Google Analytics 4: Major Differences and Benefits

As of July 1st, 2023, GA4 replaced Google's Universal Analytics (UA). Colloquially known as GA3, UA had been in operation for over a decade. Eight months later, the question remains: "Why is GA4 so important and what does this change mean for my business?" We're so glad you asked...

Why GA4?

The world of digital marketing is constantly evolving, and customer behaviors change rapidly. In recent years, there has been a shift towards greater privacy concerns, with data protection regulations such as GDPR and CCPA coming into force.

A focus on privacy has made it challenging for businesses to track user behavior online effectively. Google's decision to launch GA4 is, in part, a response to these changes in the industry.

The new GA4 is built on a foundation of machine learning and is designed to help businesses gather insights from their customers' behavior, regardless of the device or platform they are using.

How is GA4 different??

1. The biggest change is that GA4 now utilizes event-based tracking which means that almost every site interaction is treated as an event. Whereas in UA there were specific categories such as “pageviews,” “goals”, and “transactions.” Event-based tracking allows for a more granular and flexible reporting method.?
2. The new platform offers enhanced custom reporting with the ability to save reports or collections of reports and add them to your main view on the left-hand side. This allows you to easily view the data that is important to your goals in a consistent saved view. Along with this, there are more comprehensive filters and additional custom dimensions and metrics available. Want more information on how to optimize custom reports in GA4? Read our full guide here.
3. In GA4, Collections is a feature within the Custom Reports section that allows users to organize and group their custom reports based on specific themes, topics, or areas of interest. Collections serve as containers for related custom reports, making it easier for users to manage and access their reports efficiently.
4. GA4 has session and user-scoped reports. Session scope reports are valuable for understanding the quality of user interactions during a single visit to your website or app. They help you identify patterns in user behavior such as popular landing pages, navigation paths, and conversion funnels. User-scope reports are valuable for understanding the characteristics and behavior of your audience over time. They help you identify trends in user acquisition, retention, and engagement, allowing you to tailor your marketing strategies to target specific audience segments effectively. For example, you can use these reports to analyze user demographics, geographic locations, device preferences, and user lifetime value.

How can GA4 help your programs adapt to economic changes?

GA4 offers real-time reporting which is invaluable when rapid industry changes occur. By utilizing GA4, you can stay up-to-date and adjust your strategies promptly.

GA4 is also a great resource for benchmarking the performance of your various marketing efforts all in one place through their conversion/event tracking and page-level data.

When properly configured, GA4 provides invaluable insights. It allows you to gain a deeper understanding of the performance of each of your programs. However, if accounts are not set up correctly, your data could remain inaccurate for years. At Gemini, we offer GA4 account audits to ensure alignment with Google's best practices. Don't settle for lackluster data. Let us optimize your GA4 setup for accurate data tracking so you can maximize your marketing efforts.?