Google Analytics is changing. Are you ready?

15/04/2022

Google Analytics 4 was introduced in October 2020, but many marketers are only now upgrading since the older version, Universal Analytics, will stop processing new hits on July 1, 2023. The reason for the change is that the old methodology of gaining insights is now obsolete, and more sophisticated methods are needed that also guard user privacy. There are numerous benefits of GA4, including better analytics and enhanced tracking. While Universal Analytics will be gradually phased out, the good thing about GA4 is that it can be used with UA. Let’s take a look at some of the reasons an upgrade is essential for your business.

What’s Different?

Event-based GA4: Every hit is treated as an event, so UA features like Timing hits, Pageviews, Transactions and other sorts of insights are not available in GA4.

New data model: The data model used in Google Analytics 4 is more flexible and predictive, using sophisticated AI technology.

Multi-channel data: GA4 allows you to stream data from your business website, mobile apps and other channels to the same property.
BigQuery integration: With GA4, you can stream data directly to BigQuery, including for free accounts.
Improved tracking & insights: You can now track more than just pageviews. Google Analytics 4 allows you to automatically track YouTube videos, scrolling, outbound link clicks, scrolling, and more interactions.

Better analytical tools: GA4 offers impressive analytic tools to all users, such as pathing and ad-hoc funnels.
Historical data is limited: With Google Analytics 4, your data will expire after 14 months.
No more views: Views are no longer available in GA4 since the model is event-based. Some believe it could be added in future, but keep in mind your goals for using Google Analytics for data insights.

Expect fewer reporting capabilities: One of the few downsides to GA4 is that it has fewer reporting capabilities than UA. However, you can still analyse and get reports of your data from outside sources like BigQuery.

How Uncommon Sense Can Help?

Switching to GA4 requires manual setup, so entrust this process to an experienced company like Uncommon Sense. Since the new Google Analytics cannot use historical data, the sooner you get it running, the better so that it can start collecting data immediately. We can help you migrate and optimise your GA account setup. We will also set the tracking configuration on your website to ensure that all critical events are being tracked.