Google has announced that your business needs to switch from Universal Analytics to Google Analytics 4 by July 1, 2023. From this date forward, the current Google Analytics on your website will stop working.
So, what exactly does this mean for your digital marketing?
We sat down with our in-house marketing experts, Pin Low & Dom England, to gather all the information you need to know.
First off, what exactly is Google Analytics 4?
Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is the most recent version of Google Analytics, soon to be replacing Universal Analytics as the ‘gold standard’ of analytics. GA4 takes Google Analytics to the next level with the integration of machine learning. This will help you better understand and model the behaviour of your website users and gain insights that can help you optimize your website experience.
Privacy regulations are beginning to dictate how web-tech businesses such as Google and Facebook can use personal information. In the past by using “cookies” in web browsers, these companies could gather swathes of personal information. As a privacy-first tracking tool, GA4 will phase out cookies in the near future.
What's the difference between GA4 & Universal Analytics?
GA4 introduces "events-based" analytics" to replace the current "session-based tracking" used in Universal Analytics. Session-based tracking measures the actions a user takes during a website visit, while events-based tracking looks at each individual action. This provides more control over what actions and events are tracked and protects user privacy. For example, if a user submits a form three times in one session, Universal Analytics counts it as one submission, while GA4 counts three separate submissions. GA4 also offers upgrades like engagement rates and integrated machine learning.
This update will impact pretty much everything to do with your website analytics, especially tracking the performance of your website and any marketing campaigns generating website traffic.
How to make the switch
While installation is similar to Universal Analytics, configuration may be challenging due to differences in session and event models. Some conversions that were easily configured in Universal Analytics will require custom code in GA4. Additionally, metrics have changed and there are new metrics altogether, which will take some time to learn for analysis and reporting. Though GA4 has fewer pre-made reports, it has a larger reporting tool that allows for easier customization.
To switch to GA4, go to the admin section of your Universal Analytics account and click on GA4 setup assistant. If you don't have a Universal Analytics account, you can create a GA4 account on analytics.google.com. Installation is similar to Universal Analytics, and there are tutorials available online.
After setup, configure your data stream and options like data collection, retention, and filters. Within 24 hours, data should start flowing into your GA4 property, allowing you to refine your setup and explore the reports and data tools.
Key points to consider:
Learning curve: GA4 has a new way of collecting and showing you information, so it might take a bit longer to understand how it works, and all the wonderful features it comes with.
Limited Support: GA4 is still evolving, so there isn't as much help available as there is for Universal Analytics. Don’t let that discourage you from learning though, as there are helpful tutorials and articles across the web.
Compatibility: Some other website tools you might use with Universal Analytics won’t work directly with GA4. However, as we near closer to the July deadline, more companies will release tools and plugins that support GA4.
Moving: To use GA4, you need to move your information from Universal Analytics, and that can be tricky to do correctly. In many cases, simple websites and Universal Analytics setups will easily migrate to GA4, but more complex websites and tracking setups will definitely take some work to migrate correctly.
Our advice: We recommend you have GA4 set up early and collecting website data so that come July you will have data to analyse and compare with your existing platform.
Shifting to GA4 is necessary if you want to improve your understanding of your website users and make informed decisions about your website experience.
At Mint, we're always looking for ways to improve and stay on top of the latest technological advances so that we can help our team and business community be better. If you’re looking for more personalised digital marketing advice, get in touch with our team today.
