The future is here: switching to Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is one of the biggest changes to come to the web analytics world. As the newest version of Google's flagship analytics product, GA4 provides access to new insights and features, making it easier and more efficient to measure visitors and their activities on your website. As such, switching from Universal Analytics (UA) to GA4 is a big decision.
In this complete guide, you'll learn all you need to know about what GA4 has to offer, why it's an important upgrade and how to make the switch.
What Is Google Analytics 4
Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is the newest version of the web analytics platform offered by Google. This iteration brings several significant changes, such as a focus on machine learning, the ability to capture more user data, and real-time insights.
The key focus of GA4 is to gather and process data more efficiently, so companies can get better insights into their website visitors. With machine learning, Google can now access and process more user data to help businesses gain greater understanding of their customers.
Why Switch to GA4
Google Analytics 4 offers several features and tools to help marketers get a deep understanding of their website visitors. Here are just some of the reasons why you should switch to GA4.
- Gain New Insights
GA4 allows marketers to gain insights into more than just page views and page speed, such as user-level data, customer lifetime value and more. This helps businesses to create tailored marketing campaigns that are more effective.
- Improved Accuracy
GA4 is designed to be more accurate than UA, resulting in more accurate data and more accurate insights. This means that businesses can make better decisions and optimize their campaigns more effectively.
- Access to Real-Time Reporting
GA4 gives marketers access to real-time insights and reports, so they can respond quickly to customer demands and make the necessary changes while they still have the chance.
- Increased Reliability
GA4 has been designed to be more reliable and secure than UA, offering faster processing and improved data protection.
How to Switch to GA4
Switching to Google Analytics 4 does not require a complete overhaul of your current setup. Here are the steps you need to take to switch to GA4:
- Create a New Property
The first step is to create a new property in your Google Analytics account, which will be dedicated to GA4. This will provide a single place to view all the data collected from GA4.
- Link Your Website
Next, you will need to link your website to the new property. You can do this by installing the Google Analytics tracking code on your site.
- Configure the Tracking Code
Once the tracking code has been installed, you can configure the settings to ensure that data is being accurately collected. This includes configuring attribution models, setting up custom dimensions and setting up events.
- Create Audiences
Finally, you can create audiences in GA4 so you can get insights into who is visiting your website, where they are coming from, how they are engaging with your content, and more.
Conclusion
Google Analytics 4 offers improved insights and features that can help businesses make better decisions and optimize their campaigns more effectively. Swapping from UA to GA4 is easy and can be done in just a few steps. With Google Analytics 4, companies can get a better understanding of their website visitors, enabling more accurate data and more successful campaigns.