Google Analytics 4 Getting Started But Having Trouble Understanding Key Differences and Innovations

Google Analytics 4 is a significant departure from the classic Universal Analytics, and if you're struggling to wrap your head around the key differences, you're not alone.

One major innovation is the introduction of event-based tracking, which allows you to track user interactions with your website or app in a more granular way.

This means you can now track a wide range of events, from button clicks to form submissions, giving you a more detailed understanding of user behavior.

The new data model also introduces the concept of "events" and "parameters", which can be a bit confusing at first, but trust me, it's worth the effort to understand.

Start by understanding the importance of starting now with Google Analytics 4 (GA4). The current version, Universal Analytics, will stop recording data on 1 July 2023, so it's vital to begin tracking data as soon as possible.

Google Analytics 4 is a new version of the popular web tracking software, and it's essential to know how it works. It records a lot more data and focuses on the user journey, aiming to integrate tracking across all devices and make predictions about user behavior.

You'll be starting from scratch with GA4, so it's crucial to start recording data now. If you wait until June 2023, you'll only have data from that date, which means you'll miss out on valuable insights from the previous year.

To set up GA4, start by collecting data from your website and apps in the same Property. You can add your URL and give the data stream a name, and also consider adding enhanced measurement, which can always be turned off later if needed.

Remember, GA4 is a different beast compared to Universal Analytics, so it's essential to think about new goals and approaches. By starting now, you'll have at least a year's data when the current version stops, and you'll be well on your way to getting the most out of your Google Analytics 4 data.

Google Analytics 4 is a game-changer, and understanding how it works is key to getting the most out of it.

Google Analytics 4 is built for the cookie-less future, which means it doesn't rely on cookies to track user behavior. This is a big deal, especially with increasing concerns about data privacy and the need for websites to offer cookie opt-outs.

In the past, Google Analytics used a "page hit" method of tracking, where each time a user viewed a page, a "page hit" was sent to the tracking software. However, this method has some limitations, such as not being able to track users who use the back button or have pages stored in their browser.

Google Analytics 4, on the other hand, sends data about everything a user is doing on your website, including how long they spend on a page, how far down they scroll, and what they click on. This is made possible by switching to record everything as an "event", such as a page hit, a scroll, or 10 seconds on a page.

Google Analytics 4 is a game-changer, and understanding how it works is key to unlocking its full potential.

The history of Google Analytics is a fascinating one, and it's helpful to know how we got here. The old days of tracking website visitors using log files on the server were limited, as we could only track people by their IP address, which could be shared with hundreds of others.

The browser itself also had functionality that made it difficult to track users, and the back button was a major enemy. The browser stored pages, so it didn't have to go back to the server, making tracking using server log files not very effective.

Urchin, a website tracker, came up with a brilliant idea - put the tracking software on every page and ask the visitor's browser to send back the information. This led to the invention of the 'page hit' or 'page view', which solved the back button and stored pages issue.

The 'cookie' was a key technology that allowed Urchin to link page hits together to create one unique user session. Google acquired Urchin Software in 2005 and released the first version of Google Analytics, 'Urchin from Google'.

Google Analytics Classic was released not long after, and it was a major improvement over the previous version. However, by 2012, people were using multiple devices to browse the internet, and Google realized that they needed to track people across devices.

This led to the release of Universal Analytics, which offered new technology such as event tracking, cross-domain and ecommerce tracking, and custom dimensions. The switch from Classic to Universal was not easy, and many website owners were hesitant to make the change.

Google Analytics 4 is a significant improvement over Universal Analytics, and understanding how it works is crucial for getting the most out of it.

Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is built for the cookie-less future, which means it's designed to work without relying on cookies to track users. This is a significant shift from previous versions of Google Analytics.

GA4 uses a fundamentally different way of tracking, sending data about everything a visitor is doing, not just page hits. This includes events like scrolling, playing videos, and hovering over buttons.

The current version of Google Analytics would consider a visitor who reads an article without leaving the page as a "bounce", but GA4 tracks everything as events, providing a more accurate picture of user behavior.

GA4 is so different from the current version that you can't simply "migrate" or "upgrade" to it, you're essentially starting again. This means that your old data is not available in GA4.

To set up GA4, you need to check your tracking settings, which can be done by clicking on the "setup assistant" under admin > property.

Google Analytics 4 is a game-changer. It's free, which is a huge plus compared to similar tracking software that can come with a hefty price tag.

GA4 integrates seamlessly with Google and its advertising, making it a great choice for businesses that already use these services. This integration is one of the key reasons why GA4 has become a go-to solution for many marketers.

One of the standout features of GA4 is its huge amount of functionality, which can be customized to meet the specific needs of your business. This level of flexibility is a major advantage over other tracking software.

Here are some key benefits of using GA4:

You'll need to recreate your audiences in GA4, unfortunately, there's no handy migration tool. If you have audiences based on custom dimensions, these will also need to be recreated.

Audiences are not retrospective, so users are added as they meet the conditions, you cannot go back and put those people who used to qualify into a new audience.

To create a new audience, go to the Admin page, and then under Data display, click Audiences. Click New Audience. You can then choose between creating a new audience from scratch or using a pre-made template.

Here's a quick rundown of the differences between audiences and segments:

If you currently use audiences, you'll need to recreate these in GA4. If you have audiences based on custom dimensions, these will also need to be recreated.

Google Analytics 4 has a data retention policy that's different from Universal Analytics. Your data will expire after either 2 or 14 months max with a standard account.

If you want to keep your historical data, you'll need to set up a data backup. The best solution is usually a marketing data warehouse.

Google BigQuery is a popular choice for marketers, and the Supermetrics connector makes it easy to transfer data from Google Analytics to BigQuery. This way, you can centralize your Universal Analytics data with other marketing data.

You can also use other marketing data warehouses like Azure Synapse Analytics or Snowflake, which have connectors available.

Google Analytics 4 (GA4) has four ways of tracking users: User ID, Google Signals, Cookies, and Machine learning (AI).

GA4 revolutionizes tracking by sending data about everything a visitor is doing, not just a single page hit. This is a fundamental change from the current version of Google Analytics.

A page hit is now considered an event, along with scrolls, time on a page, and even hovering over a button. This means GA4 tracks everything as events, making it very different from the current version.

If you're setting up your GA4 tracking, check that GA4 is running okay by looking for the "data flowing" message under data collection. You can do this by clicking on the "setup assistant" under admin > property.

To install your tracking code, you have three options: using a script from the "Install manually" tab, your website builder or CMS, or via Google Tag Manager.

Here are the four ways GA4 tracks users:

Once you've installed your tracking code, it will take a little while for GA4 to start collecting data from your website(s) and apps and bringing it into the interface.