The importance of GA4 and why you should make the switch

In today’s digital age, search engines are the gateway to discovering new information and products online. That’s why digital marketing planning is critical for businesses to ensure they’re reaching their target audience effectively. Developing a solid strategy that incorporates online marketing is key to staying ahead of the competition. The importance of GA4 and why you should make the switch is crucial in this context.

When it comes to online marketing, businesses must stay up-to-date with the latest trends and strategies to remain relevant. This includes the shift from Universal Analytics to GA4, which provides businesses with more advanced features and insights. By switching over from Universal Analytics, businesses can gain a deeper understanding of their customers’ digital behaviour and make data-driven decisions to optimise their website accordingly.

Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is a necessary tool for businesses to measure and analyse their website’s performance. Since its unveiling a little over twelve months ago, GA4 has been adopted by advertisers and app developers. With the launch, businesses are required to make the switch to the new platform.

Switching to GA4 will help digital marketing companies and business owners to understand their customers’ online behaviour. They will also be able to see how well their website works and get more return on their investment. Furthermore, businesses will be able to gain deeper insights into their customer journey and behaviours, to create more targeted digital campaigns.

With GA4, businesses can look at data to help with traditional marketing online and make sure the marketing is working well. Its enhanced features will help to measure how successful it is.

What is GA4?

Google Analytics 4 is the newest version of Google Analytics. It helps businesses see how people use their websites and it provides extra information about users’ behaviour. GA4 utilises machine learning technology to deliver more accurate insights and predictions, allowing businesses to make data-driven decisions.

“As the digital world has evolved, consumer behaviour has changed and businesses must adapt. GA4 will help you better understand your customers’ journey, even in a world with cookies and mobile identifiers.”

Source: https://www.marketingplatform.google.com/about/resources/google-analytics-4/

Why is GA4 important?

GA4 can help businesses know more about how people use their websites. It helps them make better decisions including how they should optimise their websites further. Businesses can learn more about how their customers use their website by tracking what people do when they visit it. This includes tracking how people use different computers and apps.

Universal analytics vs. GA4 – what’s the difference?

Universal Analytics is an older version of GA4. It uses tagging, which takes a lot of time and can be hard to manage. On the other hand, GA4 uses machine learning algorithms that automatically track user behaviour without requiring manual tagging. Additionally, GA4 provides more advanced features such as predictive analytics and online marketing automation.

The main difference between the two systems is how the models are based around. Universal Analytics is based on sessions and pageviews. Google Analytics 4 is based around events and parameters. Clicks, page views, transactions – all of these can be seamlessly converted into classified events that you can easily access!

Within Universal Analytics and all prior versions of GA, an event can include a category, action and label. However in Google Analytics 4 (GA4), these three components are no longer applicable; each hit is regarded as a separate event with parameters being optional. This may be hard to understand at first but it’s actually quite simple once you get used to it.

Making the switch to GA4

Google’s phasing out of the earlier version of their Analytics platform is a reminder: staying ahead of technology and trends requires businesses to upgrade to GA4. The transition may appear intimidating, but it’s an absolute must in order to remain competitive and informed. Additionally, by making the switch, businesses will benefit from more advanced features and insights that can help them make informed decisions.

Making the switch to GA4 is not overly complicated. At Think, our talented digital marketing experts can offer you insights and guidance on the process. Get in touch with us to know more about digital analytics and how we can assist you with transitioning to GA4.

For digital marketing agencies such as ourselves, making the switch to Google Analytics 4 is essential for providing better marketing services and insights. Not only does it provide more accurate data but it also allows digital marketers to create more targeted campaigns and optimise their marketing efforts.

By switching to GA4, digital marketing services can typically feature more comprehensive insights into user engagement, website performance and ROI – making it easier to create targeted digital campaigns that are optimised for success.

The benefits of GA4

GA4 offers several benefits to businesses, including the importance of GA4 in understanding cross-device tracking, advanced insights, ecommerce tracking and user privacy. Switching to GA4 allows businesses to gain a deeper understanding of their customers’ digital behaviour and make data-driven decisions to optimise their marketing campaigns. These benefits include:

  • Cross-device tracking: GA4 allows businesses to track user behaviour across multiple devices, giving them a more complete picture of their customers’ journeys.
  • Advanced insights: GA4 utilises machine learning technology to deliver more accurate insights and predictions, allowing businesses to make data-driven decisions.
  • Ecommerce tracking: GA4 provides businesses with more advanced ecommerce tracking features, allowing them to better understand their customers’ purchasing behaviour.
  • Bespoke reports: GA4 allows businesses to create their own bespoke reports. This provides them with the ability to track the metrics that matter most to their business.
  • User Privacy: GA4 is designed to protect user privacy, so businesses can rest assured that their data is secure.

When is the switchover to GA4 happening?

The switchover to GA4 has a hard deadline of July 1st, 2023, when Universal Analytics property will stop processing data. After that, the property won’t give new information to Google Ads. This could greatly impact your ad campaign performance.

As such, it is vital for businesses to make the switch to GA4 way before the deadline. This ensures they maintain stability and durability in their marketing efforts. With GA4’s advanced features and insights, businesses can better understand their customers’ journey and make data-driven decisions to optimise their marketing campaigns. It’s crucial for businesses to plan and prioritise the switchover to GA4 to avoid any disruptions in their marketing performance.

To gain any meaningful insights within GA4, it is important to build up the historical data for reporting. This requires digital marketers and businesses to implement GA4 as soon as possible.

Ultimately, switching to GA4 allows digital marketing agencies and businesses to gain a deeper understanding of their customers’ digital behaviour – which in turn can help them make better digital marketing decisions. With the support of a highly experienced digital marketing agency at your side, like Think, you can get started with switching to GA4 quickly and easily. Get in touch with us today for more information and don’t be left in the dark with your Analytics reporting.

In conclusion, making the switch to GA4 is essential for businesses that want to stay up-to-date with the latest technology and trends. By making the switch, businesses can benefit from more advanced features and insights, allowing them to make data-driven decisions and optimise their website accordingly. The importance of GA4 cannot be overstated and we hope this article has provided you with valuable insights and information on why you should make the switch to GA4.

image

Written by

Alan Attias

SEO Manager

Data driven with eighteen years’ experience as a Digital Marketing and SEO Manager, Alan is our expert for our customers search engine optimisation, search engine marketing and PPC, employing integrated analytics for on-going ROI optimisation.

Stay up to date and subscribe to our newsletter.

Newsletter