What’s All This Talk About Google Analytics 4…What Is It? What Do I Need To Do?
In the world of marketing analytics, it’s safe to say that Google’s upgrade from Universal Analytics (UA) to Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is a big deal! With this roll-out, small business owners and marketers have an even more powerful platform to gauge the success of their marketing campaigns because they have access to upgraded tools that measure not only traffic and but engagement levels across their websites and apps.
Why is GA4 becoming so popular?
Even though GA4 was launched in October 2020, small business owners were reluctant to switch—until now. The software has now been in use for over two years, so the bugs have been worked out giving business owners and marketers the confidence to begin utilizing Google’s updated analytics service just prior to the sunsetting of the Universal Analytics toolset.
GA4 is impressing users with brand new features that its predecessor Universal Analytics didn’t have such as the concept of events, which involves everything from pageviews and clicks to form submissions and user defined custom events. Thanks to its underlying architecture that’s designed around big data and machine learning, GA4 can collect an immense amount of data that Universal Analytics couldn’t access.
GA4’s Most Powerful Features:
- Cross-platform Tracking
GA4’s ability to use data streams to track users across all devices and platforms is giving marketers a significant advantage because it lets them see how users are interacting with their brand regardless of whether they’re gaining access through the website, mobile app, or both.
This feature is especially powerful because it can provide marketers with a conversion timeline, so they can see how a user progressed from prospect to customer no matter what devices and platforms they used during the journey.
- Advanced Analysis and Reporting
Google beefed up the reporting section by integrating an advanced toolset. Now, GA4 users can define their reports based on a page or event of their choosing. This wasn’t possible in Universal Analytics.
Furthermore, marketers can now export data into Google’s cloud-based data warehouse service, BigQuery, which provides practically unlimited storage.
- Purchase and Churn Probabilities
So this is where things start to get very interesting from a marketing perspective. Not only can GA4 predict if prospects will convert, it can also measure the likelihood a customer will churn, or discontinue the use of a client’s product.
Through these means, GA4 gives small business owners the power to target marketing efforts more effectively, so they can focus on increasing their conversion rate and improving their customer retention strategies.
- Ability to Learn and Adapt
Thanks to machine learning, GA4 will continue to learn and adjust its functions to produce more accurate reporting and predictions.
- Designed for Increased Privacy
Compared to Universal Analytics, GA4 has upgraded data collection methods that are more privacy-centric. It is also focused on user consent and data minimization.
You’ll Need to Make the Switch Soon!
If you’re currently using Google Universal Analytics or a different analytics service, you won’t regret upgrading to GA4 as it is sure to take your insights to new heights and give your marketing a powerful edge.
Through machine learning, predictive analytics, and refined security measures, you’ll be able to conduct business in a more streamlined manner because you have state-of-the-art technology at your disposal.
Switching to Google Analytics 4 is easy. If you’re already relying on Google Analytics for your business and marketing needs, simply upgrade to GA4 by creating a new GA4 property, then setting up a data stream.
If you’re ready to experience GA4 and everything it has to offer, Higgins Marketing Group can help. Contact us for a pressure-free chat about how we can get you up and running with Google Analytics 4!