Ahead of the Curve: GA4

Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is the latest version of Google’s popular web analytics tool that provides marketers with powerful insights into user behavior and website performance. When the transition from the long-standing Universal Analytics was announced last year, our firm became early adopters of GA4. As part of our value to Evolve Every Day, we positioned our clients ahead of the curve and fully leaned into the emerging innovation. GA4 is a significant update that introduces several new features and changes the way data is collected, organized, and analyzed.

In this blog post, we’ll dive into the following:

• GA4 overview and subsequent industry impact
• Updated build-out process
• Changes to expect between GA4 vs. Universal Analytics
• How businesses can tap into the full potential of their GA4 data with our support

Overview of GA4

GA4 is designed to provide a more comprehensive view of user behavior across multiple platforms and devices, including mobile apps, websites, and even offline interactions. This update also provides more granular insights into user behavior, including how users engage with specific content on a website, how long they spend on each page, and what actions they take before leaving.

One of the biggest changes in GA4 is the way data is organized. In previous versions of Google Analytics, data was organized into four categories: audience, acquisition, behavior, and conversions. GA4 simplifies this by organizing data into just three categories: user, events, and conversions. With this update, we can more-easily identify how individual users interact with a website, including how they move through the site and what actions they take.

Setting Up GA4

Contrary to previous versions of Google Analytics, website owners need to create a new property and install a new tracking code on their website when setting up GA4. Website owners can still use their existing Google Analytics property until early 2024, but they will need to create a new GA4 property to take advantage of the new features and functionality in the meantime

Another change to expect when transitioning to GA4 is a new (and in our opinion, improved) data collection method. GA4 uses an event-based model, which means that instead of tracking pageviews and sessions, GA4 tracks individual user interactions with a website. This allows website owners to see more granular insights into user behavior, including how long users spend on each page and what actions they take before leaving.

Pro Tips

As digital marketing pros and GA4 experts, we can help businesses make the most of their GA4 data by:

• Consulting businesses on setting up their GA4 property correctly
• Ensuring that data is being accurately collected
• Providing insights into how to maximize GA4 to boost website performance
  
  

One of the biggest advantages of GA4 is the ability to track user behavior across multiple platforms and devices. As experienced GA4 specialists, we can set up cross-platform tracking so businesses can see how users engage with their brand across multiple touchpoints. This feature will help businesses identify which marketing channels are driving the most traffic and which channels are providing the best return on investment.

With the new customizable nature of the GA4 dashboard also comes a learning curve — that’s where we come in. Many reports have to be built-out manually, offering businesses the ability to choose what metrics are most important to them with proper design. Leveraging our expertise, businesses can gain custom insights into user behavior. Not only will this provide a better understanding of a brand’s audience, but our data analysis will also inform a strategy to optimize the website’s content and user experience to increase engagement and drive more conversions