Google Analytics 4 – also known as GA4 – is set to revolutionise the way we measure, track and analyse the data that is important to the way brands do business for good. Hailed the ‘next generation of analytics’, GA4 promises great things with the collection of event-based data across websites and apps providing more capabilities than ever as well as a better understanding of your specific customer journey and wider market.
Here we answer the key questions that are on every Google Analytics user’s lips so you can prepare for the future.
In short, GA4 is the latest version of the Google Analytics that many of us have come to rely on. Whether analysing sources of traffic, reviewing the popularity of specific web pages, gathering further information about your visitors, or tracking your website’s bounce rates, the data that can be accessed via Google Analytics makes for essential reading.
GA4 promises an entirely different experience. Unlike previous versions of Google Analytics, GA4 will, for the first time, bring together app and web data. This means that brands using GA4 will have access to the bigger picture of cross-platform performance.
The cross-platform capabilities of GA4 will instantly make it far superior than previous and current versions of Google Analytics. It will effectively provide consistent reporting to deliver analytics and insights flexibly and efficiently.
The machine learning capabilities of GA4 also means automated insights and predictions will be more accurate than ever. Privacy will come first too to ensure a GDPR compliant reporting process.
From 1st July 2023, GA4 will be the only way to access new data. Universal Analytics reports will still be able to be viewed until 1st July 2024 however.
In short, yes. From 1st July 2023, the current version of Google Analytics – known officially as Universal Analytics – will not process new data. This means you must update to GA4 to continue collecting new data.
There are a number of options you can explore to update to GA4, including adding GA4 to your CMS or incorporating GA4 into your website with Universal Analytics via the ‘property selector’ tool seen in your Admin area. Doing so sooner rather than later is recommended so you can familiarise yourself with this new way of collecting data.