Google Analytics 4 – Everything You Need to Know About the Next Analytics Evolution

Today’s businesses are data-driven, with analytics reporting playing a fundamental role in how we understand customer journeys and experiences through multiple platforms and channels. As a result, Google’s analytics tools have evolved to provide more comprehensive and actionable insights from your databases – and that brings us to Google Analytics 4, launching in 2023. Here’s everything you need to know about how it works and how to use it.

What is Google Analytics 4?

In 2023, GA4 will take over from GA3 (Universal Analytics). While GA4 has been around for about 2 years now, it will become the sole version of Google Analytics next year. Many organisations are still running Universal Analytics but will have to switch over to GA4 for analytics soon. This means that although Universal Analytics will be available until July 1^st next year, it’s critical to learn how to use GA4 now, so you’re ready to make the switch. Change isn’t always easy, but with a great guide, it will always be rewarding!

What’s the difference?

So, what does GA4 offer you that Universal Analytics doesn’t?

• Streamlined dashboard – Dashboards are incredibly valuable for getting easily digestible and actionable data at a glance. And the simpler, more customisable, and more accurate they are, the better! GA4’s dashboards are more streamlines, with easy navigation buttons for moving between Home, Advertising, Library, Explore, Reports, and Configure functions. At the bottom of your dashboard, Google supplies predictive insights based on powerful AI functions for instant action.

• Measurements are now events – The events modelling gives you a more flexible model to play around with and see all the unique interactions users are experiencing with your content. Not only can you check page views, but also scrolls, outbound clicks, site searches, video engagement, and file downloads – all as detailed events. In addition, you also get access to engagement metrics like engaged sessions, engagement rate, and engagement time, so you can see where you’re drawing the most interaction.

• Predictive insights – Looking at current and past behaviour is a useful resource, but it’s not always easy to take that information and make forecasts. Predictive insights, using AI metrics like churn probability, revenue prediction, and purchase probability, GA4 supplies the insights you need to make forecasts more quickly and accurately than ever before. This is essential to shaping ads and social media campaigns to target the right audience, as well as creating custom funnels to channel these customers.

• Cross-platform analysis – Today’s businesses are multi-platform and customers may switch between channels throughout their journey, so GA4 tracks the entire customer experience as a whole rather than tracking channels individually. From acquisition and engagement to monetisation and retention, you get a comprehensive overview of this journey, however they interact with your channels.

• Improved integrations – New features allow for better integration with Google services, including Ads, Search Ads 360, and Display & Video 360. This makes it much easier to optimise marketing campaigns, pulling data and predictive insights across platforms to make better decisions about your content, who it is targeting, and the funnel that brings them to the sales line.

• Privacy – Privacy is an important concern for consumers and it’s essential for organisations to protect customer data and stay compliant at every point of contact. GA4 achieves this without depreciating the value of the data you gather. It doesn’t log IP addresses, won’t transfer data across regions, and uses regional controls to prevent non-compliance with regulations covering the collection of granular device and location data. It also allows your organisation to customise who has access to what data, keeping you in line with privacy policies.

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