New Google Analytics 4: Everything you need to know
Do you use Google Analytics to evaluate and optimize your business website? Or is it on your to-do list? Either way, this blog post is for you. On July 1, 2023, Google Universal Analytics (GA 3) will be discontinued and replaced by Google Analytics 4 (GA 4). In this blog post, we go through the main differences between the old and the new version. And offer you help to get started quickly.
Why Google Analytics - and does it have to be so complicated?
With Google Analytics installed, you can follow up on how your company's website is performing. Both at an overall level, such as how the traffic to the site has looked over time and which pages are most visited. And at a more detailed level, for example by setting goals linked to your digital marketing campaigns. Google Analytics presents the numbers and you draw the conclusions about what works and doesn't work, quite simply.
"But it feels so complicated and complex".
Yes, not everyone is born to love numbers (including yours truly) and certainly there is a bit of a learning curve before the graphs "speak to you", as the more advanced users put it.
In a survey by Forrester Consulting, marketers responded that improving their use of Google Analytics is a top priority. But that existing solutions make it difficult to get a full picture of the customer and gain insights from their data.
And Google has listened.
They have rethought and rethought. As a result, in October 2020 Google launched Google Analytics 4. A completely new version of Google Analytics, which with the help of artificial intelligence focuses more on the customer journey and, among other things, makes it easier to predict the long-term effects of your marketing.
What is the main difference with GA 4?
- More focus on the customer journey
As soon as you log in to the new Google Analytics 4, you are greeted by Google's new approach. With menu options that match the customer journey (or sales funnel, from a business perspective):
Acquisition (cf. former Acqusiiton) - The first step in the customer journey is to attract visitors to your website. This report therefore shows where traffic comes from:
- Traffic acquisition shows all traffic to the site
- User acquisition shows where new users come from
Engagement (cf. former Behavior) - The next step is to get visitors to interact and engage with the content on your website. The report shows you just that, some examples are that you can see different events (Events), page views (Pages and screens) and engagement in terms of clicks and scroll time.
Monetization - Now it's time to convert your visitors into customers. This report shows how your website performed from a sales perspective, such as in-app purchases, ad impressions and data from any e-commerce.
Retention - The final step in the customer journey is about creating loyal, returning customers and ambassadors for your brand. To match that, this report provides insights around returning visitors and their engagement.
- Views disappear - Data filters and Analysis Hub replace
Google Analytics has so far been based on creating different views to filter data, for example, to exclude the company's internal traffic. In the new Google Analytics, filters (Data Filters) and Analysis Hub are used instead to control what is displayed.
Data Filters are used to include or exclude internal traffic. And in the Analysis Hub, you can add dimensions as well as metrics to create your own filters that are applied to your analysis. The analysis can then be used as a view to show to other interested parties within the company.
- Bounce Rate is replaced by Engaged Session
One metric that has been used so far to measure engagement, or rather lack of it, is the Bounce Rate. This refers to visitors who enter a page on the website and then leave again without clicking through (or otherwise interacting).
The bounce rate is presented as a percentage and is used to compare the performance of different campaigns or traffic channels, for example. However, it has often been criticized for being a blunt measurement tool. For example, some page types, such as blog posts, can be engaging even if they do not lead to more page visits. In the new version of Google Analytics, the Bounce Rate is therefore replaced by Engaged Session. And just as it sounds, the focus here is on measuring actual engagement rather than lack of it.
For a session to count as engaging, the visitor must meet at least one of the following criteria on your website:
- Be active and engaged for at least 10 seconds
- Activate a conversion event
- Visit at least two pages
- GA 4 helps you predict future ROI
Using artificial intelligence, the new version of Google Analytics also allows for forecasting and potential future estimates. For example, by predicting increased demand for a particular product, based on trends and visitor behavior. These types of reports can also be found under the Analysis Hub.
- Compatible with new cookie and identification guidelines
Google Analytics 4 will also be "future-proofed". This means that the analytics do not rely on cookies or other types of identifying data. Instead, GA 4 has many common tracking features already built in and activated through a custom JavaScript.
By enabling Enhanced measurement, you can track:
- Page views
- Scroll on pages
- Outgoing links
- Internal search
- Video interactions
- File downloads
We help you get started!
In order for the measurement of your website and digital campaigns to continue to work, it is required that Google Analytics 4 (GA 4) is implemented before July 1, 2023. We are happy to help you and currently have an offer with the implementation of Google Tag Manager and Google Analytics, including setting up the analysis of key metrics.
The offer includes:
- Implementation of Google Tag Manager on the website, which facilitates the collection of data from various sources such as Google Analytics, Google Ads, social media and Hubspot.
- Implementing Google Analytics 4 and ensuring that the data collection works properly.
- Definition and setting of key metrics in GA 4 based on your business objectives (up to 5, with the possibility to buy more).
Get in touch if you need help! Give us a call or send us an email. You can also contact us via the contact form here.
