GA4: What do you need to know?
Estimated Reading Time: 5.6 mins
NOTE: On July 1, 2023, Universal Analytics (UA), a vital tool for you and your team, will be fully retired and users will need to switch to a Google Analytics 4 property.
If you need help with setting up GA4, please contact us and our experts will get in touch with you.
In this post, we will cover what is Google Analytics 4 and what's new in it.
Let's begin!
Table of Contents
1. Based on Events and Parameters
4. Data Storage
What is Google Analytics 4?
Google Analytics 4 is the latest version of Google's web and app analytics platform. It has a brand-new data model with machine learning capabilities, a focus on privacy, and user-centric insights. It helps website owners to track user navigation throughout their websites and mobile applications.
Please take note that starting July 1, 2023, Google Analytics 3 will no longer handle data. Therefore, you should immediately switch to GA4.
Top features of GA4
Google Analytics 4 is a completely different tool and can expect more changes in the coming days.
But for now, let us take a look into the top features of Google Analytics 4!
1. Based on Events and Parameters
The GA4 measurement model is built on events and parameters, with events denoting user actions on a website, app, or other digital platform and parameters offering further details and context.
The measurement approach is built on events, which shed light on user involvement and activity on a property.
For example, a user viewing a product page or adding an item to their cart would be considered an event.
The category of the product viewed or the number of products added to the cart is just two examples of the additional context and information that parameters can provide about events.
Using this, event data may be segmented and analyzed to have a better understanding of user involvement and behavior.
The combination of events and parameters enables more thorough and precise tracking of user behavior, giving businesses a complete picture of user engagement and assisting them in making data-driven decisions regarding their online presence.
2. Cross-device tacking
Tracking users across numerous devices is a challenge for many
marketers. However, it provides cross-device tracking that helps
to track and associate user behavior across multiple devices,
such as laptops, phones, and tablets.
By tracking users across devices, it provides a comprehensive
view of user behavior and engagement, allowing users to better
understand their audience and make data-driven decisions about
their digital presence.
This information can be used to improve
user
experience, target advertising, and optimize marketing campaigns.
3. Improved Prediction
GA4 makes use of machine learning-enhanced prediction metrics, which leverage advanced algorithms to provide insights and predictions based on user behavior data.
These metrics reveal important details on user engagement and behavior, such as their probability to carry out particular actions like completing a purchase or subscribing to a newsletter.
Instead of just relying on historical data or human analysis, Google Analytic 4's usage of machine learning empowers users to make more informed decisions based on data-driven insights. This may result in more effective marketing and optimization techniques, higher conversion rates, and better user experiences in general.
4. Data Storage
It enables you to specify the amount of time you want your data to be kept on Google Analytics servers before being erased.
According to Google's policy, account data in Google Analytics 4 is stored for a minimum of 14 months.
This allows you to view long-term trends and patterns in user behavior and make informed decisions about your website or mobile app. However, you can also choose to retain data for longer periods if necessary.
To keep historical data beyond the 14 months, you’ll have to integrate your Google Analytics 4 data with BigQuery. This method allows you to retain your data in Big Query for as long as you like, but it demands expertise in SQL in order to query your data.
Final Thoughts
We know there are so many other features but we have not covered them in this article as Google Analytics 4's functionalities are constantly evolving.
As we've seen, GA4 brings insights and predictions driven by AI to help you optimize your marketing initiatives. So what are you waiting for, setting up GA4 now
Still, got questions? Please do not hesitate to ask them in the comments box below.
