GA4 (Google Analytics 4) is the latest version of Google Analytics. Previously known as Universal Analytics, GA4 is more advanced than its predecessor. With predictive metrics and automatic tracking for certain events, Google Analytics has definitely evolved.
User journey
Google Analytics 4 (GA4) provides a platform for both website and mobile applications, whereas Universal Analytics was websites only. This means that you can view multiple data streams like Android, iOS and web.
One of the key updates to GA4 is its focus on the user. The new generation of Google Analytics can track a user’s journey across multiple devices. This means that if a user made a purchase on a mobile device and then signed up for a newsletter on the same website, it would be combined together to provide a holistic view of the activity.
The overall GA4 experience is much more user-oriented than previous generations. With a separate ‘Audiences’ report that contains more specific information about purchasers, mobile users, and other audiences, you can define your user more specifically.
Accurate planning
One of the major changes to Google Analytics in the new GA4 is its ability to provide users with predictive metrics. New machine learning algorithms allow you to predict whether a user will make a purchase or conversion on a website depending on their actions.
GA4 gives predictions on purchase, churn and revenue. Purchase probability is the likelihood of a user that was active in the last month to make a new purchase in the following week (7 days). This is really useful for giving an insight into customer behaviour and predictability that can be used when planning new campaigns.
Advanced Reports
There are new ways to display data in GA4 with different analysis techniques available. Here are just a few of our favourites:
Free Form
Free Form (as the name suggests) allows you to manipulate your data in different ways through applying different filters, moving rows, and adding custom sections.
Cohort Exploration Report
The Cohort Exploration Report gives you a deeper insight into the behaviour of different groups, or cohorts, of users. This means that you can learn patterns and commonalities between them.
Funnel Exploration Report
The Funnel Exploration Report allows you to analyse the complete user journey on your website (from product clicks to checkout). You can then track the exact point where they may have left the site or failed to complete a purchase. As more data is collected for this type of report, you gain the opportunity to change the UI of your site to target the weaker parts or points of it.
User Lifetime Report
The User Lifetime Report tracks users beyond their first visit to your website. This means that you can see how often they may return, if at all. With this information, it is easy to analyse the users with a longer ‘lifetime’ to see which traffic source they came to your site via. This can create more focused and successful campaigns in the future as it becomes clear what attracts and retains customers.
Events
With GA4, there is more intelligent tracking of events. Google calls this ‘Event Editing and Synthesis’. It allows customers to fine-tune their goal tracking and obtain granular behavioural data with little to no need to change code, amend, or optimise goal set up in the new UI. Previously a complicated process, this is especially advantageous when transactional operations are hosted on a subdomain or third-party site.
GA4 has also led to easier event tracking with automatic set-ups. Google’s once manual settings can also now be set to default. For example, a user’s first visit, clicks, and transactions can be added as actions or events.
You can also easily create an event based on the occurrence of other events, something that wasn’t possible in previous versions of Google Analytics.
Better Ad Campaigns
GA4 can provide us with a better Return On Ad Spend (ROAS) thanks to the new integrations and measurements. With more data on users that we can apprehend, ads can become more targeted on social media and the web, and hopefully more successful.
GA4 in a Cookie-less World
With the removal of 3rd party cookies and constant changes to privacy laws, Google Analytics must work harder to stay flexible and ensure that we are still able to track users and view data from across websites. For this, they have introduced Analytics Intelligence (AI).
AI allows for more intelligent tracking that is not reliant on cookies. It employs a flexible measurement technique and, in the future, will use modelling to fill in the gaps where data may be lacking. This means that we can rely on Google Analytics to help measure our marketing results and allow us to keep up with client goals even as we have to confront uncertainties in the future.
Better ROI
Ultimately, with better analytics, there comes more targeted and successful campaigns. This eventually leads to a greater Return On Investment (ROI). GA4 has made itself user-centric, durable, and flexible. This ensures that it stays beneficial to marketers and website owners everywhere, regardless of any changes to our online world.
If you want to find out more about how we use Google Analytics to help measure the success of your business, talk to us.
