There is no denying the fact that Google Analytics is a widely used tool for website analytics globally. Some significant upgrades in Google Analytics are meant to facilitate businesses, SEO experts, and marketers in a better way. Now the latest update that took place was referred to as the Google Analytics 4 or GA4. This next evolution in the world of analytics has great services to offer. So, let’s find out. GA4 is a newly designed aspect of Google Analytics that is future-proof. It has high versatility and offers the collection of data on a mobile app as well as a website. This improved version of Google Analytics is evolved as per the changing world and consumer behavior. There is extensive use of machine learning to gain insights. These insights are further helpful in making better business decisions and uplifting the marketing game like a pro. All in all, GA4 has the ability to showcase the true picture that can result in better ROI.
What’s new in GA4?
1. New data in the new version – Worried about the loss of data while upgrading your Google Analytics account? Be stress-free as GA4 allows you to start afresh with a new session and there will be no historical data within the new property. If you think you prefer some history, then go with our recommendation of using GA4 and Universal Analytics simultaneously. You can continue to use these two together till the time GA4 gets completely upgraded.
2. Goals will become conversions – The game of conversions is uplifted in GA4. Yes, there are no things such as goals in this version. There will be event-based conversions by setting up the auto-capture of more events. Tracking the standard events in GA4 is quite feasible as the link clicks file downloads without a tag manager.
3. Built-in BigQuery integration – There is no need to use a 3rd party to transfer data from Google Analytics to BigQuery. The built-in BigQuery integration in GA4 will facilitate you enough to transfer the data with ease, and it is feasible to set up in a few clicks.
4. Extended segmentation possibilities – One of the best upgrades in GA4 is the segmentation based on events. Since GA4 works on an event-based data model, events can be used in the creation of different segments. Thus, there is an extended segmentation possibility.
5. GA4 is future-proof – Numerous advancements are available in GA4 and the work is not stopped yet. Google is working to make it even better, and the upgrades are still going on. There is significant use of resources in order to enhance the efficiency of this new version of Google Analytics. Undoubtedly, GA4 is future-proof or is going to be.
6. Predictive metrics are a win – User behaviour is very important for any website or business owner. The predictive metrics of GA4 are quite helpful in predicting user behavior. The purchase probability of the user can be predicted by their activity over the last 28 days. These metrics are also helpful in finding out if the user will remain inactive for the upcoming month and how much revenue the website can make in the next month.
7. Debugging reports capability – Another great feature of GA4 is debugging capability. Yes, this inbuilt feature has enabled GA4 to become a debugger. Debugging the reports within the interface is possible, unlike Universal Analytics.
8. Capability of Advanced Analysis – The GA4 interface also has the ability to do advanced analysis. This feature, also known as exploration, is very useful to conduct in-depth analysis within the interface. You can simply use any template of this new version of Google Analytics and do a fast analysis.
9. Automatically tracked events – One of the prominent reasons to switch to GA4 is the possibility to track various events automatically. The common events that can be tracked are downloads, YouTube video engagement, scrolls, etc. There is an option to switch this tracking off in the admin interface.
Benefits of GA4 over Universal Analytics
The foremost difference between GA4 and Universal Analytics is based on measurement, reporting, and automation.
- Beginning from measurement, there is a session-based data model in Universal Analytics, whereas GA4 has a flexible event-based data model. In the case of the session-based model, there is an entire set of data that becomes the foundation of reporting. There are user interactions, page views, and many other things. Things become more generic in this scenario, but in the case of a flexible event-based model, they are specific to an event. It records and sends pieces of the data wherein a user does some action, and this is how consumer behaviour is ascertained.
- The Universal Analytics has standard reports in a comprehensive collection, whereas GA1 has custom reports. Acquisition reporting (important to know how traffic is performing) is basically similar in both versions of analytics, but there are some differences too. There are 30 standard reports available in UA reports, and on the other hand, GA4 has only 3. This means there will be some extra work required in making reports in GA4.
- In terms of automation, GA4 has more advancement since it is the latest version. There is limited automation in Universal Analytics and GA4 has the machine learning to simplify the discovery of insights. Definitely, if automation is the motive, then businesses will prefer GA4 over Universal Analytics.
Should you migrate to it?
We highly recommend you make a switch to GA4 from universal analytics, but not entirely. The foremost reason to make this transition is get benefitted from the learning curve. This new model is offering so much, from new layouts, integrations, tracking, and features. You should grasp the knowledge before it gets late. In fact, you will also need to test its compatibility with your websites and applications. Entire switching is not possible yet because GA4 is yet to be completed. Moreover, once it gets properly updated, then you will have to track down the data from scratch as transferring data from universal analytics is not possible.
Final Thoughts
Not sure where to begin? Well, fret not you can avail the digital marketing facilitation from Work4you. The experts here will assist you with the most updated version of Google Analytics and will guide you on how to use it in your favor. The SEO experts here are aware of the pros and cons of this upgrade and can help you use it efficiently. So, do not wait any further and contact them right away.
