Google Analytics 4 (formerly called “App+Web”) is the new version of the popular platform for analyzing website usage data that promises to be a real revolution. This is not a minor change from GA3 (Universal Analytics), but a real rethink from the tool’s starting canons. The tool, rethought for the occasion, revolves primarily around user tracking, rather than fragmented device or platform tracking: the ultimate goal is to analyze the entire customer lifecycle, from landing on the site to retention.
For now, we can make use of both Google Analytics and GA4, but not for long: as of July 1, 2023, it will no longer be possible to use the old Universal Analytics properties, which will stop recording data. Stored data will be set aside for six months and it will be necessary to upgrade to the new GA4 version.
Google Analytics 4 is the new platform designed to meet the challenges associated with modern data analysis, but learning to use it with mastery is also a challenge.
At first glance, however, the new tool appears less intuitive to use than the previous version, and it is not easy to become familiar with the new configuration.
Why should we learn to use this spartan, revamped configuration as opposed to the easy configuration with which we are already familiar? Because it has many new features that will come in handy! And also because as of July 1, 2023, the standard Universal Analytics properties will no longer process data. A good reason to activate new properties now with c
Google Analytics 4: what’s new
GA4 is a more predictive analytics-oriented platform than the previous version, places more emphasis on events and appears more precise and powerful in measuring data. The tool is also more privacy-friendly, in fact users’ IP addresses are no longer stored.
The platform distributes data according to these classifications:
- data model: whereas Universal Analytics was focused on sessions, the new version is based on event analysis.
- the interface appears more minimal, but a reduction in screens is not matched by greater ease of use.
- appearance of Data Steam instead of views
- measurement of engagement instead of bounce rate
An important difference with the previous version is that GA4 makes up for the lack of data due to the fact that some users block cookies, with a machine learning system that introduces predictive analytics to fill the gap of missing data. This makes up for the limitations introduced by compliance with Privacy Laws by providing views based on plausible simulations of user behavior and preferences.
Incidentally, Google Consent Mode is the new standard in interaction on privacy preferences set by users.
You’ll soon notice that bounce rate and pageviews have been set aside, in favor of events placed much more prominently. The new configuration has been rethought to collect both app and website data under a single property, so that we can work on a decidedly fruitful set of information to interpret user behavior in its entirety to enhance the effectiveness of marketing actions.
At the level of functionality, we can see that already at the visual level the interface of the new version has significant differences from the previous one. New graphical changes will probably be introduced in the coming months with the aim of reducing the perceived differences between the two configurations.
With the new platform, it is possible to measure engagement indicators such as:
- average time of involvement
- engagement sessions per user
- average time of engagement per session;
We note that the concept of view has now been replaced by that of data stream. The stream ID uniquely identifies a data stream from a given platform.
The “Explore” section, which allows the creation of much more complex and customizable reports; Also enhanced is the linking between domains as well as the evaluation in Ecommerce functions. A Debugview version is also introduced to monitor the proper functioning of tracking within the tool.
Google Analytics 4: event management
A relevant new feature of the new version of Analytics is the no longer session-based, but event-based approach. What this means.
All hits are considered events (in the previous version there were also other types of hits, such as pageview).
With the new version it is possible to track events automatically, without the need to configure Google Tag Manager. Data tracking therefore appears free and accessible to all. Goals are replaced by conversions, which can be configured only through events, and new events can be created directly from the GA4 interface.
Currently, the platform has 4 categories of events:
- automatically monitored events (they do not require any implementation other than the activation of Google Analytics 4);
- enhanced measurement events (enhanced measurement events) that must be specially configured
- recommended events: must be independently activated at the code level from the default parameters
- custom events: they must be independently activated and have no predefined Google parameters.
Thanks to GA4, it is possible to configure tailor-made advanced audience segments with relative ease, which is useful for dividing customers into purchase brackets, for example.
How to migrate to Google Analytics 4
From your admin panel you will see enabled the ability to upgrade to the new Google Analytics 4 version. At the end of the procedure: a new Google Analytics 4 property will be generated; the pre-existing one will remain unchanged and will continue to collect data
Google Analytics 4: what’s new
Data analytics is a key resource for SEOs and marketers who want to touch on the performance of their website. This is a paradigm shift that is not exactly painless and will require some adaptability.
Google Analytics 4 turns out to be a platform designed to make big data available for anyone to improve their analytics processes with artificial intelligence, with the ultimate goal of making it increasingly user-friendly.
However, the platform’s interface is still immature. In fact, quite a few users claim that the current interface model is not very user-friendly, although others praise its orientation toward events that make it more fruitful from a data measurement point of view. Changes will certainly be introduced in the coming months to make it more user friendly.
GA4 meets the needs for full customization of data analysis. There is no rigid configuration to be adopted at all costs; we can create events with the names we prefer (provided, of course, that we can follow the creation procedure correctly.
Better implementation of data from Google Ads and Youtube will also be provided.
This platform still seems to be improving, and the possibilities for data analysis have yet to fully open up.
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