Monitoring the performance of a website and its components is critical to optimization and growth. For years, Google Analytics has been the favorited tool to help website owners track and analyze key website components and features.
As technology has sped up the personalization and reliance on the digital world and privacy has been a growing concern, it’s unsurprising that Google Analytics got a major upgrade.
Here’s everything you need to know about Google Analytics 4 (GA4), form the new features that will offer deeper insights, how to set GA4 up, and how to use the more detailed data to make smarter marketing and business decisions.
What is Google Analytics 4?
A new analytics experience from Google’s Analytics Suite, Google Analytics 4 is an entirely new kind of data property designed to provide detailed analytics measurement for both web and app visits. The largest difference between GA4 and its predecessor, is that Google Analytics 4 can track both app and web visits in a single property.
GA4 rolled out in the fall of 2020 as an enhanced digital analytics measurement system to replace Universal Analytics (UA). By July 2023, it will be the only option.
But before current Google Analytics users worry, the new cutting-edge features and AI tracking Google Analytics 4 offers may help to improve digital marketing experiences and decisions.
Benefits of Google Analytics 4 New Features
While Google Analytics 4 will be an adjustment for many, with new reporting and dashboard views, it also may help marketers make more effective, intelligent business decisions. The following are potential benefits that may arise from the features GA4 will offer:
- Improved customer journey tracking
- Better user engagement analysis
- More powerful and detailed audiences for targeted ad campaigns
- Smarter user privacy and tracking features that satisfy both a business and its customers
- Enhanced reporting and visualizations to deliver more detailed, impactful insights
- Simpler set up of goals and events
- A broader list of parameters that provide better analysis and optimization
- Account for a decrease in third-party data due to iOS 14 and later updates by using events instead of session-based data
Google Analytics 4 Features
Single source for digital data
As mentioned above, the biggest change with the onset of GA4 is that it offers a single Google Analytics account for both app and website data. This means the single property contains all the data from both sources for a more connected understanding of digital insights.
More secure data experiences
Another big change is that GA4 is designed to account for the iOS 14 and other recent updates that have rolled out since last year. GA4 features privacy controls such as cookieless measurement, and behavioral and conversion modeling.
Uses events and conversions
GA4 also accounts for the loss of third-party data by using events instead of session-based data to help track online behaviors and actions. This helps businesses to learn more about what their audience wants and needs without the consumer feeling spied on. It also allows marketers to easily create new audience segments, leverage predictor audiences and more.
More events, more conversions, and less work
With Google Analytics 4, you get a lot of real-time data to work with.
- You can create and track up to 300 events
- You can create and track up to 30 conversions
What’s even more exciting, is that unlike in years past when you needed a developer every time you wanted something tracked, GA4 takes care of a lot that for you. Between the automatically tracked events and enhanced measurement events, most basic events are already tracked in GA4. You can also create new events in GA4 if you don’t see what you need – simply modify an existing one or place conditions around already tracked parameters.
As for conversions, with GA4 you make them and delete them – 30 of them – anytime and as you need. Universal Analytics only offered you 20 conversions, and those conversions were permanent. With GA4, making the conversions is easier than ever as well. Once you create an event and it’s tracked in GA4, you can toggle it “on” as a conversion.
Predictive audience benefits
Some of the features users love are either updated or improved within the new GA4 setup, but others are brand-new. With Google Analytics 4 you get access to predictive analytics powered by AI.
Once you set up purchase events, Google starts gathering data and creates predictive audiences on your site. And after the audiences are populated, you can access predictive metrics in the Explorations section of GA4, as well as use the predictive audiences as comparative segments throughout your GA4 dashboard.
Customizable reports with better detail
The Analysis Hub of Google Analytics is now called Explorations. And in here, you can create custom reports laid out similar to an Excel spreadsheet. Each tab has its own unique data, and you can also create tables or visuals for cohorts, consumer paths, funnels, and segments.
One of the most helpful new features is the cross-device reporting capability that allows for cross-device user journey development and study.
Once complete, your customized report can be shared, printed or saved as a PDF, or downloaded as an Excel spreadsheet.
Personalize the automated tables view
Another great feature of GA4 is that any Google Analytics 4 Admin can customize the data presented in any of your reports.
While the numerous tables everyone is used to seeing in Universal Analytics are still present, with GA4 you can manipulate them with ease. You can control and adjust the dimensions and metrics used during the reporting session, save the view so it stays that way for you, adjust the chart view and what events you’re currently analyzing.
Anomaly detection identifies significant occurrences
AI technology has also enhanced Google’s ability to identify significant events. Specifically, GA4 offers anomaly detection free. It’s integrated into Explorations, so you can see if something didn’t happen on the site that Google thought would.
Easier way to build and use audience segments
For those who used audience segments in Universal Analytics, the experience was nothing short of frustrating. With GA4 you can make them, use them once and then they can go away. You don’t have to manually delete them anymore. And if you do want to create permanent audience segments, you can do that too via the Configuration screen or by creating a segment in Explorations.
Getting Started with Google Analytics 4
While GA4 isn’t complete yet – there are still some features that need to get built in and optimized from Universal Analytics – it’s a smart move to get it set up now. Third-party data continues to decrease, and GA4 can help businesses account for that and continue to make strategic, data-driven decisions.
For those ready to set up Google Analytics 4, there are three options for how to get started.
Need more help? Start here with Google’s support center or contact The Agnes Anne Agency.
