The Future of Analytics: Here’s What You Need To Know About Google Analytics 4

The digital marketing world is abuzz (and has been!) with talks of Google Analytics 4 (GA4)—Google’s newest analytics service. As the adoption deadline looms closer for Universal Analytics users, it’s important to understand the changes GA4 will bring. We'll explore what GA4 is, why marketers should adopt the change, and answer a few frequently asked questions about the next generation of analytics.

What is Google Analytics 4?

Step 1: What on Earth Is WCAG? Google Analytics 4 is the latest version of Google's analytics tool. It's built on a new platform that uses machine learning and predictive modeling to give you a better understanding of your customers. With GA4, you can track traffic and user behavior across multiple devices and platforms, including mobile apps and websites.

Why should marketers adopt GA4?

Cross-platform tracking

GA4 allows you to track user behavior across multiple devices and platforms, including mobile apps and websites. This is becoming more important as people increasingly use multiple devices to access the internet.

Improved privacy

GA4 is designed to be more privacy-friendly than the previous version of Google Analytics.

Better insights

GA4 uses machine learning and predictive modeling to give you a better understanding of your customers. This can help you make more informed decisions about your marketing strategies and improve your ROI.

Future-proofing

GA4 is the future of Google Analytics. As more and more people use multiple devices and platforms to access the internet, event-based tracking is likely to become the standard for web analytics.

Frequently asked questions about GA4:

Can I use GA4 and the previous version of Google Analytics at the same time?

Yes, however, we recommended that you transition to GA4 as soon as possible to take advantage of its improved features and insights. Universal Analytics will sunset on July 1, 2023, and the historical data will only be live for about 6 months afterward.

Will we be able to access our historical Universal Analytics data after the transition?

Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is a completely new platform, and not an update to the existing Universal Analytics (UA) platform. Therefore, any data collected on UA will not automatically transfer to GA4.

Universal Analytics will sunset on July 1, 2023, and the historical data will only be live for about 6 months afterward. If you want to save this data or have access to it in GA4, there are options available.

Will GA4 track the same data as the previous version of Google Analytics?

The same tracking will be available in GA4 with a little elbow grease as the process to digest the tracking (and implement it) is wildly different. GA4 has some built-in tracking features including video plays, scroll tracking, and data on button clicks, but to get a deeper level of analysis, like which button was clicked, custom tracking needs to be created. Because the structure of event tracking is different in GA4, tracking will need to be reproduced before the time of transition. 

How do I set up GA4?

GA4 accounts were automatically created in March 2023 for anyone who hadn’t yet adopted, but Mission is happy to review the account setup and configuration for our clients. Google’s full setup guide is another great resource for getting your account up and running.

Google Analytics 4 is a powerful tool that provides detailed and accurate insights into user behavior. With its cross-platform tracking, improved privacy features, and machine-learning capabilities, GA4 is an exciting and welcome change!