Google Analytics is one of the main tools that marketers use to measure and analyse how people interact with your website, and it is widely used across most businesses. However, there are some upcoming changes you need to know about.
What Changes Are Happening to Google Analytics?
Starting July 2023, all Universal Analytics properties will be phased out and will no longer be able to collect any data, therefore every business must upgrade to the latest version, which is Google Analytics 4 (GA4).
After July 2023, all Universal Analytics properties will become read-only properties, and by the end of 2023, all data collected on these properties will be completely erased, without the possibility of ever recovering that data.
Therefore, it is important that all websites make the transition to GA4 in a timely manner otherwise important data will be lost, and you will no longer be able to run any year-on-year, or even month-on-month, comparisons if you make the transition too late.
How is GA4 Different to Universal Analytics?
The differences between these two platforms are vast and it is important to get used to using GA4 before Universal Analytics is phased out, to be able to continue reporting data accurately.
One of the biggest updates that GA4 brings compared to Universal Analytics is its ability to report on both web and app properties. With GA4, you will be able to measure a user’s activity on your website and mobile application simultaneously.
GA4 also allows you to create personalised reports with a superior grade of customisation compared to the older versions of Google Analytics, and setting up conversions can be made through a single click, as any interaction or event can be marked as a conversion.
In addition to that, every interaction with your website or mobile application can automatically be recorded as a new parameter of an event (e.g. downloads, link clicks, mailing, video streaming). All these actions are specific to how a user interacts with your website, and in GA4 they can now be measured and analysed more accurately.
GA4 also introduces the data-driven attribution model as a default way of attributing conversions. This attribution model allows Google Analytics to report and attribute conversions based on how much they were deemed to contribute towards the end conversion. It is one of the most accurate ways to report conversion data, as it allows you to see the benefits of your upper-funnel activity that may have previously been attributed elsewhere.
Most Important Advantages of GA4
- Improved and more efficient tracking system of how users interact with your website and mobile application
- Superior way of analysing how users engage and interact with your website
- Simplified way of configuring events and conversions compared to older Google Analytics versions
- Cookie-less reporting data – GA4 uses machine learning to report data without relying so much on cookies
- Improved way of customising reports to analyse the data
Conclusion
With Google’s announcement that Universal Analytics will be phased out in July 2023, all businesses must adapt and upgrade their properties to Google Analytics 4. This will allow them to keep historical data and be able to do year-on-year comparisons in the future.
If you want to find out more about how to make the transition to Google Analytics 4, the team at GA Agency can help. GA Agency is an award-winning international digital marketing agency offering services such as paid media and SEO consulting – get in touch with us today to find out more. .
