for integration and linking to any platform you want.
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????????Improved Debugging
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GA4 introduces the Debugging View. This new feature allows you to send your test data or events to one property for debugging.
In turn, this helps make troubleshooting so much easier.
The Debugging View will allow you to see the data streams in sequence and check if the metadata is correct on any event. This makes identifying and resolving issues so much faster and easier.
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????????Audience Builder
GA4 has taken the UA Audience Builder and added features such as event scoping, time-based sequences, and duration. They have also thrown in an exclude option, which can be done temporarily or permanently.
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????????Google Ads Linking
Anything you create via Google Ads will be shared with GA4 and vice versa. If you’ve created audiences in your GA4 account, you can access them via your Google Ads immediately.
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This link makes data sharing easier. Especially if you have two different teams working on your Ads and Analytics.
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Why Should You Make the Switch? How Soon?
If you want a year-over-year data comparison, make the switch now. In fact, you should have switched yesterday.
Doing so helps ensure a smooth turnover with your data, and you won’t be rushing to meet a deadline. The change will happen whether it’s something you want or not, and you’ll only be at a disadvantage if you choose to delay switching over.
If you are working with a third-party marketing analytics service, check with them to see if they are already supporting GA4. It’s likely that they are. If they have not done so yet, encourage them to do so and to do so soon.
If you prefer, you can still run UA alongside GA4 until it expires.
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Before You Switch
Backup before you switch.
GA4 will be a blank slate, and it will be, in many ways, a paradigm shift from UA. Simply put, the structure is not the same.
This means you won’t be able to simply import your data from UA into GA4 as the data model is different, which is true for many dimension and metric definitions.
If you want to keep your data from the past, you can export your UA data. Import that data into BigQuery and use Looker (previously known as DataStudio) to visualize it.
Regarding third-party tools, ensure they have been updated to work with GA4. If they are not GA4-friendly, Querybridge is happy to recommend tools and methods that are compatible with GA4.
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What Happens if You Don’t Switch by July 2023?
Well, Google will stop processing any new hits by July 2023, meaning no further data will be available for analysis with UA.
Google guarantees that you will still have six months to access your data history in the UA. This grace period gives you time to migrate over to GA4 should you miss the deadline. But after those six months, your data will be gone too.
Check out GA4 today if you have not done so yet. Don’t worry about giving up Universal Analytics until July 2023. You can run both in parallel.
By switching over now, you can ease into the transition and get to know GA4 while still having UA as your backup.
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How to Set Up GA4?
Most GA4 installations are as simple as copying and pasting a code snippet into your site code or content management system. If you want to track custom events, engagements, or goals on your site, the setup may not be as straightforward, but we can assist. If you want insight into ecommerce performance, you will likely benefit from our help. Feel free to contact us at [email protected] for a consultation on upgrading or transitioning to GA4.
Google has a useful Setup Assistant for less complex websites to help you migrate UA properties over to GA4.
You can find the Setup Assistant here - https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/10312255?
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