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Google Analytics 4: Your ultimate guide.

Google Analytics is an incredibly popular tool that, according to W3Techs, is used by approximately 55.7% of all websites on the internet. Not only does it work in harmony with other Google products like Google Ads and Search Console, but it also provides you with user behaviour insights, traffic and the tools to improve your SEO and content marketing - phew!

Recently, Google announced that Google Analytics 4, a.k.a. GA4, will replace all former versions of Google Analytics, in what Google is calling the “next-generation measurement solution”. From July 1st 2023, Google’s Universal Analytics (UA) will no longer process new hits.

Wondering what this will mean for your business? Let us walk you through it. 

What is GA4?

Quite simply, GA4 is the most up-to-date version of Google Analytics. It cleverly adapts to the ever-evolving standards for using cookies to track user activity and helps you create a tip-top, data-driven marketing strategy for your business. 

As we begin to step into a “cookieless future”, privacy is at the forefront of the new tool and IP addresses won’t be stored. Google has a new emphasis on machine learning, which ultimately closes some of the data gaps you may have encountered before.

So, what can GA4 do, and how can it benefit my business?

There are many features that set GA4 apart from its older counterparts, including:

  • Website and app analytics that will be tracked simultaneously, so you’ll be much more clued up on your customer’s journey
  • You can create tailored, more powerful ads by grouping users into audiences based on actions and attributes 
  • GA4 boasts a shiny new interface that’s easy on the eye and user-friendly once you get the hang of it
  • The focus is on event data instead of sessions; the start of a session to a page view is known as an event, meaning you’ll be able to track more of the customer journey
  • Some of the metrics that we once knew and loved will now be replaced - farewell, bounce rate! You will now be able to measure engaged sessions based on whether they’re a session over 10 seconds, an event conversion or if the session had at least two pageviews. 

When should I make the switch to GA4?

GA4 is ready when you are, so in short, there’s no time like the present! 

We know that change can be very overwhelming, but getting ahead now will keep your business on top of it all. Switching to GA4 months before the deadline allows for a smoother transition, especially since when you move over to GA4, Google won’t be migrating your data. So, if you move over to GA4 now, you’ll be able to use UA and GA4 together - that’s double the data.

Call on Ketchup

So that’s our GA4 round-up! 

Despite the many complexities, our capable experts are poised and ready to help you. In just two hours, we can:

  • Link your Google Universal to Google Analytics 4
  • Set up links to Google Ads
  • Set up new conversions and goals
  • Group your audiences
  • Connect to existing reporting